The Sapling

Book Quiz: Old Books, New Illustrations

Some beautiful new picture books that have hit shelves in recent years have had roots of an older vintage. So our latest quiz challenges you to pick the illustrator of the reissues of eight Kiwi books. We’ve included the covers…

Storylines Manuscript Award Finalists 2020

The NZ book awards season has really kicked off in earnest today, but alongside the grown-up awards (The Ockhams) generating a lot of talkonline, it’s also the day that both the Storyline Notable Books 2020 and the Storylines manuscript award…

THE SAMPLING: A Trio of Sophies

Eileen Merriman has been a constant fixture in the Aotearoa YA scene since the 2017 release of her debut, Pieces of You. Each of her books has taken an unflinching approach towards teenage lives and their associated challenges and issues.

Book Quiz: Te Tiriti o Waitangi | The Treaty

Aotearoa marked the 180th anniversary of the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi/The Treaty of Waitangi yesterday – so our quiz today looks through some of the different books for young people focused on Te Tiriti and Waitangi Day. Test…

THE SAMPLING: If Only

Hawke’s Bay author, reviewer and bookseller Adele Broadbent is back with a new title for a young adult audience.

THE SAMPLING: The Book of Overthinking

Last year we shared with you a Sampling from Gwendoline Smith’s bestseller The Book of Knowing. And this year, Dr Know is back with a follow-up title, The Book of Overthinking.

THE SAMPLING: Volcanoes and Earthquakes

There has been an enormous amount of amazing local non-fiction in recent months – and here’s a taster of one of those releases. Volcanoes and Earthquakes by Sarah and Gordon Ell is part of Oratia’s ‘The NZ Series’ and this extract is reproduced with permission.

Merry Christmas from Giselle & The Sapling

The editors of The Sapling all love a good kids’ Christmas book. This comic celebrates the books that Briar, Thalia, Kura, and Sarah have enjoyed in the past. We hope you all have a wonderful holiday! Meri Kihiramete!

The Great New Zealand Book Quote Quiz 2019

Here’s a fiendishly tricky one: can you match the quote to the 2019 middle reader or YA new release? For consistency – and marking the year of their publication – the quote is specifically from page 20, line 19 of…

Book Quiz: Do You Know Your Te Reo Māori Titles?

How’s your reo Māori looking? Can you pick which is MEKA (true) and which is TEKA (false) when figuring out the correct translation of a title? Test yourself, share with a friend, and let us know on Facebook or Twitter…