Day in the Life: Graci Kim
It’s time to look into a day in the life of another Aotearoa book creator! New York Times bestselling author Graci Kim reveals all the hardships of being on tour. A day in the life of an author, you ask?…
Features
‘O, let my books be then the eloquence…’—Seven Aotearoa creatives respond to the new English curriculum
The announcement last week that the Year 7–13 English school curriculum is being rewritten by a select group of just five educators has drawn a strong response from the education and creative sectors. Following high school teacher Susan Briggs’s response,…
The Finalists of the 2024 NZ Kids’ Books Awards Are…
Each year, the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults make for a massive occasion in the Aotearoa kids’ book world—move over Oscars, out of the way Silver Scrolls. This is our night. Well, nearly. Awards night isn’t until August, but between…
The Reckoning: Antiquating the NZ English Curriculum
The New Zealand English school curriculum is undergoing a rewrite and some of the changes suggest a move backwards rather than forwards. High school English teacher Susan Briggs questions who this rewrite prioritises, and describes how English teachers are perfectly…
The Sampling: The Te Papa Activity Book
By Helen Lloyd & Pippa Keel Te Papa Press brings us an excerpt from their latest activity book which can be used at Te Papa, at home, or wherever the desire takes you! It contains colouring and drawing activities, word…
Festival Review: Pukapuka Adventures at AWF
Earlier this month the Auckland Writers Festival saw record-breaking attendance levels. Pukapuka Adventures—the children’s hub of the event—took over Level 5 of the Aotea centre and was brimming with activity. Attendee Annelies Judson describes her experience on the Saturday with…
The Reckoning: The Reasons Why
Following on from the Auckland Writers Festival, David Hill answers the perennial question of authors everywhere: why do you write? In Graeme Lay’s first novel, The Mentor, a sultry female follower approaches the author-narrator, and breathes “Tell me: why do…
A Day in the Life: Feana Tu‘akoi
Feana Tuʻakoi has authored many fiction and non-fiction works for children and is the current University of Otago College of Education Creative New Zealand Children’s Writer in Residence. Here she tells us about why she writes what she writes, and…
Librarians of Aotearoa: Coming in from the cold—a school library as a source of warmth, inspiration and resilience-building
Kura Rutherford describes her role as a Steiner school librarian, and how the holistic curriculum means the school library is able to support the wellbeing of the students in an environment where there is room for it all—the scientific, practical,…
The Mahy Questionnaire: Elena de Roo
Another month, another Mahy Questionnaire! This time we’re featuring former librarian and award-winning writer and poet Elena de Roo. Her latest title Ring Ting Tūī—a cheeky rhyming counting book—is out now! Read on to find out Elena’s takes on rollercoaster-like…