Books make the best presents!

December is here once more.  As the doors on advent calendars begin to open our thoughts turn to Christmas so, for this month's blog, we're going to look at some of 2019's best books for children (of all ages), perfect for loaning from your local library or for putting under the tree for the big day.

The Smeds and the Smoos by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler - The Smeds (who are red) never mix with the Smoos (who are blue). So when a young Smed and Smoo fall in love, their families strongly disapprove. But peace is restored and love conquers all in this happiest of love stories. There's even a gorgeous purple baby to celebrate!

The Beast of Buckingham Palace by David Walliams -  It is 2120 and London is in ruins.  The young Prince Alfred has never known a life outside Buckingham Palace – but when strange goings-on breach its walls and stalk the corridors in the dead of night, he is thrust into a world of mystery, adventure and monsters.

The Christmasaurus and the Winter Witch by Tom Fletcher - A year has passed since a boy named William Trundle had an incredible adventure with the most extraordinary dinosaur: the Christmasaurus.  Now, William is about to be swept back to the North Pole and meet the icy, mysterious and magical Winter Witch, whose power to control time allows Santa to travel all around the world on Christmas Eve.

The Secret Commonwealth: The Book of Dust Volume 2 by Philip Pullman - Lyra, now twenty, and her daemon are forced to navigate their relationship in a way they could never have imagined as they are drawn into the complex and dangerous factions of a world that they had no idea existed. Pulled along on his own journey too is Malcolm; once a boy with a boat and a mission to save a baby from the flood, now a man with a strong sense of duty and a desire to do what is right. 

Curl up with a good book this festive period!

Mae Rhagfyr yma unwaith eto. Wrth i’r drysau ar galendrau Adfent ddechrau agor, mae ein meddyliau’n dechrau troi at y Nadolig ac felly, ar gyfer blog y mis hwn, rydym yn mynd i edrych ar rai o lyfrau gorau 2019 i blant (o bob oed), sy’n berffaith i’w benthyca gan eich llyfrgell leol neu i’w rhoi o dan y goeden ar gyfer y diwrnod mawr.

The Smeds and the Smoos gan Julia Donaldson ac Axel Scheffler – Dyw’r Smeds (sy’n goch) byth yn cymysgu gyda’r Smoos (sy’n las). Felly pan fod Smed a Smoo ifanc yn cwympo mewn cariad, mae eu teuluoedd yn ffyrnig yn erbyn. Ond daw heddwch unwaith eto ac mae cariad yn rhagori yn y stori serch yma.  Mae yna fabi bach porffor i goroni’r cyfan hefyd!

The Beast of Buckingham Palace gan David Walliams -  Mae’n 2120 ac mae Llundain yn deilchion. Dyw’r Tywysog Alfred ifanc ddim yn gyfarwydd o gwbl gyda bywyd y tu allan i Balas Buckingham - ond pan fo pethau od yn torri trwy’r waliau ac yn troedio’r coridorau yng nghanol y nos, caiff ei daflu i fyd o ddirgelwch, antur ac angenfilod.

The Christmasaurus and the Winter Witch gan Tom Fletcher - Mae blwyddyn wedi mynd heibio ers i fachgen o’r enw William Trundle gael antur anhygoel gyda’r dinosor mwyaf anarferol: y Christmasaurus. Nawr, mae William ar fin gael ei ysgubo yn ôl i Begwn y Gogledd i gwrdd â Gwrach y Gaeaf sydd, trwy ei gallu i reoli amser, yn galluogi Siôn Corn i deithio o gwmpas y byd ar Noswyl Nadolig.

The Secret Commonwealth: The Book of Dust Volume 2 gan Philip Pullman – Mae Lyra, bellach yn ugain oed, a’i daemon yn cael eu gorfodi i lywio’u perthynas mewn ffordd na fydden nhw byth wedi dychmygu wrth iddyn nhw gael eu tynnu i mewn i garfannau cymhleth a pheryglus byd nad oedden nhw’n sylweddoli ei fod yn bodoli. Yn cael ei dynnu ar ei daith ei hun hefyd mae Malcolm, a fu unwaith yn fachgen gyda chwch a chennad i achub baban o’r llifogydd, ac sydd nawr yn ddyn gyda synnwyr clir o ddyletswydd ac awydd gwneud yr hyn sy’n iawn. 

