As the next instalment in our coverage of this year's NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, we asked the five finalists of the Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction to interview each other. Here's Philippa Werry, Des Hunt, Eirlys Hunter, Bren MacDibble and Steph Matuku talking the genesis of their ideas, planning, and childhood influence. Philippa Werry: Can you remember the moment when the germ of the idea for this book came to you? Des Hunt:

Fossils, e-bikes, sci-fi movies, teenage hoons, an abandoned mine, step-grandparents, a big Lotto win in a small kiwi town and one of the craziest roadtrips in a giant campervan you’ll ever read about – it’s all here in Des Hunt’s new book To Trap a Thief. Aaron Topp has a talk with him about his current and past career. Fossils, e-bikes, sci-fi movies, teenage hoons, an abandoned mine, step-grandparents, a big Lotto win in a small kiwi town and one of the craziest roadtrips

Ricky’s family buy a mansion in a trendy suburb, with panoramic views of the city. Too good to be true… Yep, a real bargain. But this house also has a resident ghost, who wants them out. Cockroaches in the moving boxes, a red sock in the washing with his cricket whites! It’s up to Ricky, and his neighbour Fi, to solve this annoying mystery. Kyle Mewburn is an award-winning author from Miller's Flat. This is her first book with OneTree House. Chapter 3 The real estate agent wa

Rafferty is an orphan, raised by monks. Misfortune strikes and he is outcast, and must fend for himself. He uses his cunning and charm to develop a trade for himself as the town’s ratcatcher... and rat liberator. Rafferty Ferret: Ratbag is by renowned NZ fantasy author Sherryl Jordan. Check out last year's interview with Jordan by Catherine Woulfe. Chapter 3 - Rats! And Rafferty's first valiant attempts to trap them Rafferty crouched behind the pile of firewood, and waited in

When her family moves suburbs, Laura discovers an old abandoned house on her street. It seems like the perfect hideout, but something – or, rather, someone – is already hiding inside. Laura meets Jacob, a runaway teen in a lot of trouble. What is he hiding from? If Laura gets involved, will she help Jacob or just get herself into trouble? The Trespassers Club is a fast-paced Kiwi mystery for pre-teens. Chapter 4 In the morning, I was the last to get up. I hadn’t slept well bu

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

Teacher Rachel Moore reviews five New Zealand junior fiction titles, including the first two in a new series by Maureen Crisp, the first in a series by Rhys Darby, a new title from Tom Moffatt, and another fabulous horse adventure book from Stacy Gregg. Monsieur Charles’ Circus Quest, #1 The Playbill, #2 Magician’s Moustache, by Maureen Crisp, illustrated by Irina Burtseva The first two books in Maureen Crisp’s Monsieur Charles’ Circus Quest will delight puzzle-loving 7-9-yea

One day on Twitter, Jane Bloomfield discovered that mega bestselling Australian author Jacqueline Harvey was setting up to move in just across the valley from her. She wanted to get to know her better, so she had a virtual chat with her (after a real coffee) and shared it with The Sapling's readers. Contains espionage, driving and code-cracking. Launch of Kensy and Max at Somerset Celebration of Literature March 2018, author Jacqueline Harvey at centre. Jacqueline Harvey and

Weather. We can't avoid it. And right now, after six weeks of glorious warm weather that we never complained about, no siree Bob no complaining here, Tāwhirimātea has woken and is wreaking havoc. Let's see what we all know about children's books featuring weather! 1. Ella West has a new YA title out, set on the West Coast. What is it called? A. Rain Fall B. Hard Rain C. West Rain D. Raining Hard 2. YA fiction title The Wind City (Steam Press) is by somebody with a seasonal na

When we asked if Suzanne Main would write an article about funny books for kids, her reaction was, ‘What do I know about funny books? I just write them!' Turns out the answer is, quite a bit! I don’t primarily define myself as a comedy writer. It’s possibly because I never set out to write funny books. When I began work on my first junior fiction novel, How I Alienated my Grandma, my plan was to create an exciting adventure story that children would love. When the story found

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 readers of junior and middle fiction. Junior Fiction Miniwings series by Sally Sutton Published by Scholastic New Zealand RRP $14.99 This new series from Scholastic hooks into an idea that we're sure most children have had at some point (we know we

Today Kura Rutherford introduces Dr Darryn Joseph (Ngāti Maniapoto), a writer, dad, illustrator, comic collector and Māori language lecturer. The recently appointed board member for Storylines has an extensive literary CV. He has published 23 books in te reo, he won the Huia Short Story Award in 2003 and 2015, and his book Hewa won the LIANZA Te Kura Pounamu Award in 2010. In 2010, he was also the recipient of the Creative New Zealand Te Waka Toi Grant. Darryn is married, ha

While most of our reviews are of NZ titles, occasionally we check out what is being hyped overseas. Each of these titles are the stars of Christmas for their publishers, and they share similarities in their London-ish setting, and their magical elements. But while The Wondering is a Dickensian tale of good versus evil, Nevermoor has myriad shades of grey. Read my reviews to find out a little more. The Wonderling, by Mira Bartok The Wonderling is set in a world where animals a

Ridiculously prolific pony writers Kelly Wilson and Stacy Gregg each take a very different approach to their work but at the heart, their inspiration is always horses. This double interview sees them discuss their latest books, due out this month. Kelly’s Saving the Snowy Brumbies charts her latest adventures with wild horses in Australia and Showtym Adventures - Dandy the Mountain Pony is the first in her new middle-grade series based on her childhood. Meanwhile, Stacy’s new

An excerpt from Suzanne Main's How Not to Stop a Kidnap Plot, a Junior Fiction novel that tells the tale of how Michael's desire to get revenge on rich kid bully Angus backfires. Chapter 3 recounts the germination of a plan, and the introduction of the marvellous Miss Munro. from Chapter 3 The final lesson that day was art. There was a buzz of anticipation before class. Everyone took their seats, eyes forward, waiting for Miss Munro to arrive. Art class is interesting, but n