Donovan Bixley lets the cat out of the bag as he completes his Flying Furballs series. Why did you choose war and spies as the basis for your middle-grade series? Most of my books start from doodling things I love…
It’s October and boy do we have a treat for you! This month, Gecko Press is releasing an absolutely delectable Aotearoa title that will have your mouth watering and tastebuds tingling! Egg & Spoon, by chef and author Alexandra Tylee,…
Whether you feel small, displaced or concerned about the environment, there are some wonderfully uplifting books coming for October. Traverse the universe and our natural environment with Becky Popham as she reports back on these fabulous picture books. Little Hector…
Chances are if you’ve had a young reader in your life in the past decade or so, you’ll have a Dawn McMillan book or two somewhere on your bookshelves. Does I Need A New Bum! ring any bells? Or perhaps…
This spring season has brought forth some fantastic new titles, and these two YA novels are no exception! Read on to find out what Sarah Forster thinks about Lisette Prendè’s latest, Bianca de Lumière, and Dan Salmon’s unexpectedly timely YA…
Detective hounds, free-range hens, grumbling toddlers, an ode to bugs and an adventure-filled fairytale. There’s an abundance of love, acceptance, friendship, parties, tantrums and surprises in these new picture books from Aotearoa. Hound the Detective by Kimberly Andrews (Puffin) Hound…
Three years ago, we asked Thalia Kehoe Rowden to put together a list of picture books showing a variety of family set-ups. At the time, she had to go beyond our shores in order to complete the list. Since then,…
In this wonderful batch of reviews, there are books with two different interpretations of the feats and antics of Māui-tikitiki-a-Taranga, a bedtime-shirking pīpī kiwi and a blanket filled with memories. Nā Mihi Henare, tētahi kaiāwhina i Te Puna Reo o…
James Norcliffe and Bernard Beckett are both—among other things—heavy hitters in the chapter book space, telling stories that are thought-provoking, engaging and eminently compelling to read. So with both these chaps releasing new junior fiction titles this September, we thought…
Reviewer and author Melinda Szymanik has reviewed a group of Aotearoa junior and middle fiction, with some highly illustrated titles mixing with some harder-to-read stories for the upper end of the age group. Flying Furballs: Nine Lives written and illustrated…