Disability consultant, activist and blogger Robyn Hunt suggests 21 books, from picture books to YA, that illuminate experiences of disability. Designing a book list for children and YA on disability is difficult. Such books are not usually at the top of the bestseller list, especially in a small market like New Zealand. Sadly local examples were few and far between, which is a little disappointing, but there are some gems to be found. These books are important as we struggle

Do you want to be sure you're getting top-shelf books for your favourite people this Christmas - or on any gift-giving occasion? We are making it easy for you! Here is our selection of the very best New Zealand books of 2017 for teens. The Severed Land by Maurice Gee Published by Penguin Random House NZ RRP $19.99 The Severed Land refers to a world split through by ‘the wall’. No heraldic capitalisation, just ‘the wall’. An invisible rupture across the landscape separating th

Every now and then I’m determined to broaden my teeteringly-high reading pile by adding in new genres. Build it out sideways for stronger integrity, perhaps. The YA I love tends to tell convincingly real stories of convincingly real teenagers, which is odd, since I spend my working life surrounded by these as a teacher. But I have just finished reading a sci-fi novel and, although I’m still grasping to find in it some kind of deeper metaphor for the human spirit, I was immers