Eisteddwch ‘nôl gyda llyfr da dros yr ŵyl!

The Booker Prize 2019

The Booker Prize (awarded annually to the best novel of the year written in English and published in the UK or Ireland) has brought recognition, reward and readership to outstanding fiction for over 50 years.  This year was no exception with not one but two winners of the prize!

We’re going to look at the full shortlist this month, all thoughtful stories that are well worth a read:

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood - More than fifteen years after the events of The Handmaid’s Tale, the theocratic regime of the Republic of Gilead maintains its grip on power, but there are signs it is beginning to rot from within…

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo - Girl, Woman, Other follows the lives and struggles of 12 very different characters. Mostly women, black and British, they tell the stories of their families, friends and lovers, across the country and through the years. 

Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann - Latticing one cherry pie after another, an Ohio housewife tries to bridge the gaps between reality and the torrent of meaningless info that is the United States of America. 

An Orchestra of Minorities by Chigozie Obioma - A contemporary twist on Homer’s Odyssey, Chigozie Obioma weaves a heart-wrenching epic about the tension between destiny and determination.

Quichotte by Salman Rushdie - Inspired by the classic Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes, Quichotte is the story of an aging travelling salesman who falls in love with a TV star and sets off to drive across America on a quest to prove himself worthy of her hand.

10 Minutes 38 Seconds In This Strange World by Elif Shafak - For Leila, each minute after her death brings a sensuous memory: the taste of spiced goat stew, sacrificed by her father to celebrate the long-awaited birth of a son. Each memory, too, recalls the friends she made at each key moment in her life – friends who are now desperately trying to find her. .

Mae Gwobr Booker (a gyflwynir pob blwyddyn i nofel orau’r flwyddyn yn Saesneg ac wedi ei chyhoeddi yn y DU neu Iwerddon) wedi dod â chydnabyddiaeth, gwobrau a darllenwyr i ffuglen ragorol ers dros 50 mlynedd.  Doedd eleni ddim yn eithriad gyda nid un ond dwy enillydd.

Rydym ni’n mynd i edrych ar y rhestr fer lawn y mis yma, pob un yn stori ystyrlon sy’n werth eu darllen:

The Testaments gan Margaret Atwood – Dros bymtheg mlynedd ers digwyddiadau The Handmaid’s Tale, mae theocratiaeth Gweriniaeth Gilead yn dal i afael yn dynn ar ei grym, ond mae yn arwyddion ei bod yn dechrau pydru o’r tu mewn …

Girl, Woman, Other gan Bernadine Evaristo – Mae Girl, Woman, Other yn dilyn bywydau a brwydrau 12 o gymeriadau gwahanol iawn.  Mae’r rhan fwyaf yn fenywod, yn ddu ac yn Brydeinig ac maen nhw’n adrodd storïau eu teuluoedd, ffrindiau a chariadon, ar draws y wlad a thros y blynyddoedd. 

Ducks, Newburyport gan Lucy Ellmann - Wrth addurno un darten geirios ar ôl y llall, mae gwraig tŷ o Ohio’n ceisio pontio agendor rhwng y gwirionedd a’r llif o wybodaeth ddiystyr sy’n cwmpasu Unol Daleithiau America.

An Orchestra of Minorities gan Chigozie Obioma – Tro modern ar Odyseia Homer, mae Chigozie Obioma’n gweu stori arwrol a dirdynnol am y tyndra rhwng ffawd a rhagderfyniad.

Quichotte gan Salman Rushdie – wedi ei hysbrydoli gan y clasur Don Quixote gan Miguel de Cervantes, stori yw Quichotte am drafeiliwr oedrannus sy’n syrthio mewn cariad â seren o’r teledu ac mae’n cychwyn ar daith ar draws America mewn ymgais i brofi ei fod yn deilwng o’i llaw.

