And we’re back!
Begone, hiatus! Lets bring back the most vital space for discussing Aotearoa’s fabulous kids books! Editor Sarah hands over the reins to Linda Jane and both put in a call for greater diversity on the page and behind it. For…
Archives
The Winners of the 2022 NZCYA awards are…
The day has come, the occasion where even a hiatus can’t keep us down! The New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults was held on the evening of 10 August, and although distance and lurgy kept Team Sapling…
Day In the Life: DEBORAH HINDE
Deborah Hinde is a Aotearoa illustrator, and her most recent title is Enough: A story about community. She spends her days running her business, PictureBook Publishing, as well as illustrating picture books and working on products for markets. She tells…
The Mahy Questionnaire: Maria Gill
You’re favourite Mahy questionnaire is back! This month, we got award winning non-fiction writer Maria Gill to spill the tea on her changeovers, hauntings and moments of discombobulation. One of her books New Zealand Disasters: Our response, resilience and recovery…
Book List: Fiction for Gamers
Why do we love games? The high-octane fun? The easy access to discovery, adventure, challenge, and endless other draws? Sure. Yes to all of that. But the real kicker? It’s the infinite possibilities. The magical sandbox to play in. A…
The translation of The Whale Rider
In the year 1995, Te Kaieke Tohorā was published—the Māori translation of the book The Whale Rider. We all know that Witi Ihimaera wrote the original, but Sir Tīmoti Kāretu is the man behind the translation. For a long time,…
Review: new books for teens
Mele Tonga-Grant reviews two recent YA publications from Aotearoa. The Paradise Generation by Sanna Thompson Set in Te Whanganui-ā-Tara, The Paradise Generation gives us a glimpse of a utopian future, in a place that we understand and can believe to…
The NZ Booklovers Awards
The winners of the NZ Booklovers Awards will be announced at the end of the week. Before we find out who takes out the picture book, junior fiction and young adult prizes, we spoke with the Booklovers team to find…
The Sampling: Tonight, I Bleed
By Katharine J Adams We’re sharing a sneak peak at a chapter from Tonight, I Bleed, the sequel to NZCYA-shortlisted Tonight, I Burn. The book will be launched at Paper Plus Coastlands on Thursday 27 March and will be available…
The Mahy Questionnaire: Heather McQuillan
This month we’re featuring Heather McQuillan, whose new novel for young adults, Truth Needs No Colour, is released this month. Heather teaches writing, and writes short fiction and poetry and novels for young people. 1. Describe yourself in three words:…
Review: Square Me, Round World
Clinical Psychologist Philippa McDowall reviews a collection of stories for neurodivergent children. Square Me, Round World was the best book I read to neurodivergent children last year. Children who communicate differently, and who experience the sensory and social world differently…
Getting it right matters: an interview with Sarah Wilkins
Katherine Hurst chats with Sarah Wilkins about her new book, Diary of a Marine Biologist, scientific curiosity, AI and sea anemones. Katherine Hurst: Can you tell me a little about your background? How did you get into illustrating? Sarah Wilkins:…
Book List: Manga for teens
Bee Trudgeon provides an introduction to manga, for grown ups who may be trying to keep up with the kids. Japan has had a failsafe way to attract teens to books for decades, but in Aotearoa the magnetic wonder of…
Writing hope for teens
Kiri Lightfoot, author of the young adult novel Bear, on how writing a book for teens reminded her how tricky the transition to adulthood can be. I spent nearly a decade writing a novel for young adults. Yes, it took…
Making reading cool: 30 years of the Duffy Books in Homes programme
As the name suggests, Duffy Books in Homes distributes free books to almost one hundred thousand children each year. The charitable foundation has been doing it for thirty years —with impressive statistics to match— in a bid to instill a…
An Auckland Libraries Quest: visiting all 56 Tāmaki Makaurau libraries
Hannah Bennett shares her family’s insights into the libraries of Auckland after their epic quest to visit all of them in 2024 It began, as many good conversations do, on a long family car trip. ‘I wonder what we’ll do…