Sutherland Shire Libraries News

When legendary Hawaiian surfer and Olympic-medal-winning swimmer Duke Kahanamoku visited Australia during the summer of 1914/15 he caused a sensation. After breaking his own 100 yard swimming world record before a crowd of 6000 at the Domain Baths in Sydney, and putting on thrilling displays of surfing at Dee Why beach on a board ‘as big as the bottom of a boat’, it was the Sutherland Shire’s turn to play host to the superstar.
On 7 February 1915 Kahanamoku and his party, (which included fellow Hawaiian swimmer, George Cunha, and Australian freestyle champion, Harry Hay), were met at Sutherland Station by members of the Cronulla Surf Lifesaving Club. The sportsmen were whirled off in a convoy of motor cars on a sightseeing tour to Waterfall, returning to the National Park via Lady Carrington Drive for an alfresco lunch at Audley. It was noted at the time that many of the Sydney men in the entourage remarked how extraordinary it was that ‘they should have missed the beauties of that gully so near Sydney all their lives.’

After lunch a launch took Duke Kahanamoku and the others up the river to Cronulla where the beach was decorated with bunting and packed with people. Unfortunately (as the St. George Call newspaper described it) ‘Jupiter Pluvius and Father Neptune were in a bad mood and spoilt the afternoon.’ In other words, it was raining and there wasn’t much surf!

Never-the-less an impromptu alarm reel race was quickly staged between Kahanamoku, Cunha and Hay with the Cronulla clubmen acting as linesmen. There was much speculation over who would win as Hay was one of the fastest beltsmen in the State and the two Hawaiians had never competed in such a race before. Cunha, who swam a ‘crawl stroke’, struggled to get used to swimming with the belt and line and apparently nearly wrenched his toes off when he caught them on the line. But Duke was a natural and Hay lost by a yard to the Olympic champion and his famous ‘Kahanamoku Kick’.
By then the waves at Cronulla had improved and so to the delight of the spectators, Kahanamoku took to the water for an exhibition of surfboard riding – standing upright, standing on his head, diving off, twisting the board. ‘It all looked so ridiculously easy,’ declared the St. George Call, ‘and so it was to the Duke, but local men who tried after came to the conclusion that they had a lot to learn about the game. One wants to try and stand on that unstable piece of wood, even in smooth water, to appreciate fully the sight of that bronze statue tearing in through broken and choppy seas.’
The day ended with tea at Cronulla’s new pavilion followed by music at the Surf Lifesaving Club captain’s house where the guests of honour entertained their hosts with Hawaiian songs accompanied by Duke Kahanamoku strumming on his ukulele.

It's Children's Book Week 20-26 August ! Checkout the shortlisted books for each award, each day this week. The winners will be announced Friday 19 August.

It's Children's Book Week 20-26 August ! Checkout the shortlisted books for each award, one each day this week. The winners will be announced Friday 19 August.

The Book of the Year: Younger Readers Shortlist


The Cleo Stories: A Friend and a Pet / Libby Gleeson (Illust: Freya Blackwood)
Cleo makes a friend - Cleo's best friend is away, her parents are busy, and there's nothing to do but count raindrops, or tidy her room. Just when she thinks she'll never cheer up, Cleo has an idea. Cleo wants a pet - Cleo longs for a pet but her mum and dad say no. Perhaps the answer is hidden somewhere unexpected.

Soon / Morris Gleitzman
After the Nazis took my parents I was scared. After they killed my best friend I was angry. After I joined the partisans and helped defeat the Nazis I was hopeful. Soon, I said, we'll be safe. I was wrong. Soon continues the incredibly moving story of Felix, a Jewish boy still struggling to survive in the wake of the liberation of Poland after the end of World War Two.
 


Run, Pip, Run / J. C. Jones
Pip Sullivan's tenth birthday was a disaster -- and that was only the beginning.
With her beloved Sully in hospital and the welfare hot on her heels, Pip needs time, money and a place to stay. She's determined to stay one step ahead of Senior Constable Molly Dunlop! With help from her friends -- including a psychic cat and a canine escape artist -- Pip needs to stay out of dreaded foster homes so she can help Sully get better.
Run, Pip, Run is a warm-hearted story about a small girl on her own in a big city, but who knows a thing or two about loyalty, bravery and friendship.
 
Sister Heart/ Sally Morgan
A young Aboriginal girl is taken from the north of Australia and sent to an institution in the distant south. There, she slowly makes a new life for herself and, in the face of tragedy, finds strength in new friendships. Poignantly told from the child's perspective, Sister Heart affirms the power of family and kinship.


 
Molly and Pim and the Millions of Stars / Martine Murray
Molly's mother is not like other mothers: she collects herbs and makes potions, perhaps even magical potions. Molly wants to be normal, like her friend Ellen, and watch television and eat food that comes in packets. But when Molly's mother accidentally turns herself into a tree, Molly turns to the strange and wonderful Pim for help.



Shadows of the Master/Emily Rodda
Britta of Del wants nothing less than to be the new Apprentice Trader of the Rosalyn fleet. Family and friends and even the terrible secret of her parentage will not stop her. But how can she succeed when her true identity must surely be guessed by Trader Mab, who knew her father, and the crew of the Star of Deltora? Relying on no more than her wits and the kind acts of friends she makes along the way, Britta is drawn closer and closer to her terrible destiny.

It's Children's Book Week 20-26 August ! Checkout the shortlisted books for each award, each day this week. The winners will be announced Friday 19 August.






