Interview with Susan Brocker

Interviewer: What is your favourite food?

Susan: Hot Thai and Indian food, yummy.

Interviewer: Do you have a nickname?

Susan: When (1) I _________ little I was called Suzie Wong, and now my family and friends just (2) _________ me Suzie.

Interviewer: How do you relax?

Susan: I (3) _______ my lovely big horse called Barney. I love trekking along the beach (4) ______ through the bush. I also play fetch and walk with my dog Yogi.

Interviewer: Who inspired you when you were little?

Susan: Walt Disney. I loved the films he made and the show Disneyland that was on TV when I was little.

Interviewer: What were you like at school?

Susan: I was very naughty! I always talked (5) ______ and asked too many questions.

Interviewer: What was your favourite/least favourite subject at school?

Susan: My favourite subject was English, especially writing stories. My (6) ______ hated subject was maths because I could never learn the times table off by heart.

Interviewer: What was the book you most loved as a child?

Susan: That’s difficult because I loved so many. But I think if I had to choose it would be The Snow Goose, by Paul Gallico.

Interviewer: Which person from the past would you most like (7) _______?

Susan: Gandhi. He loved peace and brought about good changes through his peaceful actions. He also inspired (8) ______ wonderful people like Dr Martin Luther King.

Interviewer: Who is your favourite author/children’s author?

Susan: Again that’s tricky as I enjoy so many, but I guess I’d say Jack London.

Interviewer: Why did you want to be a writer?

Susan: I’ve always loved writing, even when I was little. I think it was (9) ______ escape for me. I could go anywhere and do anything in my stories.

Interviewer: Do you have a special place where you write your books?

Susan: I live in a lovely old villa on a farm (10) ______ I write in my study which looks out over the hills to the sea.

Interviewer: What’s the best thing and worst thing about being a writer or illustrator?

Susan: The best thing about writing is that I can let my imagination run wild. The worst thing is that it can be lonely sometimes. If you weren’t a writer, what would you like to be? I would like to be a vet and work with (11) ______ , especially wild animals.

Interviewer: What advice would you give to aspiring writers or illustrators?

Susan: To all writers I would say write, write, write! And also read - read everything you (12) ______ find, and enjoy!

Interview with Susan Brocker, Christchurch City Libraries website http://my.christchurchcitylibraries.com/new-zealand-childrens-authors/susan-brocker/ accessed: 15/08/2016

Kites – A popular hobby

People have been making and flying kites for about 2,000 years. No one knows for sure who invented the kite. Some historians believe the (13) ______ Chinese may have started kite flying 2000 years ago. It is (14) ______ a popular hobby in China, Japan and Korea and in (15) ______ countries of the Far East where beautifully decorated kites appear in different colours. In China there is even a special Kites Day on which (16) ______ and adults fly kites. In Japan families fly fish kites on Children's Day, May 5th.

Simple kites are (17) ______ by crossing two sticks and covering (18) ______ with paper or cloth. Then (19) ______ attach a string at the end. More expensive kites have frames made of fiberglass, plastic or aluminium. The (20) ______ comes from a graceful bird called kite.

Kites are made in (21) ______ different sizes, colours and (22) ______. A flat kite is the (23) ______ and simplest (24) ______ of kite.

It (25) ______ because air flows over and under the kite’s wing. The (26) ______ under the wing helps the kite (27) ______ into the air.

Kites have also been (28) ______ in experiments. Early scientists sent kites up into the air to measure temperature at different heights. In 1752, Benjamin Franklin used a kite to prove that lightning was a form of electricity. He (29) ______ a metal key to the string of a kite. When lightning hit the kite, electricity passed (30) ______ the string and Franklin got an electric shock. It was a very (31) ______ experiment that you shouldn't copy.

Reproduced from www.english-online.at with permission from Klaus Rosmanitz.

Making a real difference for “Red Puppy Bikkie Day”

Kiwi bakers are being urged to heat up their ovens and whip up puppy-shaped biscuits for a good cause.

The Blind Foundation is (32) ______ to pay for the breeding and training of guide dogs for (33) ______ who are blind or have low vision.

“Red Puppy Bikkie Day” is on July 4 and keen bakers are (34) ______ to make a difference by selling puppy-shaped biscuits.

Thousands of biscuits were baked and sold last year as part of the day and the foundation is hoping even (35) ______ bakers will take up the challenge this year.

Everyone who (36) ______ for the event gets a free puppy-shaped cookie cutter, along with access to tips, recipe ideas, decorating inspiration and resources to make their “Bikkie Day” a huge (37) ______ .

Foundation chief executive Sandra Budd says guide dog puppies now in training will one day be the (38) ______ of New Zealanders who are blind or have low vision.

"Raising guide dogs requires a staggering (39) ______ of time, effort and money," she says.

They are taught to guide people around hazards, negotiate traffic, locate (40) _______ destinations and travel on public (41) ______.

The average time spent (42) ______ for a guide dog is around 12 months but it can take longer if people have specific needs. Budd says guide dogs allow those who are blind or have low vision to enjoy independence and freedom. Everyone who raises more than $100 will go in the draw to name a guide dog puppy.  

Reproduced with permission from the Blind Foundation

New Zealand

Kia Ora

New Zealand is in the south-western Pacific Ocean and consists of two larger mountainous islands, North Island and South Island, and various smaller islands. The islands have a lot of unusual wildlife not found (43) ______ else in the world, including birds such as the endangered kiwi. The islands were first inhabited by the Maori people, who came from Polynesia around 1000 AD. The Dutch (44) ______ the islands in the 1600s and named them New Zealand but they didn't (45) ______ ; Captain James Cook brought the British to the islands in 1769.

Kiwis

Kiwis are flightless birds native to New Zealand, and have become a symbol and nickname for New Zealanders all over the world. They are about the size (46) ______ a chicken. Kiwis are unusual because they have the largest eggs, (47) ______ their own body size, of any bird in the world.

Sheep

New Zealand is also (48) ______ for its sheep! Sheep are (49) _______ all over the world to provide wool and food, but are particularly (50) _______ with Australia, New Zealand and, within the British Isles, Wales.

Poi and Poi Dancers

Poi is the Maori (51) _______ for ball on a string. Poi were used many years (52) ______ by the Maori people of New Zealand to (53) ______ their arms and hands and build the skills needed for battle (men) and weaving (women). Eventually Maori women began to show off their skills in a (54) ______ dance.

Maori Tattoo

Important Maori men always had distinctive facial tattoos, often very (55) ______ designs which were (56) ______ and very painful! Women sometimes had tattoos around their mouths and chins, too.

Silver Fern

New Zealand has some of the most (57) ______ ferns in the world and the silver fern is a national symbol. You often see the spiral shape of the unfurled silver fern leaf, the koru, in art, and koru necklaces carved out of bone were (and still are) popular. There are about 190 (58) ______ of fern in New Zealand, ranging in (59) ______ from a few centimetres up to 24 metres tall! The silver fern is a symbol of New Zealand and is on the front of the rugby top of the national rugby team, the All Blacks. The national netball team is known as the Silver Ferns and the fern is their logo, too.

Maori Necklaces

Traditional Maori necklaces came in various different designs with special meanings, and they are still popular today.

The Haka

New Zealand rugby team, the All Blacks, is famous for the Haka - a traditional Maori war dance – that is performed to (60) ______ the other team before the start of a rugby match!

Reproduced from www.activityvillage.co.uk with permission from Activity Village