Fresh off the ceremony at Te Papa Tongarewa, the results are in and your New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults winners are... Spread from of The Bomb, by Sacha Cotter & Josh Morgan The Margaret Mahy Book of the Year and the Picture Book Award The Bomb Written by Sacha Cotter & illustrated by Josh Morgan Published by Huia RRP $23.00 Buy Now Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction The Dog Runner Written by Bren MacDibble Published by Allen

There are more ethnicities in New Zealand than countries in the world. So why is it so difficult to find New Zealand picture books that represent this diversity? Nida Fiazi searches out some exceptional New Zealand and international picture books that have something special to offer all children. As a person of colour and an avid reader, I often seek out stories written by and about other POC. I think it’s important for us to take control of our own narratives and to be able

As part of our ongoing finalist coverage of this year's New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, we have some glorious snippets to look at from the five Russell Clark Award for Illustration finalists! There are covers, decadent interior spreads, working sketches and even a script sample in there – so go forth and enjoy! Thanks to the Book Awards Trust for the descriptions of the books from a visual perspective. A semi-fictionalised account of Captain Cook’s jour

As part of our coverage of this year's NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, we've asked the publishers of the picture book finalists to explain why that story caught their imaginations and demanded to be told in published picture book form. The journey to meeting and making Mini Whinny Stacy Gregg is a hugely popular and masterful storyteller, so when the opportunity arose to publish a series of playful pony-themed picture books that would reach out to a younger audi

Helping children deal with obstacles and setbacks is a core part of parenting and teaching. Today education lecturer and writer Frank Wilson suggests some picture books that can help model these skills - while also being fantastic reads. Detail from Puffin the Architect, by Kimberly Andrews (Puffin/Penguin Random House NZ) If you know a kid at primary school in New Zealand at the moment, you probably will have heard the term 'growth mindset' - this idea is incredibly popular

Hearing the wonderful news that six more towns are going to be Refugee Resettlement centres, we got thinking about what books might provide the best and friendliest introduction to a new life in Aotearoa New Zealand. Here's our starting list of picture books for newly arrived former refugees. What favourites would you add? Detail from Kia ora, You can be a Kiwi too, by June Pitman-Hayes, translated by Ngaere Roberts, illlustrated by Minky Stapleton The books that form our chi

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 picture books of 2018. The Bomb, by Sacha Cotter and Josh Morgan What do you do when you’re no good at everyone’s favourite summer activity? In Sacha Cotter’s story of learning to do the perfect bomb, our young hero has to face failure and fear, and find his own path t

Our editor, Jane Arthur, looks into what goes into designing a picture book, and talks with the illustrator and designer of the new release from Huia Publishers, The Bomb|Te Pohū, written by Sacha Cotter. Two editions, two cover designs: The Bomb and Te Pohū Usually, the cover of a picture book boasts two names: that of the author and the illustrator. Because a picture book is made up of two things – the words and the pictures. Right? Well, not entirely. There’s a third eleme