Posts | the-sapling

For Crying Out Loud: Crying and Kids' Books

'I’m a kindred spirit to Anne of Green Gables’ Anne Shirley. When I feel like crying, you see it in my cheeks, in the flicker in my eyes, and sometimes you see it in my bottom lip.' Kura Rutherford writes about children's literature’s reflection of our ideas about crying, and suggests it could be a place of both social change and solace. Do you remember the first time a character cried in a book you were reading? Mine is a story my mum used to read us, Greyling by Jane Yolen.

He Raiona i roto i nga Otaota: a new Margaret Mahy

The images and the story of Margaret Mahy’s “A Lion in the Meadow” have almost become a part of the collective consciousness of children who grow up in Aotearoa. This year, the Māori language translation of the book: “He Raiona i roto i ngā Otaota” by Piripi Walker, was released. Krissi Smith was lucky enough to chat to Piripi about this classic book which has been given new life in te reo Māori! (Read this interview in te reo Māori here.) Tēnā koe Piripi! Despite the many be

He Raiona i roto i nga Otaota, na Margaret Mahy

Ko ngā pikitia me ngā kōrero o Lion in the Meadow nā Margaret Mahy, he mea tuhi ki te rae o te tamaiti i tipu ake i Aotearoa nei. I tēnei tau, i puta mai ki te ao He Raiona i roto i ngā Otaota nā Piripi Walker i whakamāori. I kōrero tahi a Krissi Smith rāua ko Piripi Walker mō te pukapuka tawhito kua ara mai anō hei pukapuka hou i te reo rangatira! (You can read this interview in English tomorrow.) Tēnā koe Piripi! Ahakoa ngā painga o tēnei ao matihiko, ehara tēnei i te kōrer

Whale Mountains, Red Toy Carts, & Letters From Nan

As part of celebrations for Māori Language Week, Vini Olsen-Reeder chats with his relation Hinemārie Burton about co-writing their first book together. Ngā Maunga Tohorā: The Whale Mountains is a children’s book wrapped in identity, language and local Tauranga history. Three whale mountains of Ngā Pōtiki a Tamapahore, Tahuwhakatiki Marae, Tauranga. Photograph by Vini Olsen-Reeder Vini: Kia ora e te whanaunga! First up, let’s talk about the roles we both played in creating Ngā

Karena Kelly: te ataahua o te rima meneti

He mātanga reo. He kaiako. He kaituhi. He māmā. Hei tautoko i Te Wiki o te reo Māori 2018 kua whakarae atu tātou ki Te Hiku o te Ika, ki a Tākuta Karena Kelly (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hine). I ēnei marama nei kua rewa tōna whakamāori i te pukapuka nei, a He Wāhi i te Puruma, nā Julia Donaldson, hei kai mā te nohinohi kōrero Māori. I waimarie a Tarakona-Vini Olsen-Reeder kia noho atu ki a Karena i tētahi wharekai o Pōneke, i te kuhunga atu ki ngā pō Tangaroa o Hōngongoi. He kata, he kō

Melanie Drewery and the return of Nanny Mihi

Melanie Drewery has produced a multitude of books over the last two decades aimed at delivering te reo Māori and tikanga Māori in a gentle and positive way. Navana Matthews spoke to Melanie about the return of Nanny Mihi. See here to read this interview in te reo Māori. Melanie Drewery Melanie Drewery is best known for her Nanny Mihi series that explores the holistic relationship between a kuia and her mokopuna. Drewery’s new book Nanny Mihi and the Bellbird is book number si

Melanie Drewery me te hokinga mai a Nanny Mihi

E hia kē nei ngā pukapuka i tuhi ai a Melanie Drewery i ēnei rua tekau tau. Ko te whāinga o ēnei pukapuka kia Rongo rawa te taki i te reo Māori me ngā tikanga Māori mā ngā tamariki. Navana Matthews e kōrero ana ki a Melanie. Melanie Drewery E hia kē nei ngā pukapuka i tuhi ai a Melanie Drewery i ēnei rua tekau tau. Ko te whāinga o ēnei pukapuka kia Rongo rawa te taki i te reo Māori me ngā tikanga Māori mā ngā tamariki. Ko Nanny Mihi pea te raupapatanga pukapuka rongonui rawa

And the winners of the Book Awards are ...

Freshly announced at the Awards Ceremony in Wellington, the winners of the 2018 NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults are ... Pages 60-61 of Aotearoa, by Gavin Bishop The Margaret Mahy Book of the Year and the Elsie Locke Award for Non-fiction Aotearoa: the new zealand story Illustrated and written by Gavin Bishop Published by Penguin Random House NZ RRP $40.00 (hardback) Buy Now The Picture Book Award i am jellyfish Written and illustrated by Ruth Paul Published by Pe

From the Lake District to Mangere Island

Kura Rutherford ruminates on how powerfully children's books can evoke geographies both unknown and familiar, from Beatrix Potter’s Lake District to the isolation of Mangere Island. Sometimes a walk around a lake means walking into a book. When my family and I visited the Lake District we were in a hurry. We didn’t think we had time to visit Beatrix Potter’s Hill Top Farm, but on a whim we decided to pop in. When we got there though, we panicked at the sight of a carpark over

