The Sapling is a website all about children’s books … because books grow humans. Founded by Jane Arthur and Sarah Forster, the aim of The Sapling is to find conversations nobody has been able to have in the main media about children’s books and give them a good airing.
Winner of the 2018 Special Industry Award at the NZ Book Industry Awards, awarded to ‘a company or individual for innovation, or for an important contribution to the book trade in Aotearoa in the last year’. Founding editor Sarah Forster also won the 2021 Storylines Betty Gilderdale Award for her contribution to children’s literature.
Kaupapa / Mission
1. WHAKANUI / CELEBRATE
To celebrate the excellence and diversity of children’s books in Aotearoa and abroad.
2. KŌRERORERO / DISCUSS
To present wide-ranging and meaningful discussions about children’s books and their contexts, content and creation.
3. WHANAUNGATANGA / CONNECT
To connect people and organisations through their shared interest in children’s books, and foster an online sense of community and kinship.
4. WHAKAWHANUI / EXPAND
To entice new and unlikely readers of all ages, and challenge them to view children’s books as worthy of attention.
Reviewing Policy
The Sapling strives to fair-mindedly comment on and critique Aotearoa books, publishers, and the industry as a whole. We aim to be honest in the kindest way we can. Except in the case of factual errors, no correspondence relating to reviews or other content will be entered into, and no part of a review or other article will be made available to publishers, authors, illustrators or any other organisation or individual outside The Sapling prior to publication. We will not respond to requests to remove reviews or other content.
ABOUT THE EDITORS
The Sapling is run by lead editor Harriet Elworthy, with support from editors Nida Fiazi and Claudia Palmer, along with founding editor, Sarah Forster. They fit editorial work around their families, day jobs, and other responsibilities so might take a day or two to get back to you.
For more information about submissions and getting books reviewed, see our Contact page.
HARRIET ELWORTHY worked in the book trade in New Zealand and Australia for fifteen years, as an editor and bookseller. She has a Diploma in Publishing from Whitireia Polytechnic, and a BA (Hons) in History from Canterbury University. She also works as a kaiako and facilitator with Playcentre Aotearoa, where she enjoys promoting homegrown children’s books to a new generation and their parents. She lives in Te Whanganui-a-Tara with her family.
NIDA FIAZI has worked in the New Zealand book industry for the past five years as a poet, editor, reviewer, and advocate for better representation in literature. She is a Hazara Kiwi Muslim and a former refugee based in Kirikiriroa. Her work has appeared in Issue 6 of Mayhem Literary Journal, the anthology Ko Aotearoa Tātou | We Are New Zealand, and Poetry NZ Yearbook 2021. She is currently penning an opera with Tracey Slaughter.
CLAUDIA PALMER (Te Rarawa, Te Aupōuri) has a background in campaigning and marketing. After completing the Whitireia Publishing course, she worked for Huia Publishers in Wellington promoting award-winning books and authors. It was during this time, she saw the impact great children’s books have in shaping lives. She splits her time between two of her greatest passions: nature and the arts. Alongside writing and editing for The Sapling, she works as an advocate for the endangered hoiho and supports the growth of children’s literature as a board member for Storylines Trust.
SARAH FORSTER worked in the New Zealand book industry for 15 years, in roles promoting Aotearoa’s best authors and books. She has a Diploma in Publishing from Whitireia Polytechnic, and a BA (Hons) in History and Philosophy from the University of Otago. She was born in Winton, grew up in Westport, and lives in Wellington. She was a judge of the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults in 2017, and won the Storylines Betty Gilderdale Award for her dedication to New Zealand children’s literature. She currently works fulltime for Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington.
This page was last updated on 22 August 2025.
IN THE MEDIA
Kids’ book expert supports Lynley Dodd: Sarah Forster on the AM show
Long Live The Sapling: a tribute on The Spinoff
Growing The Sapling: an interview on The Pantograph Punch
Wellington booklovers raise 10k…: an article on Stuff.co.nz
#5 in the Top Ten Moments in Aotearoa Literature 2017: an article on The Pantograph Punch