It’s our final installment of the NZCYA finalists before the winners are announced next week. Briar Lawry gets the downlow from her high school students on what they think of the finalists, with some insightful if not judgemental reckons. The…
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…
Despite the number of world-class poets here in Aotearoa, it’s rare that a collection of contemporary poetry is published by a New Zealand publisher. Briar Lawry could not love it more. In the late single digits, something happens to approximately…
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…
What makes a bestselling New Zealand kids book? This list looks at eight of the bestselling kids books and what makes them so popular. Filled with classics and recent gems, everyone should know at least one of the wonderful stories…
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 books…
The follow-up to the award-winning Annual is out this month, ready to be part of the formative childhood reading of a new generation of Kiwi kids. We reviewed it last week, but we have also asked a few of the…
The first Annual (Gecko Press) was one of the highlights of the Christmas offer in 2016. So it was with shaky hands and much excitement we accepted an early copy of Annual 2 from co-editor Susan Paris for review. This…
What makes a book last? What makes it win? I try to figure this out, as a judge of the NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults this year, revisiting 15 books that won the top awards and have…
One of the first things we did when considering The Sapling was sit down and think: now, what can we offer that nobody else can? There are a lot of wonderful book-focused bloggers in New Zealand, as well as quite…