10 Minutes 38 Seconds In This Strange World gan Elif Shafak – I Leila, mae pob munud ar ôl ei marwolaeth yn dod â chof synhwyrus: blas cawl gafr a aberthwyd gan ei thad i ddathlu genedigaeth mab. Mae pob cof hefyd yn dod ag atgofion o’r ffrindiau y bu iddi gwrdd â nhw ar bob adeg allweddol yn ei bywyd – ffrindiau sydd ar dân eisiau cael hyd iddi nawr. .

BorrowBox - The Best Titles Without the Queue!

Did you know that your Torfaen Libraries membership card gives you access to the fantastic BorrowBox service, an online library of ebooks and eaudiobooks that can be downloaded to your phone, tablet or PC?

Well now it’s got even better with major titles being chosen regularly for library users across Wales to loan with NO queues!  There are junior and adult titles available now so all the family can take advantage.  Perhaps you’ll try the thriller by David Baldacci, a mystery by Kate Morton or maybe share a bit of Winnie the Pooh before bed if you have little ones at home?

The Memory Man by David Baldacci (ebook and eaudiobook) - The first in the Amos Decker series, Memory Man by blockbuster author David Baldacci, features an extraordinary man racing to hunt down a terrible killer.  Amos must endure the memories he would rather forget, and when new evidence links the murders, he is left with only one option…

The Lake House by Kate Morton (ebook and eaudiobook) - In the attic writing room of her elegant Hampstead home, the formidable Alice Edevane, now an old lady, leads a life as neatly plotted as the bestselling detective novels she writes. Until a young police detective starts asking questions about her family's past, seeking to resurrect the complex tangle of secrets Alice has spent her life trying to escape...

The 13 Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths (ebook and eaudiobook) - Andy and Terry live in the WORLD'S BEST treehouse! It's got a giant catapult, a secret underground laboratory, a tank of man-eating sharks and a marshmallow machine that follows you around and shoots marshmallows into your mouth whenever you're hungry!

The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne (eaudiobook) - 'One day when Pooh Bear had nothing else to do, he thought he would do something, so he went round to Piglet's house to see what Piglet was doing.'

This is the second classic children’s story by A.A. Milne about Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood. In this volume Pooh meets the irrepressible Tigger for the first time, learns to play Poohsticks and sets a trap for a Heffalump.

If you need any help setting up BorrowBox on your device pop into any of our IT drop in sessions in Cwmbran, Pontypool or Blaenavon.

Oeddech chi’n gwybod bod eich cerdyn aelodaeth Llyfrgelloedd Torfaen yn eich galluogi i ddefnyddio gwasanaeth BorrowBox, llyfrgell ar-lein o e-lyfrau ac e-lyfrau clywedol y mae modd eu lawrlwytho i’ch ffôn, tabled neu gyfrifiadur?

Wel, mae’n well fyth nawr gyda theitlau mawr yn cael eu dewis yn rheolaidd i ddefnyddwyr llyfrgelloedd ar draws Cymru gyda DIM ciwiau!  Mae yna lyfrau i’r rhai iau ac i’r oedolion ar gael nawr felly gall y teulu i gyd gymryd mantais.  

Efallai y byddwch chi am roi tro ar nofel gyffrous David Baldacci, dirgelwch gan Kate Morton neu efallai rhannu darn o Winnie the Pooh cyn cysgu os oes rhai bach gyda chi.

The Memory Man gan David Baldacci (e-lyfr ac e-lyfr clywedol) – Y cyntaf yng nghyfres Amos Decker, mae Memory Man gan yr awdur poblogaidd David Baldacci, yn cyflwyno dyn anhygoel ar ras i ddal llofrudd ofnadwy.  Rhaid i Amos oddef yr atgofion y byddai’n well ganddo eu hanghofio, a phan fo tystiolaeth newydd yn cysylltu’r llofruddiaethau, dim ond un dewis sydd ar ôl ganddo…

The Lake House gan Kate Morton (e-lyfr ac e-lyfr clywedol) - Yn yr ystafell ysgrifennu yn yr atig yn ei chartref moethus yn Hampstead, mae Alice Edevane, sydd erbyn hyn yn hen fenyw, yn byw bywyd sydd mor drefnus â’r nofelau ditectif poblogaidd y mae hi’n ysgrifennu. Tan fydd ditectif ifanc yn dechrau holi am gefndir ei theulu, gan geisio atgyfodi’r cyfrinachau cymhleth y mae Alice wedi ceisio dianc rhagddyn nhw trwy gydol ei hoes...

