KPE Episode 225: "The Immigrants"

"The Immigrants" by Alan Bagnall
In this podcast Ala tells Angela about a book set in 1856. You will learn a lot about what it was like for the early settlers who came to New Zealand during the Gold Rush. We are sure you will enjoy this lively discussion and you may well be inspired by this book about people who never give up. Tell us what you think...

KPE Episode 224: "The Day of the Snow"

"The Day of the Snow" by Joy Cowley
Tanielu and Blessing review this very popular book by Joy Cowley. One of the reasons it is so popular with our students is because she wrote it about a school in Auckland, where we live. Two years ago Jordan and Pheonix also published a podcast about this book, so if you have iTunes on your computer we recommend you have a listen to their podcast as well (KPE Episode 67 on 28 May 2007). Tell us what you think of both reviews of this book.

KPE Episode 223 :" Storm"

KPE Episode 223 :" Storm" by Margaret Beames

Shontal and Victoria from Room 18 discuss this book by another New Zealand author.

It is about a girl called Erin who has never had any doubt about what she wants to do when she leaves school. She wants to be a farmer like her father and mother. Erin loves being on her family farm for the school holidays. Trouble is, Erin gets stuck with the boring chores and her parents don't think she's capable of much else. Try as she will, Erin finds that the boring jobs around the farm don’t keep her from daydreaming and, as a result, neither of her parents has any confidence in her ability to concentrate and complete a job properly. Things, however, have a habit of changing and Erin has to call on all her concentration and resourcefulness to help her father after he has an accident on the farm.

We wonder if any of you have ever been on a farm? Did you like it? Tell us if you think you would like living on a farm....

KPE Episode 222: "Weaving Together"

"Weaving Together" by Dawn McMillan
Selena and Angela are Year 5 students who have made a great job of their very first podcast. They have chosen to share this wonderful New Zealand book about Jamie and her grandmother who are making a woven memory of all the wonderful and sad things that have happened in their lives. They choose colours that will remind them of special events. Soon it becomes more than a piece of art and Jamie realises that both her past and her future are part of the weaving.
As you listen to this podcast you will not only find out about the book, but also about some of the lovely memories these girls have shared with their Grandmothers.
Why don't you tell them about YOUR grandmother in return?

KPE 221: "A Can of Worms"

KPE Episode 221: "A Can of Worms" by Peter Bromhead

Cruz and Blessing talk to us about this incredible story about a boy called Angus who discovers something moving in a can of spaghetti he opens. He believes the spaghetti is alive but nobody else seems concerned at his amazing discovery! His mother is too busy to look and his sister thinks it’s just another practical joke. So Angus takes the spaghetti to school and tries to get help from the teachers. They can’t help so Angus consults rocket scientist Dr Von Brawn, who even rings up NASA, but no luck! An Italian chef and a worm farmer have a part in this story too.The book seems to have some pretty 'yuck' things in it from what we hear, but they really enjoyed reading it.
We wonder how many of you like eating spaghetti out of a can? Or do you prefer real spaghetti?

KPE 220: "Tom Thumb"

KPE Episode 220: "Tom Thumb" by Gavin Bishop

Ala and Toreka are publishing their very first podcast. These girls are Year 5 students and they are in Room 15. This book they have chosen to review is subtitled " The True History of Sir Thomas Thumb" and is written by a very popular New Zealand author at our school.
They tell us that this book is a collection of stories that Gavin Bishop has made up about the famous tiny fairy tale creature and they particularly like the one called "Tom Thumb and the Big Fish" and that is the one they tell us about. We hope you enjoy their podcast, and if you also like Gavin Bishop's books, we recommend you listen to 'Stay Awake Bear', 'Chicken Licken', 'Piano Rock', 'Bidibidi' and 'Kiwi Moon'.

KPE 219: "A Very Wicked Headmistress"

"A Very Wicked Headmistress" by Margaret Mahy
Helen and Destiney from Room 18 bring us another crazy story from Margaret Mahy.
When the wicked Miss Taffeta—notorious cheater at cards and blackmailer, and former trapeze artist and human cannonball—opens an exclusive boarding school for rich young ladies, everything seems perfectly normal. But when strange things begin to occur at the school the students become suspicious, and they begin to wonder just who Headmistress Taffeta really is. As well as taking on the roles of all the different teachers in the school, Miss Taffeta plots to gain control of a neighbouring farmer's fortune by marrying him!
We are pretty sure you will love this book and this podcast.

KPE 218: "Fish Tale"

"Fish Tale" by Lorraine Orman
Victoria interviews Rachael from Room 18 for this episode of KPE. This book is very popular at Pt England School and is another in the Kiwi Bites series.

"Kathleen is worried about her Great-Grandfather. Ever since Great-Gran died, and since he's been living with Kathleen and her Mum, Gramps has been very quiet and sad-looking all the time. And on top of that, Kathleen s Mum has been working long hours now that Gramps is around to look after her. It's easy to get bored that is, until Kathleen realises Gramps funny-looking garden gnome can actually talk! What follows is a crazy adventure as Kathleen sets out to give the gnome what he most desires, in exchange for making her Gramps happy again."

The girls tell us that the author is reminding the readers that everyone needs good friends, no matter what age you are.

The book has been reviewed by KPE in the past so part of the challenge for these girls was to give a different perspective on the book. You might like to click here and listen to the first podcast of "Fish Tales" after you have listened to Victoria and Rachael and leave both sets of podcasters some feedback.

KPE Episode 217: "Rugby for Rosie"

"Rugby for Rosie" by Frances Adlam
Shaniah interviews Helen about a book they have read which really appeals to them because it is about a girl who wants to play rugby - and both of these girls like playing rugby at Pt England School.
The story goes like this....
"Rosie wants to play rugby for the school team. And she's good too. The only thing is that Rosie is the only girl who wants to play, and the team need three girls to qualify. So to do what she loves she has to convince the pink-loving, doll-bearing girls at her school that rugby is the sport for them. Things seem impossible until a celebrity the girly girls know very well turns up to give Rosie a hand!"
They tell us that the theme of this story is that you should be yourself, nothing good ever comes from trying to pretend you are someone else.
Have a listen and tell them what you think.

KPE 216: "30 Weird and Wonderful NZ Stories"

"30 Weird and Wonderful NZ Stories" edited by Barbara Else.
Maree and Gabrielle from Room 17 discuss several stories in this collection of New Zealand tales for this latest episode of KPE. You will want to read the book after you have listened to the podcast and you will find out something very interesting about where Maree gets to go for her family holidays.
When you figure out where that is, why don't you tell us if you have ever been there too?