Non-fiction

Reviews: Two Captivating STEM Books

Linda Jane Keegan reviews two books that are rooted in nature connectivity. Ultrawild is a thought experiment encompassing environmental science, engineering, and outrageous ideas for how to save the planet, and The Beach Activity Book is an assortment of water-themed…

Reviews: Two Aotearoa History Books

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…

Interview: Gavin Bishop on Patu

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…

Reviews: Six Non-Fiction Nature Books

Sapling editor and self-confessed nature nerd, Linda Jane Keegan, reviews an amazing selection of books about the world around us. Look up close at tiny creatures from land to sea, to far, far away into the night sky. These would…

Not An Interview with Linda Jane Keegan

A childhood friend of The Sapling’s lead editor takes it upon herself to fabricate an interview which is either embarrassingly or honourably accurate: you decide. I meet Linda Jane Keegan at her home in Tākaka. Or at least I would…

The Sampling: When Life Sucks

By Dr Jo Prendergast This year’s Mental Health Awareness Week runs from 18-24 September. This week, our content is focused on mental health, and we’re kicking off with an extract from psychiatrist and comedian Dr Jo Prendergast’s new book, When…

2023 NZCYA Elsie Locke Award For Nonfiction Finalists

It’s no secret that we love getting to learn and share publisher insight, so much so that we dedicate a NZCYA Awards finalist category every year to it! This year it’s the Elsie Locke Nonfiction finalists so without further ado,…

Reviews: Six New Zealand Non-Fiction

Here is a great bundle of Aotearoa non-fiction, all covering our natural world. We’ve got photographic pukapuka, creative non-fiction, rhyme, and bucketloads of facts. Editor Linda Jane Keegan gives her two cents on these titles. Family of Forest and Fungi…

Q&A with Isobel Joy Te Aho-White

It feels like everywhere we look, Isobel Joy Te Aho-White’s illustrations are gracing the covers and insides of some of New Zealand’s best picture books. By our count, she illustrated at least 13 books released in the last 18 months….

Reviews: Three Pasifika Books

Emmaline Pickering-Martin reviews three new Pasifika non-fiction books with important messages to share—from a student-written poetry collection to a wellbeing journal to a collection of personal narratives about autism, all told through a Pacific lens. Pasifika Navigators: Pasifika Student Poetry…