The Non-Fiction shortlist is absolutely top class. We asked the finalists to pose a couple of questions to each other about their books. Read our comments about the books in all the categories here. Selina Tusitala Marsh asks Gavin Bishop……
The Sapling is excited to continue its tradition of sharing drafts, sketches and process work from the NZCYA illustration award finalists. Thanks to the Book Awards Trust for the book descriptions, the publishers for organising the images and the artists for generously…
Frank Wilson is an initial education lecturer at Te Herenga Waka and works for the Aotearoa Social Studies Educators’ Network. Here she explores two new Aotearoa histories texts through the lens of a critical literacy framework in light of the…
With his latest book, Gavin Bishop (Tainui, Ngāti Awa) delivers a powerful tale of the New Zealand Wars and the painful history of colonisation in Aotearoa. Simie Simpson (Te Ati Awa) talks with Gavin about Patu and how it came…
Summer is upon us and school holidays are imminent. Linda Jane Keegan has compiled a list of some of the best Aotearoa-flavoured activity books to help keep you and your tamariki occupied. They can be puzzled and artsy in the…
There’s more to board books than meets the eye, and a good board book will help young children develop a lifelong reading habit. Belinda Whyte shares with us her reviews of five board books for the littlest readers. As a…
Matariki falls on July 14 this year—the second year Aotearoa has celebrated the Māori New Year as a public holiday. We’ve compiled a quick list of some recent Matariki reads published during The Sapling’s hiatus. Nani Jo Me Ngā…
Sapling editor Hannah Marshall tapped into her inner journalist to attend the Featherston Booktown festival earlier this month. Her findings are reported here (spoiler: she loved every minute of it). On any ordinary day, the small southern Wairarapa town of…
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…
The day has come, the occasion where even a hiatus can’t keep us down! The New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults was held on the evening of 10 August, and although distance and lurgy kept Team Sapling…