Eileen Merriman has just published her third YA book, but it is the impending publication of her first adult novel that has her acquaintances impressed. She makes an argument against the false pedestal upon which adult writing sits. Most bookstores…
What a treat to be handed three titles with wonderful female protagonists. While they all sit comfortably in the junior fiction or middle grade category, they are all very different reads. Hazel and the Snails is a gentle tale of…
New Zealand schools have been back for a month now. How’s your knowledge of fictional schools, teachers and classrooms in Aotearoa literature? Test yourself, share with a friend, and let us know on Facebook or Twitter how you do! 1….
Australia-based New Zealander Bren MacDibble has been a published writer for many years, but only recently broke into the trade children’s publishing market. Last year, she won both the Young Adult and the Junior Fiction Awards at the NZ Book…
Colleen Shipley has been a librarian almost all her working life, but it wasn’t until she returned to work after having children that she discovered the special role of a school librarian. She tells us about her philosophy, her reading…
The only thing these two books have in common is that they are absolutely stunning, and they are broadly for a junior fiction age range. The Dog Runner, by Bren MacDibble, is another well-told ecological story; while Jillion is a…
‘From where I sleep I can see the book on my bookshelf. I have read it so many times it has fallen apart, and now exists as an inelegant bundle of browning pages and brittle Sellotape.’ All her life, actor…
Illustrator Stevie Mahardhika is best known for his work for Scholastic NZ, including Row, Kiwi, Row Your Boat and the new picture book Five Little Ducks Went Off to School. Here, he tells us about his typical day and how…
In this new book, psychologist Gwendoline Smith (AKA Doctor Know) teaches teens about what’s going on in their minds and how to get their feelings under control. Last week, we published an extract: this week, we have a review of…
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…