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 junior fiction books of 2018. The Mapmaker’s Race, by Eirlys Hunter and Kirsten Slade Eirlys Hunter and Kirsten Slade invite their readers to come on an adventure with the Santander family, across the hills and mountains of a land where the dots of towns have not yet b

As part of our coverage of this year's NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, we asked the five Wright Foundation Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction finalists four questions about their book and characters. The finalists are: Lyla, by Fleur Beale (A & U); The Thunderbolt Pony, by Stacy Gregg (HarperCollins); How to Bee, by Bren McDibble (A & U); How NOT to stop a kidnap plot, by Suzanne Main (Scholastic); and Dawn Raid by Pauline (Vaeluaga) Smith (Scholastic). 1. Wha

NZ-Pasifika writer Pauline (Vaeluaga) Smith has recently published her first book, Dawn Raid, as a part of Scholastic's 'My New Zealand Story' series. Leilani Tamu catches up with Pauline to find out more about her writing journey and the experience of writing a book for young people anchored in the concept of 'educate to liberate'. The book Dawn Raid and its author, Pauline Smith Dawn Raid is a great read that captures an important time in New Zealand's history, especially f

Dawn Raid is the 28th book in Scholastic NZ's 'My New Zealand Story' series, which brings to life significant events in our history as seen through the eyes of fictitious child diarists. Like many 13-year-old girls, Sofia’s main worries are how to get some groovy go-go boots, and how not to die of embarrassment giving a speech at school! But when her older brother starts talking about protests and overstayers, and how Pacific Islanders are being bullied by the police, a shado