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.
Features
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…
Books Alive: a scene report from Books Alive 2024
Annelies Judson explores the Wellington edition of Books Alive, the schools programme that accompanies the NZCYA awards. It’s a beautiful morning in the capital and lines of children, like wriggling eels, are making their way into the National Library. Once…
The Winners of the 2024 NZCYA awards are…
Fresh off the ceremony at Pipitea Marae, Wellington, the winners of the 2024 NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults are… The Margaret Mahy Book of the Year and the Junior Fiction Award: Nine Girls by Stacy Gregg (Ngāti…
The Reckoning: Inviting an Author or Illustrator to Speak? What you need to know
There is something very special about having your favourite book creator come and talk at your school, or meeting a new author or illustrator who shares their stories and makes you laugh. They are definitely favourites at schools and libraries,…