Children's Non Fiction
books
- Famous
New Zealanders
- including
Sir Peter Blake, Helen Clark, Dame Susan Devoy, Peter Jackson
- (set
of four for $45 or $15 each)
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- Blue Pacific Series
The Blue Pacific series is a series of non-fiction books for
children that look at individual nations in the Pacific Ocean.
Each book contains information, simply and entertainingly written,
about each nation - it's economy, population, exports, culture,
government, etc.
The Blue Pacific series has been a particularly successful
series of books for Allan Kirk. Almost every school and public
library in New Zealand has most of the books from the set in
their library.
Teachers like the books because learning about the Pacific nations
is part of the New Zealand school curriculum.
The books are also useful to teachers when Pacific countries
are in the news.
The Cook Islands book in the series was very useful to a teacher
when the ferocious EI Nino cyclone, Cyclone Martin, wreaked havoc
on Manihiki, Rakahanga, and Pukapuka Islands in the Cook Islands.
Cyclone Martin sent sea water sweeping over the islands and
only luck and one strong building saving the people living on
Rakahanga Island.
After that disaster, one New Zealand school teacher wrote to
Allan Kirk saying:
- "I took the opportunity to read up on Manihiki Island
in your book and was able to tell the kids that, in common with
most atolls, Manihiki is only a few feet above sea level. Since
our school is on cliffs above the sea, I was expecting 'Will
we be swept away too?!' questions. At the least, your book saved
us from having to buy lifejackets for a bunch of nervous children!"
- The books in the Blue Pacific series are:
- - The Pacific Ocean
- Fiji
- The Solomon Islands
- Niue
- Cook Islands
- Vanuatu
- Tonga
- Western Samoa
- - Nauru
Set of 9 costs $90 or $13 each
Government In New Zealand
series
How A Government Is Elected Under MMP
The Mixed Member Proportional representation electoral system
is a very complicated electoral system. So Allan Kirk sat down
and wrote a very simple explanation of the system for children
and put it in a book.
The result was a book that is very popular with schools ...
and that Kiwi voters also seem to find very useful.
- What an MP Does
- As much as people suspect may otherwise, once elected to
Parliament, MPs do not just sit in Bellamy's and drink whisky
all day.
The life of an MP is a busy one, both in Parliament and in
his electorate.
This book is the only children's book written that tells children
what an MP does and how his job fits into the Parliamentary process.
How Parliament Works - out of stock
The History Of Parliament Buildings - out of stock
The Dictionary Of TheNew Zealand Parliament - out of
stock
Two for $20 or $13 each
To Write The Wrongs series
- Samoa's Fight For Freedom
- In the process of writing his general knowledge book on Samoa
for the Blue Pacific series, auther Allan Kirk discovered little-known
information about the Samoan's fight for independence from direct
rule by the New Zealand Government .
This prompted him to write this book, aimed at intermediate
and high school pupils. It covers the often turbulent struggle
of the Samoan people and the suffering they went through to get
their independence. Also covered were the sometimes funny events
that happened during the years spent trying to live under dictator-like
New Zealand Administrators as the population tried to get the
New Zealand Government to give them self rule.
This is a fascinating book for childen and adults alike.
- Fiji - Apartheid In Paradise
Fiji has been riven by racial tension for decades, ever since
Indian labour, often in the form of slaves, was brought to Fiji
to work.
This has resulted in three military coups in Fiji in the 20th
century with resultant severe damage being done to the Fijian
economy.
This book, written for a reading age of 10-14, explains the
history of the troubles and explains exactly what happened in
an easy-to understand way.
Thus it is ideal for sthe Pacific sections of school and public
libraries.
- Fighting With The Plough
- In the course of some research, Allan Kirk came upon the
story of land stolen from Taranaki Maori in the 1800s and the
unique and peaceful way the Maori used to try to solve the problem.
