The Sapling

Book Awards: the Non-Fiction finalists

Another week, another category of NZCYA Award finalists to highlight! Today, it’s the Elsie Locke Award for Non-Fiction finalists, answering questions about the hows and the whys of their fabulous books. From backyards, burrows and biographies to legends and linework,…

Book Awards: the Junior Fiction finalists

As the next instalment in our coverage of this year’s NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, we asked the five finalists of the Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction to interview each other. Here’s Philippa…

THE SAMPLING: The Invincibles – Power Up!

The Invincibles: Power Up! is the first book in a super-charged new junior fiction series. Regular old rugby practice turns into something more when five kids are zapped by lightning and find themselves in possession of a range of different super powers!

Book Awards: the illustration finalists

As part of our ongoing finalist coverage of this year’s New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, we have some glorious snippets to look at from the five Russell Clark Award for Illustration finalists! There are covers, decadent…

Book Quiz: The 2019 children's book awards

The ceremony for this year’s New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults is creeping ever closer, with the big event taking place on August 6. So as we did last year, we thought we ought to test your…

Book Awards: The Picture Book Finalists

As part of our coverage of this year’s NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, we’ve asked the publishers of the picture book finalists to explain why that story caught their imaginations and demanded to be told in published…

Book Awards: Best First Book Authors Reflect

This year’s NZCYA Awards coverage kicks off with the Best First Book finalists! We asked them to tell us, in their own words and with their own spin, about a book that was integral to their childhoods. Here’s what they…

THE SAMPLING: Bonjour Lucy Bee

Bonjour Lucy Bee is a fast-paced holiday adventure novel. Lucy Bee is on a family reunion holiday in France when she finds an injured boy behind a bush.

The finalists of the NZ kids’ book awards are…

The New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults are a core part of the Aotearoa literary calendar, for young people and adults alike. They acknowledge excellence in writing, illustration and publishing, and provide a vital platform to celebrate…

Book Quiz: Multicultural Picture Books

Quiz yourself on eight New Zealand picture books that illustrate Aotearoa’s multiculturalism and diversity. Can you get them all right? Test yourself, share with a friend, and let us know on Facebook or Twitter how you do! 1. Kia Ora:…