Book Awards: The Non-fiction Finalists

As part of our coverage of this year's NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, we've asked the publishers of the non-fiction finalists to explain why that manuscript, that idea caught their imaginations. Their responses are compelling and passionate, and you may need to get your wallet ready ... Aotearoa: The New Zealand Story was inspired by a recent international publishing trend for large-format, high-spec, lavishly illustrated children’s non-fiction. We’d been eyein

A sound in my mind: translator Ngaere Roberts

Ngaere Roberts (Ngāti Porou) is one of our most prolific translators of children’s books into te reo Māori, having translated work from the likes of Joy Cowley, Gavin Bishop and Ruth Paul. Today Vini Olsen-Reeder chats to Ngaere about her storytelling process. See here to read this interview in te reo Māori. Ngaere Roberts We’re doing this on paper, and not in person. At first I was a bit worried about that. Now I’m thinking it’s pretty special because I first met you through

He oro hinengaro: Ngaere Roberts me tona ao tuhi

He mātanga, he atamai a Ngaere Roberts (Ngāti Porou) ki te whakamāori i ngā pukapuka mō te nohinohi, kua oti i a ia ngā pukapuka a te momo i a Joy Cowley mā, i a Gavin Bishop mā, i a Ruth Paul mā te whakamāori. Inā a Vini Olsen-Reeder e kōrero ana ki a Ngaere mō tāna huarahi taki i te pūrākau mō te tamaiti. You can read this interview in English here. Ngaere Roberts Tēnā koe e Ngaere! Tuatahi, he uiui ā-tuhi tēnei, ehara i te uiui kanohi ki te kanohi. Ka nui taku māharahara k

Book Awards: the illustration finalists

As part of our finalist coverage of this year's NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, we have some exclusive insights into the process of each of the five Russell Clark Award for Illustration Award finalists. They've given us drafts and sketches, along with some final images, and it's fascinating! Thanks to the Book Awards Trust for the book descriptions. The story of 17th century Dutch explorer Abel Tasman, one of the first Europeans to come to Australia and New Zeal

The planet has a pulse: Maurice Gee, O and me

Maurice Gee's O Trilogy is one of the most enduringly excellent works of Aotearoa literature. Megan Dunn recalls its power. In the South Island, at the back of an old mineshaft is the entrance to the planet O. There are two ways to get there. You can be forced by a coil of venomous yellow smoke like Susan Ferris. Or if you are lucky, you can get there by ‘Shy’, a small silver plant, a dozen blue flowers just visible in its leaves. It only grows on O. The Woodlanders know wher

Miriama Kamo and the Reinstated Stars of Matariki

Matariki has been celebrated in several picture books in recent years, but broadcaster Miriama Kamo’s new book, The Stolen Stars of Matariki, is the first to feature nine, not seven stars. Kristin Smith caught up with Miriama to hear how the book came about. In 2016, Dr Rangi Mātāmua got everyone talking about the nine (not seven!) stars of Matariki. Many of us had grown up with the tale of the seven stars, but Mātāmua pushed back on this kōrero – showing that the idea of sev

Miriama Kamo me nga Whetu i Whakahokia

Kua whakanuia a Matariki i ētahi pukapuka tamariki i ēnei tau tata kua hipa, engari ko te pukapuka hou a Miriama Kamo, ko Ngā Whetū Matariki i Whānakotia te mea tuatahi e pā ana ki ngā whetū e iwa, kaua ko ngā whetū e whitu. I kōrero tahi a Miriama rāua ko Kristin Smith mō te pukapuka nei. (You can read this interview in English here.) I te tau 2016, nā Tākuta Rangi Mātāmua i whakaora anō te kōrero mō ngā whetū e iwa (ehara i te whitu!) o Matariki. Kua tipu mai ētahi o tātou

May They Always Bind Us: Family Storytelling

Books aren't the only place to find stories. Some of the most important and meaningful stories are passed down through generations, strengthening our connections to land, whānau, whakapapa. Kura Rutherford shares what family storytelling means to her. I first experienced the ability of family storytelling to heal and transform at my nana’s tangi, at Te Kia Ora marae in Kaipara. I was ten years old; it was one of the first times my siblings and I had spent a night on a marae.

Quiz: Can you judge these books by their covers?

Here are ten well-known New Zealand children's books. But can you recognise them from just a small part of their covers? Advanced readers, try to get the authors, illustrators and publishers, too! Answers are at the bottom of the page. 1. What book cover is this detail from? 2. What book cover is this detail from? 3. What book cover is this detail from? 4. What book cover is this detail from? 5. What book cover is this detail from? 6. What book cover is this detail from? 7. W

Quiz: Children's books from page to screen

The riches found in Best Adapted Screenplay Awards each year are proof that many books make good movies - but how much do you know about our own children's books on screen? 1. Which movie of a Margaret Mahy book is this a still from? a. The Changeover b. The Haunting c. Kaitangata Twitch d. Maddigan's Quest 2. The pictured YA author wrote the script for the TV series Under the Mountain, based on the book by Maurice Gee. Who is this? a. Denis Wright b. David Hair c. Ken Catran

Gender (im)balance in NZ children's books

Elizabeth Heritage investigates representations of gender in New Zealand children's book publishing by looking at the 2017 bestsellers and talking to local publishers. Are we doing the best by all genders, and why does it matter? The Observer recently commissioned a study about the lack of gender diversity in the bestselling children’s picture books in the UK in 2017. It found that male characters are twice as likely to be in the lead, and to have speaking parts. Female chara

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