The 13 Storey Treehouse gan Andy Griffiths (e-lyfr ac e-lyfr clywedol) - Mae Andy a Terry’n byw yn y tŷ coed GORAU YN Y BYD!  Mae ganddo gatapwlt anferth, labordy tanddaearol dirgel, tanc o siarcod a pheiriant malws melys sy’n eich dilyn chi ac yn saethu malws i’ch ceg pan fyddwch eisiau bwyd!

The House at Pooh Corner gan A.A. Milne (e-lyfr clywedol) - 'Un diwrnod, pan nad oedd gan Pooh unrhyw beth arall i’w wneud, meddyliodd y byddai’n gwneud rhywbeth, felly fe aeth i dŷ Piglet i weld beth oedd Piglet yn gwneud.'

Dyma ail glasur A.A. Milne i blant am Winnie-the-Pooh a’i ffrindiau yn y Goedwig Can Erw. Yn y gyfrol hon mae Pooh yn cwrdd â Tigger am y tro cyntaf, yn dysgu sut mae chwarae Poohsticks ac yn gosod trap ar gyfer Heffalump.

Os angen help arnoch chi i gael BorrowBox ar eich dyfais, galwch i mewn i un o’n sesiynau TG yng Nghwmbrân, Pont-y-pŵl neu Flaenafon.

Congratulations to the new Children’s Laureate – Cressida Cowell

Last month Cressida Cowell, author and illustrator of the ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ series and the Emily Brown picture books, was crowned the Waterstones Children’s Laureate 2019-2021.

On succeeding Lauren Child, Cressida described books and reading as “magic” and promised to campaign for the right for books to be for everyone, starting with campaigning for funding and improvements to public and school library services and encouraging schools to allow children to be creative.

To celebrate our new Children’s Laureate why not pop into your local Torfaen library and take out one of her books to share with your eager reader?

How to Train Your Dragon - In the first ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ book Hiccup must lead ten novices in their initiation into the Hairy Hooligan Tribe. They have to train their dragons or be BANISHED from the tribe FOR EVER!

But what if Hiccup's dragon resembles an ickle brown bunny with wings? And has NO TEETH? The Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus is stirring and wants to devour every Viking on the Isle of Berk . . . Can Hiccup save the tribe - and become a Hero?

Emily Brown and the Thing - Emily Brown and her rabbit, Stanley, are trying to sleep. But a Splish-Splosh noise is keeping them awake...
It's a Thing! And this Thing just won't go to sleep. Emily Brown and Rabbit try everything, but nothing works. Just what could be the matter?

Wizards of Once - Xar is a Wizard boy who has no Magic, and will do anything to get it. Wish is a Warrior girl, but she owns a banned Magical Object, and she will do anything to conceal it.

In this whirlwind adventure, Xar and Wish must forget their differences if they're going to make it to the dungeons at Warrior Fort.  Where something that has been sleeping for hundreds of years is stirring...

Y mis diwethaf, coronwyd Cressida Cowell, awdur a darlunydd y gyfres ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ a llyfrau lluniau Emily Brown, yn Awdur Llawryfog Plant Waterstones  2019-2021.

Wrth olynu Lauren Child, disgrifiodd Cressida lyfrau a darllen fel “hud a lledrith” ac addawodd y byddai’n ymgyrchu dros yr hawl i lyfrau fod yn rhywbeth i bawb, gan ddechrau gydag ymgyrchu am arian a gwelliannau i wasanaethau llyfrgell cyhoeddus a llyfrgelloedd ysgolion, ac annog ysgolion i ganiatáu i blant fod yn greadigol.

I ddathlu ein Hawdur Llawryfog Plant newydd, pam nag ewch draw i’ch llyfrgell leol yn Nhorfaen a benthyg un o’i llyfrau i’w rannu gyda’ch darllenwr brwd?

