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,…
A summer reading challenge for teachers
Each year, Read New Zealand Te Pou Muramura issues a reading challenge for the summer holidays. This year and last, the wero is aimed at teachers. We chatted with Sarah Dillon, Te Pou Muramura’s Communications and Engagement Manager, to find…
Review: The Mess of our Lives
Elizabeth Heritage reviews Mary-Anne Scott’s latest novel for teens. We have rats in our house but it’s on purpose, as pets. In The Mess of our Lives, the new YA novel by Mary-anne Scott, there are rats in the house…
Review: Into the Ice
Rebecca Priestley reviews a beautifully illustrated Antarctic miscellany. What’s your South Polar seadog name? I can’t decide whether mine is Phytoplankton Stinker or Aurora Moondog. Or perhaps it’s Snotsicle Albatross? No, I’ve got it—it’s Iceblink Stormcatcher. You can find your…
From the Shop Floor: bookseller recommendations for Christmas
Eight year olds to teens edition. Avid book collectors know that some of the best informed opinions on books are found over the counter at your local bookstore, so we’ve asked Aotearoa’s specialist children’s booksellers what they’re recommending for Christmas…
From the Shop Floor: bookseller recommendations for Christmas
Babies to eight year olds edition. Avid book collectors know that some of the best informed opinions on books are found over the counter at your local bookstore, so we’ve asked Aotearoa’s specialist children’s booksellers what they’re recommending for Christmas…
Book Launch: Charlie Tangaroa and the God of War
Tania Roxborogh held launch events for the sequel to Charlie Tangaroa and the Creature from the Sea at Te Kura Toi Tangata in Hamilton on Thursday evening and Scorpio in Christchurch last night. In her launch speech she explained the…
Book List: Picture books as windows and mirrors to support children with disabilities
Pearl D’Silva shares some top tips for picture books around the themes of disability and inclusion, on International Day of Persons with Disabilities. International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) is celebrated on December 3 each year. There are over 1.1…
Across the Ditch: Inda Ahmad Zahri
Australian author Inda Ahmad Zahri finds a moment between writing, illustrating, being a doctor, campaigning for social justice and parenting to answer some questions about what inspires her diverse work and just where she finds the time. Nida Fiazi (NF):…
Book People: Joy Sellen, Ace Administrator
In the first of an occasional series on the people ‘behind the scenes’ of the Aotearoa children’s lit scene, Jane Arthur speaks with Joy Sellen. Joy is the administrator of the NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults and…
Disability Literati: on representation of disability in children’s books
Bee Trudgeon attended the ‘Disability Literati’ session at Verb Wellington, to learn more about how children and young people are portrayed in literature and a perceived historical tendency for disabled children to be treated as ‘life lessons, plucky objects of…