Wednesday 22 June 2016

Library News: Who Are Zinnia and Gwendoline?

When we first decided to start this blog we wanted to come up with some fun names that weren't ours so that our identity could remain a mystery, although if you have come to one of our workshops you will know who we are.  After a considerable amount of deliberation we decided on the names of antagonists, or villains, in some of our favourite childhood books.  If one of these ladies piques your attention, you could always find their books in the library!

Zinnia Wormwood is the name of Matilda's mother in Roald Dahl's Matilda and she isn't a very good mother to her.  The vain mother obviously doesn't take her role very seriously and never protects poor Matilda from the terrors that are her Father and her Headmistress at school, Miss Trunchbull.  The ditsy nature of the character is often the source of much comedy in the book and the movie based on it, with lines such as "You chose books and I chose looks.".  Her obsession with playing bingo and watching television soap operas makes us glad that it's poor Matilda and not us who have to have her as a mother.


The Malory Towers series by Enid Blyton is where we meet Gwendoline Lacey, a spoilt only child who is sent to live at the boarding school with the rest of the girls and is famous for having to brush her hair 100 times a day.  She isn't very widely liked as many of her classmates see her as lazy, selfish, a hypocrite and untruthful and throughout the book a rivalry forms between her and the other girls.  Gwendoline doesn't really have any true friends in the books, only posing as one when she has something to gain from someone.  Her actions did lead to a lot of antics in the story, like her playing tricks on another girl and trying to blame others for it!

So Zinnia and Gwendoline are the girls you love to hate, because really without them some of the books we so love to read would be totally boring.  We hope that throughout the year we have been a form of entertainment to you just like we have really enjoyed bringing new content to you each week.  Some really exciting things will be happening when school resumes in a couple of weeks time.  Until then you could spend the holidays catching up on all the posts you have missed throughout the year...  Zinnia and Gwendoline


Character: Mrs Wormwood [Image]. Retrieved from https://www.tumblr.com/search/character:%20mrs%20wormwood

What happened to Gwendoline Lacey [Image]. Retrieved from http://www.compulsiveconfessions.com/2014/04/what-happened-after-malory-towers.html




Tuesday 14 June 2016

Movies you didn’t know were books first

There have been countless movies made based on books, for example Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings and The Hunger Games. What you wouldn't believe is that there are some major movies based on books that you had no idea about. We read this really cool article that sums up 20 famous movies based on books. Since there are so many we thought we'd sum up the most shocking ones, so lets get right into it!

  1. Clueless is a classic chick-flick, its an entertaining way to spend an hour. We always thought this was a fun loving movie not to be taken too seriously or that had much foundation. But did you know that its actually based on a book called Emma by Jane Austen, whose book we recently reviewed. 
  2. Pitch Perfect is a great example for a famous movie that not many people know was based on a book called Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate A Cappella Glory. This one is a bit of a quirky case though, because its all about music and singing, you would think its simply a movie. None the less the book is a great read. 
  3. Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends & Other Realities of Adolescence, I doubt you would be able to guess what movie was based off this book. MEAN GIRLS the next best chick-flick out. Of course the genius mind of an author would have conjured this up.


  4.  
To end this mind blowing post we would like remind you all that we are having another workshop tomorrow so come along to have a good time and celebrate the joys of reading. Until next week Zinnia and Gwendoline :)

Wednesday 8 June 2016

Special Event: Bookmark Colouring

The semester, and for those who aren't transitioning into the Australian school year system the year, is almost over.  We're also about to mark almost a year of posting on the gissLibraryBlog, so we thought to celebrate we would use the opportunity to reward our dedicated readers and maybe attract some new ones.  So let's all meet on Thursday the 16th of June in the big break at the library of course and we can all have a chat about what we love about reading over some therapeutic colouring.  We all know that calling it a day (or night) and having to put aside your book is quite possibly one of the more traumatising aspects of loving reading.  The only thing that makes it slightly better is having a fun bookmark to help you remember where you left off.  That's why your work of art can also double as a bookmark making it a fun, creative and practical activity, so what's holding you back?  We love these bookmarks by Dawn Nicole Designs and will have plenty of copies on hand on the day, but you're welcome to get a head start if you want to!  We can hardly wait to see you then!! Zinnia and Gwendoline

Find fun bookmark printouts here:http://bydawnnicole.com/2015/05/free-printable-coloring-page-bookmarks.htmlutm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=facebook_page&utm_mediu
m=By%20Dawn%20Nicole&utm_content=Free%20Printable%20Co

You Don't Get Enough Sleep [Image]. Retrieved from https://media.bookbub.com/blog/2015/07/01/8-ways-reading-is-ruining-your-life/