Book List

Book List: Don’t Touch Me – Lessons in Consent

How to help our kids understand consent and set (and respect!) boundaries? It’s a surprisingly controversial topic. Guest writer Bee Trudgeon reflects on this area of contention and sets out to find some books that can help facilitate this conversation;…

Book List: ANZAC Reading

Tomorrow marks 108 years since the landings at Gallipoli in 1915. Editor Linda Jane Keegan tells us about some ANZAC-related books from the last few years, followed up with links to all of The Sapling’s previous book lists, interviews, and…

Reviews: New Easter Picture Books

Easter is just around the corner, and with that, Linda Jane Keegan and Thalia Kehoe Rowden bring you a batch of Easter-themed picture book reviews perfect for getting stuck into this weekend! E Oma, Rāpeti / Run, Rabbit books, by…

Book List: Maths Books

A self-published maths activity book from a Wellington-based computer programmer and his family (Fun Math 4 Kids of All Ages from Mazmatics) is now available in Aotearoa, and here at The Sapling it got us thinking: what kinds of maths…

Book List: Ramadan and Eid

Ramadan and Eid are fast approaching, so Sapling editor Nida Fiazi has compiled a list of fantastic picture books that celebrate this special time of year for the Muslim community. Ramadan is the name of the ninth month of the…

Book List: Books for Sea Week

Sea Week is coming up next month so editor Linda Jane has put together an ocean-themed list, with non-fiction books covering from the shore to the deep sea. Look, I love any excuse to talk about both nature and books…

BOOK LIST: Differently wired, not broken

Writer and neurodiversity coach Anissa Ljanta has put together a starter pack on neurodivergence for children, teens, educators and parents. It’s a lonely thing to feel like you don’t fit in, are always in trouble at school, or chronically struggle…

The Reckoning: Decolonising pukapuka on Te Tiriti, Part 1 of 2

In the first of a two-part series with Kay Benseman (Pākehā German, Irish, Scottish, Spanish, English ancestry) and Barry McLernon (Te Āti Awa & Pākehā Scottish, Dutch ancestry) about Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Kay shares her thoughts about the lack…

Book List: Lunar New Year Books

Lunar New Year is the traditional celebration marking the start of a new year in the lunar-solar calendar, and is one of the most important events in several Asian cultures. It is also referred to as Chinese New Year, but…

A Box of Birds: A quick rundown of the bird books of 2022

The Sapling editor and picture book author Linda Jane Keegan gives a summary and her two cents on 20 bird books released this year. Some might suggest (okay, they have suggested, multiple times) that there are too many bird books…