Crafts with Fifi: That’s Not the Monster…
Never be stuck for something to do! Keep your hands and brain busy with glue, tape and scissors – and have crafty fun with Fifi! Not the monster you ordered? Make your own from the box it came in! A…
Features
Toby Morris and the books his kids are reading
Political cartoonist, comic artist, illustrator, writer, dad: Toby Morris (aka The Pencilsword) describes how cool it is to watch his kids discover their own tastes and interests through books – even if sometimes those interests are a little unexpected ……
Dear John: a big reader, Pasifika lit & Manga
John McIntyre from The Children’s Bookshop in Wellington is a top children’s bookseller. He’s here once a month to answer your child-related reading questions. Dear John,Could you please recommend some good chapter books for a thoughtful boy? I can’t keep…
The Reckoning: the state of Kiwi kids’ non-fiction
Gillian Candler argues for more recognition of the importance of New Zealand non-fiction books for children, while at the same time wishing there was another term to describe these bound paper receptacles of creativity, serendipity and juicy, rich morsels. I…
My childhood, books & the gift of stray dogs
To celebrate the publication of My Meerkat Mum (her 15th picture book), Ruth Paul reflects on the childhood stories and antics that turned her into a grown-up reader, writer and illustrator. Once I won a prize. My sister forced me…
Kids’ Lit Quiz and the sport of reading
We are fascinated by the phenomenon of the Kids’ Lit Quiz™, so we asked National Library Services to Schools Facilitator in Northland Jeannie Skinner to take us back to school with Quizmaster Wayne Mills. Late March, and it’s time for…
Ka Pai! Cool Stuff from around the Internet
Every two weeks we compile, for your browsing pleasure, cool children’s book happenings (and peripherally related news) from around Aotearoa, the world and the internet. We’ve seen some great content featuring children’s books in the NZ media over the past…
Publishing a musical picture book
Penny Scown, the Senior Editor at Scholastic NZ, takes us behind the scenes in the publishing process of Tāwhirimātea, A Song for Matariki, a new dual-language picture book (with CD) by June Pitman-Hayes, Kat Merewether and Ngaere Roberts. This story…
The Giselle Clarkson Comic: Number 3
This month, our illustrator takes on generational politics and the housing crisis, and comes up with a viable scapegoat …
The Sampling: Twice Upon a Time
An excerpt from James Norcliffe’s Twice Upon a Time, a Junior Fiction novel about Ginny’s search for her Pop. It is full of quirky, inventive characters, chief among them Digger Dagger, whom Ginny encounters for the second time below.