Rachel Moore reviews three world-class Kiwi series for readers from around the age of seven: Miniwings by Sally Sutton, Flying Furballs by Donovan Bixley and The Dragon Defenders by James Russell. Make a note of these for any upcoming nieces’…
Writing children’s books may seem romantic at remove, but — as with many things — it’s less glossy up close. As Kiwi writers Juliet Jacka and Sally Sutton can attest to, for every passionate line they write, only a lucky…
Mark Broatch reviews four recent picture books by New Zealand authors and illustrators – Inspector Brunswick: The Case of the Missing Eyebrow about a feline detective and an art gallery, What Are You Supposed to Be? about a weird wolf,…
To celebrate the publication of My Meerkat Mum (her 15th picture book), Ruth Paul reflects on the childhood stories and antics that turned her into a grown-up reader, writer and illustrator. Once I won a prize. My sister forced me…
Over the past decade, Kiwi illustrator Richard Fairgray has moved from self-publishing comic books, to picture books, to being picked up internationally. He is published in New Zealand by Puffin and Scholastic NZ. Richard Fairgray is a comic book artist…
Penny Scown, the Senior Editor at Scholastic NZ, takes us behind the scenes in the publishing process of Tāwhirimātea, A Song for Matariki, a new dual-language picture book (with CD) by June Pitman-Hayes, Kat Merewether and Ngaere Roberts. This story…
David Hill reviews Torty and the Soldier, a picture book about the true story of a very old tortoise, by Jennifer Beck and illustrated by Fifi Colston. Children’s writers are accustomed to getting judged both on literary grounds and for…
Johanna Knox and her friend, 10-year-old Noah, review Dinosaur Trouble by Kyle Mewburn, Helper and Helper by Joy Cowley, and Tui Street Tales by Anne Kayes. Ten-year-old Noah, from down the road, loves books, so I thought he’d make a…