Reviews

Reviews: activity books for the holidays

Kay Benseman reviews new Kuwi and Friends titles to keep your kids occupied on your holiday road trips Rapua! I Spy: Kiwi Road Trip Games, by Kat Quin & Pānia Papa Kat Quin has again teamed up with Pānia Papa…

Reviews: New titles in two popular series

Fiona Giles reviews new junior fiction books from James Russell and Fraser Smith. Children of the Rush: Book 3, by James Russell This rip-roaring adventure had me glued to my seat as I devoured it in one sitting. Book three…

Review: Lisa Carrington Chases a Champion

Dame Lisa Carrington has released new picture books in te reo Māōri and te reo Pākehā that seek to inspire children to work hard to meet their goals. Tia Haira reviews the English edition here. This story is about the…

Te Arotakenga: Ko Lisa Carrington Me Te Toa Whakaihuwaka

Kua pāpāhotia a Dame Lisa Carrington ētahi pukapuka pikitia hou i roto i te reo Māori me te reo pākeha anō hoki hei whai, hei whakahihiko i ngā tamariki kia whakapau werawera kia tutuki i o rātou whāinga. Ānei te…

Review: New titles in two great local series

Cassie Hart reviews a new book in the Whetū Toa series and a sequel to Amorangi and Millie’s Trip Through Time. Whetū Toa and the Secret Spies, by Steph Matuku and illustrated by Katharine Hall (Huia Publishers) Steph Matuku manages…

Review: Three picture books with messages for their readers

Annelies Judson reviews three recent picture books designed to soothe and inspire young readers. The Lucky Little Pig, by Stacey Smith, illustrated by Deborah Hinde The Lucky Little Pig is another in an unofficial series of “Aotearoa Natural Disaster Animal…

Review: Three adventurous new graphic novels

Three new graphic novels that explore ideas of friendship and adventure. Duffy is determined to help a new friend who is being bullied, Miles and Jones need to save themselves, their parents and their park and Detective Beans is on…

Reviews: Bumper Batch of Nature Books

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: children’s publishing on Aotearoa’s natural world is flourishing. Linda Jane Keegan reviews a stack of the latest in wildlife books, including a healthy dose of bird books. She also highlights a…

Reviews: Two Middle-Grade Historic Narratives

Joanna Grochowicz adds another Antarctic exploration journey under her belt and Pauline Cartwright’s re-released story of the Otago goldfields is back with a fresh face. Denika Mead reviews. Mawson in Antarctica: To the Ends of the Earth, by Joanna Grochowicz…

Review: New YA from Mandy Hager—Gracehopper

Mandy Hager’s latest young adult novel is a family drama bringing together issues of care work, disability, and identity. Elizabeth Heritage reviews. Gracehopper is Mandy Hager’s new YA novel about Grace Murphy, a Taiwanese 18-year-old living in Wellington with her…