Junior Fiction

Reviews: Four Junior Fiction Reads

Hannah Marshall offers us her opinions on four recent junior fiction releases—featuring talking cats, taniwha, secret agents and more. Pipi and Pou and the Raging Mountain and Pipi and Pou and the River Monster, written by Tim Tipene and illustrated…

Your Christmas Shopping List 2022

The Sapling editors have compiled a list of recommendations of this year’s releases for your Christmas book shopping! Picture Books How My Koro Became A Star Written by Brianne Te Paa Illustrated by Story Hemi-Morehouse Published by Huia Publishers RRP:…

Book Reviews: Three Junior Fiction Annuals

Founding editor Sarah Forster talks all things aeroplanes, albatrosses, creepy dolls and more in Aotearoa’s latest offering of junior fiction annuals. Annual 3, edited by Susan Paris and Kate De Goldi On opening Annual 3, I was impressed by the…

Christmas Reads from The Sapling

We interrupt this hiatus to bring you a list of Top Recommendations for the 2021 Holiday Season, created for you, our dear readers, as well as those of Newsroom’s ReadingRoom. Compiled by Editor Sarah with a bit of help from…

LONG LIVE AOTEAROA’S CHILDREN’S BOOKS

The Sapling is dead, long live The Sapling. Just kidding. The Sapling is most certainly not dead—but we have run out of puff, and we are taking a break. In case you aren’t subscribed to our email, here’s a bit…

Co-Interview: Saradha Koirala and Gareth Ward

Saradha Koirala and Gareth Ward recently wrote sequels to YA books. While it was Gareth’s second time writing a sequel, it was Saradha’s first, so we thought we’d get them to have a talk about how you know your story…

Book Reviews: New Fiction from Aotearoa Authors

Steampunk, historical fiction and mythology? Whatever makes you tick, there’s a serving of fresh new Aotearoa fiction to get you excited. These titles range from junior fiction to young adult fiction, but as with any book, so much depends on…

Book Awards: junior fiction finalists

Where do we usually get our recommendations for books to read? The bookshop, of course. We’ve asked people from five bookshelves to sell us our stunning array of junior fiction titles. Tunnel of Dreams, by Bernard Beckett (Text Publishing, 2020)…

THE SAMPLING: The Memory Thief

By Leonie Agnew Leonie Agnew is back with a magical new title, The Memory Thief, following the unexpectedly heartwarming friendship between Seth, lonely troll, and Stella, a young girl going through a hard time. Enjoy this excerpt from chapter one…

Book Reviews: New Junior Fiction from Aotearoa

Winter has finally come to Aotearoa, and it’s brought with it a fresh batch of junior fiction titles! Here’s librarian Dave Tucker’s takes on four recent releases, including a sports read for reluctant readers, a spooky adventure story, a relatable…