A Day in the Life: Dïne
Dïne is the illustrator of Saving Wānanga and other books. She is also a tattoo artist, paints murals and takes on freelance illustration jobs. In the latest in our occasional Day in the Life series, she takes us through a…
Features
The Reckoning: The Science of Writing Science
Alistair Hughes searches for the formula for good science communication for kids. Ernest, Lord Rutherford is famously credited with proclaiming: ‘If you can’t explain your physics to a barmaid, it is probably not very good physics.’ These days hospitality workers…
The Sampling: The Gavin Bishop Treasury
By Gavin Bishop This month we bring you a Sampling of pages from a new hardback collection of ten classic Gavin Bishop stories. This new collection was released this week, and features four of his original stories and six of…
The Giselle Clarkson Comic: Number 44
Fresh from the Observologist’s win at the PANZ Books Design Awards, Giselle Clarkson shares a peek at the process of book publishing.
From the Shop Floor: Pictura Children’s Book Shop
Jo Pearson welcomes us inside Pictura Children’s Book Shop, where she sells hand-picked illustrated books for children. Pictura opened in early 2022 in the wee harbour town of Port Chalmers, 15 minutes or so from Dunedin city centre. I have…
Three Pieces of Advice from Joy Cowley
Claudia Palmer attends the launch of Joy Cowley’s latest book A Lot of Silly. I didn’t follow Joy Cowley’s advice when I sat down to write this piece. Her number one tip is: don’t start with a title: write the…
The Whitcoulls Kids’ Top 50 Books
The Whitcoulls Kids’ Top 50 Books list for 2024/2025 was announced this morning. The Sapling’s Harriet Elworthy looks into the mechanisms of this influential poll. The Whitcoulls Kids’ Top 50 Books list has been running for 27 years. The list is…
The Sampling: Dear Moko
By Dr Hinemoa Elder We’re delighted to share a sneak peek at Dr Hinemoa Elder’s Dear Moko, a collection of whakataukī adapted from her bestselling collection of whakataukī for adults, Aroha. Dear Moko is written for all mokopuna, grandchildren, descendents….
Photos from the Picture Me window painting
During Gecko Press’s Picture Me festival, European illustrators Antje Damm, Aurore Petit and Piotr Socha will be painting a window at Te Auaha Gallery in central Wellington. We’ll be posting updates as the mural progresses. Thursday 12 September The first…
A selection of poems for National Poetry Day
Paula Green shares eight poems for children from Roar Squeak Purr: A Treasury of New Zealand Animal Poems. In 2013, I launched Poetry Box, an online poetry page for children in Aotearoa. I wanted to create a meeting place for…