Wednesday, October 21, 2009


ASB bulges with new currency

Building the country’s first and largest Wordbank was an exciting challenge for staff at ASB, and with children dropping off their entries at branches all over the country, the bank is bulging with new currency: words.

Words are the newest form of collateral this October - New Zealand Book Month, and kids are proving that they know what our words are worth. Five to thirteen year olds have been asked to write a letter to their favourite Kiwi author, telling them why they love their books and stories, and then post or drop their words – in letter form – into their nearest ASB branch.

With less than two weeks to go, the inaugural ASB Wordbank competition is proving popular with Kiwi kids. And so too are the prizes – behind the scenes visits to Auckland Zoo and Shortland Street, rides in a Hot Rod, books and more. Communities get the chance to win big too as ASB branches with the most entries can select a school or library to receive books and author visits.

Authors are also getting excited about what Kiwi kids have to say. Fifi Colston, children’s author, illustrator and TV presenter says, “Feedback from kids about my books is fertiliser for my creativitree. It helps me grow, thrive, blossom and produce that delectable fruit called 'story'.” And this year’s children’s choice award winner Melinda Szymanik notes, “Hearing from people who’ve read your books is the best gift a reader can give an author. We love knowing what you think and finding out whether the things we enjoyed writing the most are the things you’ve enjoyed reading the most.”

Director of NZ Book Month Michele Powles is animated about the competition. “Kids genuinely want to let authors know what they thought of their stories, and for authors it’s the best feedback possible. It’s fantastic to be partnering with a company like ASB who has such a strong profile in local schools and communities, so that we can get national reach with this promotion.”

The ASB Wordbanks close at 4pm on Friday the 30th of October. For entry forms and further information go to http://www.nzbookmonth.co.nz/ or pop into any local ASB branch.

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