Every two weeks we compile, for your browsing pleasure, cool children’s book happenings (and peripherally related news) from around Aotearoa, the world and the internet.
Book news from Aotearoa
Due to various upheavals in life and work, we’ve been a bit remiss with our Ka Pai links pages recently. But we’ve settled down now, Jane has a brand new pēpē, and we have a co-editor, Thalia, who introduced herself in our most recent newsletter.
In the meantime, the news cycle has moved on. The NZ Book Council released their amazing Reading in NZ study, and Stuff did a week’s reportage about it. Gecko Press publisher Julia Marshall was interviewed over at Book Blast, and at The Horn Blast, the latter about humour in translation. The wonderful Hooked on Books has a review of YA classic I am not Esther, by Fleur Beale, by a girl the same age as Esther.
There are a couple of competitions around at the moment: check out the rhythm and rhyme challenge run by The School for Young Writers Competition, and Poetry Box has an imagination challenge for September.
The Changeover is in cinemas nationwide this month: Sarah has already seen a screening and can divulge only this: it is good. Here is the trailer.
And stuff from the farthest reaches of the globe (and internet)…
Over in the United Kingdom it’s all about book sales rising (a bit like in the United States a few years back). And guess why? Young readers! Also from the UK is a marvellous, wondrous thing: Scoop, a high-quality literature magazine for kids, a bit like The Annual but monthly!
And on the topic of top-quality children’s literature, this Australian podcast Oh The Places We’ll Go features a dozen top children’s authors talking about their reading inspiration.
At her other website, Sacraparental, Thalia has put together a list of books for kids who want to change the world.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m ethically and morally opposed to everything Amazon… but… but… Harry Potter illustrated editions in motion?!!!! WANT!
It seems that it is finally sinking in outside The Sapling that – gasp! – children’s books aren’t just for children. Even the Wall Street Journal has run a story on this, while The Guardian also seems to understand it (though they no longer have a children’s review-only section on their website.) Also, if you didn’t realise: we are in a golden age of children’s books.
Finally, here is a clip of John Green reading the first chapter of his October 10 release, Turtles All the Way Down.