And we’re back!
Begone, hiatus! Lets bring back the most vital space for discussing Aotearoa’s fabulous kids books! Editor Sarah hands over the reins to Linda Jane and both put in a call for greater diversity on the page and behind it. For…
Archives
The Winners of the 2022 NZCYA awards are…
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…
Day In the Life: DEBORAH HINDE
Deborah Hinde is a Aotearoa illustrator, and her most recent title is Enough: A story about community. She spends her days running her business, PictureBook Publishing, as well as illustrating picture books and working on products for markets. She tells…
The Mahy Questionnaire: Maria Gill
You’re favourite Mahy questionnaire is back! This month, we got award winning non-fiction writer Maria Gill to spill the tea on her changeovers, hauntings and moments of discombobulation. One of her books New Zealand Disasters: Our response, resilience and recovery…
Book List: Fiction for Gamers
Why do we love games? The high-octane fun? The easy access to discovery, adventure, challenge, and endless other draws? Sure. Yes to all of that. But the real kicker? It’s the infinite possibilities. The magical sandbox to play in. A…
The translation of The Whale Rider
In the year 1995, Te Kaieke Tohorā was published—the Māori translation of the book The Whale Rider. We all know that Witi Ihimaera wrote the original, but Sir Tīmoti Kāretu is the man behind the translation. For a long time,…
Interview: Kate Preece on Ten Nosey Weka
Carly Thomas talks with Ten Nosey Weka author Kate Preece about creating a picture book that’s part of the ta rē Moriori revival. A new children’s picture book by Kate Preece sits on the bookshop shelf alongside others. Its beautiful…
Review: Three picture books with messages for their readers
Annelies Judson reviews three recent picture books designed to soothe and inspire young readers. The Lucky Little Pig, by Stacey Smith, illustrated by Deborah Hinde The Lucky Little Pig is another in an unofficial series of “Aotearoa Natural Disaster Animal…
The Giselle Clarkson Comic: Number 43
Forward this link to your boss instead of a doctor’s certificate – the Giselle Clarkson comic is full of good reasons to skip work today.
Interview: Stacy Gregg on Nine Girls
2024 judge of the NZCYA awards Belinda Whyte in conversation with Margaret Mahy Award winner Stacy Gregg. I’ll be honest with you, I had never read a Stacy Gregg novel before reading Nine Girls for the judging of the 2024…
Review: Three adventurous new graphic novels
Three new graphic novels that explore ideas of friendship and adventure. Duffy is determined to help a new friend who is being bullied, Miles and Jones need to save themselves, their parents and their park and Detective Beans is on…
A selection of poems for National Poetry Day
Paula Green shares eight poems for children from Roar Squeak Purr: A Treasury of New Zealand Animal Poems. In 2013, I launched Poetry Box, an online poetry page for children in Aotearoa. I wanted to create a meeting place for…
Books Alive: a scene report from Books Alive 2024
Annelies Judson explores the Wellington edition of Books Alive, the schools programme that accompanies the NZCYA awards. It’s a beautiful morning in the capital and lines of children, like wriggling eels, are making their way into the National Library. Once…
Interview: Maia Bennett on judging the 2024 NZCYA awards
Convenor of the 2024 NZCYA Book Awards Maia Bennett takes The Sapling behind the scenes on selecting the cream of this year’s crop of books for children and young adults. On Wednesday evening the winners of the children’s and young…
For fox’s sake: An Interview With Juliette MacIver
Effervescent wordsmith Juliette MacIver has just released her new picture book, Little Axel’s Axolotl, a whimsical story about a very loved axolotl that dreams of adventure. In classic MacIver style, it is full of brilliant soundplay and interesting vocabulary, and…
The Winners of the 2024 NZCYA awards are…
Fresh off the ceremony at Pipitea Marae, Wellington, the winners of the 2024 NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults are… The Margaret Mahy Book of the Year and the Junior Fiction Award: Nine Girls by Stacy Gregg (Ngāti…