Fascinated by this information, and determined to let New Zealand
children know the facts, he wrote "Fighting With The Plough"
a book that details how the New Zealand Government in the 1800s,
faced with an influx of settlers to New Zealand stole land for
them from the owners, Taranaki Maoris The book also details the
peaceful steps the Taranaki Maori took to stop this theft and
the brutal actions of the Government of the time to this. Unfortunately,
the Maori didn't succeed in stopping the land grab and it wasn't
until the 20th century that Taranaki Maori were finally recompensed
for the loss of their land.
Set of 2 for $20 or $13 each
- Other Children's/School
Non Fiction books
El Nino - Changing New Zealand's Weather
The newspapers regularly comment on the latest effects of the
weather phenomenon known as EI Nino.
But not many people know what EI Nino actually is. This book,
written for children with a reading age of between 10 to 13 years,
explains in simple language what El Nino is, what causes it,
and what its sometimes disastrous effects are.
- Most people only know that EI Nino is something to do with
the weather. Readers of this book will discover that El Nino
is all to do with ocean currents flowing the wrong way, with
disastrous results. El Nino is causing huge floods, droughts,
bushfires, and landslides caused by sodden land that becomes
unstable, and many other disasters. in Australia have claimed
firefighter lives. "EI Nino - Changing New Zealand's Weather"
explains in simple language what EI Nino is, what causes it,
and what its often disastrous effects are.
Ghosts and Mysteries of New Zealand
- Children love stories about ghosts and mysteries. But there
is a lack of these stories covering New Zealand subjects. So
Keith Tonkin and Allan Kirk sat down and produced this book that
is not only guaranteed to give children a good read but will
also teach them about New Zealand and it's often colourful past.
Tonga - Time, Turmoil and Tincan Mail
- Tonga is a nation of contrasts. It is one of the most traditional
of countries in the South Pacific, yet it is a country that derives
a large amount of its income from modem-day technology such as
satellite communications. This book looks at these and other
aspects of Tongan society in an entertaining, informative way.
It is written for readers aged 10 - 14.
Fundraising for Schools
The need for fundraising in schools has been a fact of life for
some years now.
One of the major difficulties with fund-raising is coming up
with ideas on ways to fundraise. This book not only covers fundraising
procedures and considerations but also includes well over 100
ideas for fundraisers ranging from a Car Wash with a twist, to
a Comestible Concoction contest.
Four for $40 or $13 each
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Woollie Undies Are Best
"Writing and/or publishing children's books
can be fascinating at times. One stumbles across all sorts of
information.
For instance, when I was producing the Teachers' Technology
Curriculum Resource, Levels 1 & 2 on Protective Clothing,
I talked to someone from the New Zealand Air Force to find out
about the clothing worn by pilots. During our conversation we
talked about flying on civilian airlines and some commonsense
precautions for those who are nervous about flying.
Apparently, deaths in aeroplane crashes that involve a
survivable impact are usually caused by fire after the crash.
Immediately upon impact, there is almost always a flash fire
as spilt fuel, etc, ignites. If the passenger doesn't breath
in the flames and sear his lungs, or if his clothes don't burst
into flame, he stands a good chance of getting out alive. However
most people wear artificial materials these days and these materials
(especially nylon) will burst into flame in a flash fire and
cause horrific injuries and shock that may stop the passenger
from escaping from the plane wreckage.
So, according to the man from the Air Force, most savvy
Air Force people wear a woollen outer layer and cotton underclothes
when flying on civilian planes.
- ... Now, where's me woolly undies?"
Allan Kirk
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Anyone For A Swim?
- The Cook Islands book in our Blue Pacific series was apparently
very useful at the time a ferocious EI Nino cyclone, Cyclone
Martin, wreaked havoc on two of the islands in the Cooks, with
sea water sweeping over the islands and only luck and one strong
building saving the inhabitants of Rakahanga.
At least one teacher was more than delighted to have access
to a copy of the book. "I took the opportunity to read up
on Manihiki Island in your book and was able to tell the kids
that, in common with most atolls, Manihiki is only a few feet
above sea level. Since our school is on cliffs above the sea,
I was expecting 'Will we be swept away too' questions. At the
least, your book saved us from having to buy lifejackets for
a bunch of nervous children!" |
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