Story Box Library -  Watch and listen to some of your favourite stories being read by Australian and New Zealand storytellers.

Story Box Library Activity of the Month: July

International Day of Friendship, 30 July, How to Make Friends: A Bear's Guide.

Bear has lots of friends if you count her toys, but she’s not sure how to make real friends. And she especially wants to be friends with Koala and Lamb. They both have fluffy ears and like green things. What’s a timid bear to do? This is a story about making friends while keeping the qualities (and quirks!) that make you unique.

Celebrate International Day of Friendship, 30 July, with this activity available from Story Box Library linked to the story: How to Make Friends: A Bear's Guide, written by Cat Rabbit, illustrated by Cat Rabbit, performed by Libearian Bear Alexandra Schepisi, published By Berbay Publishing, 2021.

Bake a cake for a friend.

Show a friend how special they are to you by baking them a yummy cake!

What you need:

• Your favourite cake recipe (or use the easy chocolate cake recipe below.
• Sprinkles if
• Paper and pens

1. Carefully read the recipe instructions and bake your cake with an adult. Remember and adult will have to help with using to stove or oven!
2. While you are baking why don’t you tell your adult helper who you are gifting your cake to and why? What makes them such a special friend?
3. Once your cake is cooled you may like to decorate your cake with icing and sprinkles.
4. Use your paper and pens to create a little note to go with your cake.
5. Organise to deliver your cake to your special friend!

Easy chocolate cake recipe

• 1 1/3 cup self-raising flour
• 2 eggs
• 125g butter- softened
• ½ cup milk
• ½ cup cocoa
• 1 1/4 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup water

1. Beat butter, sugar, eggs, flour, cocoa and water in a bowl.
2. Pour into a lined 20 cm cake tin and bake for approximately 1 hour minutes at 180C/160C fan forced.
3. Use a skewer to check that that centre of the cake is cooked.
4. Remove from tin to cool.
5. Once cool decorate with icing of your choice.

To access Story Box Library and activities online, free with your Waimakariri library card number and PIN, go to our Tamariki/Children's eLibrary, from our Tamariki/Children’s Space, where you will also find more resources that are relevant to preschool, and primary school aged children.

This is  one of our activities eligible for Children's University.

Please show library staff a pic of you completing the activity, or show a staff member the completed activity, to get a stamp in your Passport to Learning.