How to Train Your Dragon – Yn y llyfr cyntaf ‘How to Train Your Dragon’, rhaid i Hiccup arwain deg newyddian ar eu derbyniad i’r Hairy Hooligan Tribe. Rhaid iddyn nhw hyfforddi eu dreigiau neu gael eu HALLTUDIO o’r llwyth AM BYTH!

Ond beth os yw draig Hiccup yn edrych yn debyg i gwningen fach frown gydag adenydd? A HEB DDANNEDD? Mae’r Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus yn cynhyrfu ac mae eisiau bwyta pob Llychlynnwr ar Ynys Berk . . . A all Hiccup achub y llwyth – a dod yn Arwr?

Emily Brown and the Thing – Mae Emily Brown a’i chwningen, Stanley, yn ceisio cysgu. Ond mae sŵn Splish-Splosh yn eu cadw’n effro...
Peth ydy o! Ac nid yw’r Peth yma am fynd i gysgu. Mae Emily Brown a’r Gwningen yn rhoi cynnig ar bopeth, ond ‘does dim byd yn gweithio. Beth allai fod o’i le?

Wizards of Once – Mae Xar yn Ddewin-fachgen heb unrhyw Hud a Lledrith, ac fe wnaiff unrhyw beth i gael peth. Mae Wish yn ferch sy’n Rhyfelwr, ond mae ganddi Wrthrych Hud sydd wedi ei wahardd, ac fe wnaiff unrhyw beth i’w guddio.

Yn yr antur gwyllt hwn, rhaid i Xar a Wish anghofio eu gwahaniaethau os ydyn nhw’n mynd i gyrraedd y dwnsiwn yn Warrior Fort.  Lle mae rhywbeth sydd wedi bod yn cysgu am gannodd o flynyddoedd yn dechrau deffro...

Children invited to join Space Chase at Torfaen Libraries

Torfaen Libraries are calling for children to sign up to read six books this summer as part of Space Chase, Summer Reading Challenge 2019. #SpaceChase

The Summer Reading Challenge asks 4-11 year olds to borrow and read any six library books over the summer. The theme for the 2019 Summer Reading Challenge is Space Chase, inspired by the 50^th anniversary of the first moon landing.

Children will team up with futuristic family The Rockets for an exciting space mission as they track down books nabbed by a mischievous band of aliens. As children read library books for the Summer Reading Challenge, they will receive special stickers, some with mysterious smells. By adding these stickers to their collectable mission folders, young readers will help the Rockets solve clues, dodge asteroids and discover the missing books, having lots of fun and adventures along the way.

To take part in Space Chase, all children need to do is sign up at their nearest library, where they will be given a collector folder to keep a record of their Summer Reading Challenge journey.

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Gwahoddwyd plant i ymuno â’r Ras Ofod mewn llyfrgelloedd Torfaen

Mae llyfrgelloedd Torfaen yn galw ar blant i gofrestru i ddarllen chwe llyfr yr haf hwn fel rhan o’r Ras Ofod, Sialens Ddarllen yr Haf 2019.

Mae Sialens Ddarllen yr Haf yn gofyn i blant 4-11 oed fenthyca a darllen unrhyw chwe llyfr llyfrgell dros yr haf. Thema Sialens Ddarllen Haf 2019 yw Ras Ofod, wedi'i hysbrydoli gan dathlu hanner canmlwyddiant y glaniad lleuad cyntaf.

Bydd plant yn ymuno â theulu’r Rocediaid, am antur gyffrous yn y gofod, wrth iddyn nhw ddod o hyd i lyfrau sydd wedi cael eu dwyn gan fand direidus o estroniaid. Wrth i blant ddarllen llyfrau llyfrgell ar gyfer Sialens Ddarllen yr Haf, byddant yn derbyn sticeri arbennig, rhai gydag arogleuon rhyfedd. Trwy ychwanegu'r sticeri hyn at eu ffolderi, bydd darllenwyr ifanc yn helpu'r Rocediaid i ddatrys cliwiau, osgoi'r asteroidau a darganfod y llyfrau coll, a cael llawer o hwyl ac anturiaethau ar hyd y ffordd.