The Book of the Year- Older Readers Shortlist

The Flywheel / Erin Gough
Seventeen-year-old Delilah drops out of high school when her romance with another girl goes horribly wrong and the whole school turns on her. Preferring chaos to bullying, Del makes it her mission to save her dad's crumbling café, the Flywheel, while he 'finds himself' overseas.  Accompanied by her charming troublemaker best friend Charlie, Del sets out to save the cafe, keep Charlie out of prison, and maybe get a date with Rosa, the beautiful flamenco dancer from across the road. But when life is messy enough as it is, can girl-on-girl romance ever have a happy ending?

 
The Pause/ John Larkin
Declan seems to have it all: a family that loves him, friends he’s known for years, a beautiful girlfriend he would go to the ends of the earth for.

But there’s something in Declan’s past that just won’t go away, that pokes and scratches at his thoughts when he’s at his most vulnerable. Declan feels as if nothing will take away that pain that he has buried deep inside for so long. So he makes the only decision he thinks he has left: the decision to end it all.

Or does he? As the train approaches and Declan teeters at the edge of the platform, two versions of his life are revealed. In one, Declan watches as his body is destroyed and the lives of those who loved him unravel. In the other, Declan pauses before he jumps. And this makes all the difference.

Freedom Ride/Sue Lawson
Robbie knows bad things happen in Walgaree. But it's nothing to do with him. That's just the way the
Aborigines have always been treated. In the summer of 1965 racial tensions in the town are at boiling point, and something headed Walgaree's way will blow things apart. It's time for Robbie to take a stand. Nothing will ever be the same.
 
A Single Stone/ Meg McKinlay
Every girl dreams of being part of the line - the chosen seven who tunnel deep into the mountain to find the harvest. No work is more important. Jena is the leader of the line - strong, respected, reliable. And - as all girls must be - she is small; her years of training have seen to that. It is not always easy but it is the way of the things. And so a girl must wrap her limbs, lie still, deny herself a second bowl of stew. Or a first. But what happens when one tiny discovery makes Jena question everything she has ever known? What happens when moving a single stone changes everything?


 Inbetween Days/Vikki Wakefield
 At seventeen, Jacklin Bates is all grown up. She’s dropped out of school. She’s living with her runaway sister, Trudy, and she’s in secret, obsessive love with Luke, who doesn’t love her back. She’s stuck in Mobius—a dying town with the macabre suicide forest its only attraction—stuck working in the roadhouse and babysitting her boss’s demented father.

A stranger sets up camp in the forest and the boy next door returns; Jack’s father moves into the shed and her mother steps up her campaign to punish Jack for leaving, too. Trudy’s brilliant façade is cracking and Jack’s only friend, Astrid, has done something unforgivable.

Jack is losing everything, including her mind. As she struggles to hold onto the life she thought she wanted, Jack learns that growing up is complicated—and love might be the biggest mystery of all.
 
Cloudwish/Fiona Wood
Vân Uoc doesn't believe in fairies, zombies, vampires, Father Christmas - or magic wishes. She believes in keeping a low profile: real life will start when school finishes.
But when she attracts the attention of Billy Gardiner, she finds herself in an unwelcome spotlight.
Not even Jane Eyre can help her now.
Wishes were not a thing.
They were not.
Correction.
Wishes were a thing.
Wishes that came true were sometimes a thing.
Wishes that came true because of magic were not a thing!  
Were they?

It's Children's Book Week 20-26 August ! Checkout the shortlisted books for each award, each day this week. The winners will be announced Friday 19 August.





2016 Early Childhood Shortlisted books

Piranhas Don't Eat Bananas / Aaron Blabey (Illust: Aaron Blabey)
‘Hey there guys. Would you like a banana?’ 
‘What’s wrong with you. Brian? You’re a piranha.’ 

Brian loves bananas. Trouble is, Brian’s a piranha. And his friends aren’t happy about his fondness for fruit...



  Ollie and the Wind/ Ronojoy Ghosh
Sometimes the best things appear out of thin air...
The wind blows all day on Ollie’s island. There aren’t many people around, but there’s lots of space to play.
One day the wind steals Ollie’s hat. Then it darts away with his scarf. But is the wind just naughty, or is it trying to tell Ollie something?


  My Dog Bigsy/ Alison Lester
Meet my dog Bigsy. He's only small, but everyone knows he's the boss.Each morning he visits the animals on the farm.Squawk, neigh, quack, moo, baa, oink, cluck, purr, ruff ruff ruff!What a lot of noise! And all because of Bigsy!



Perfect /Danny Parker (Illust: Freya Blackwood)
On a perfect day, the hours stretch endlessly ahead.. Danny Parker's evocative verse expresses the freedom of an idyllic childhood, and paintings by Freya Blackwood magically evoke the light, scents and feel of a perfect summer day.




Mr Huff /Anna Walker
Bill is having a bad day. Mr Huff is following him around and making everything seem difficult. Bill tries to get rid of him, but Mr Huff just gets bigger and bigger! Then they both stop, and a surprising thing happens ... Gentle and poignant, affirming and wise, Mr Huff is a story about the clouds and the sunshine in each of our lives.



The Cow Tripped Over The Moon/ Tony Wilson (Illust: Laura Wood)
Hey diddle diddle You all know the riddle A cow jumps over the moon... But the moon is very high in the sky. How many attempts will it take before Cow makes her famous high-flying leap?