The Sapling

The Sampling: Tūī Street Legends

By Anne Kayes The Sapling is running a Summer Excerpt Series showcasing the junior and young adult titles from the 2023 Storylines Notable Book Awards. Next up is the third title in Anne Kaye’s Tūī Street series, Tūī Street Legends. You can read…

The Sampling: Iris and Me

By Philippa Werry The Sapling is running a Summer Excerpt Series showcasing the junior and young adult titles from the 2023 Storylines Notable Book Awards. As well as being a Notable Book, Iris and Me was the Young Adult Fiction winner in the…

The Sampling: Pipi and Pou and the Tentacles of the Deep (#3)

Written by Tim Tipene and illustrated by Isobel Joy Te Aho-White The Sapling is running a Summer Excerpt Series showcasing the junior and young adult titles from the 2023 Storylines Notable Book Awards. Here is a short but tantalising snippet from Pipi and…

The Sampling: The Sparrow

By Tessa Duder The Sapling is running a Summer Excerpt Series showcasing the junior and young adult titles from the 2023 Storylines Notable Book Awards. This week we have the first chapter from Tessa Duder’s The Sparrow. Hannah Marshall put some questions to…

The Sampling: Flying and Falling

By Lynda Tomalin This installment of our Summer Excerpt Series showcasing the junior and young adult titles from the 2023 Storylines Notable Book Awards features a snippet from Lynda Tomalin’s latest book, Flying and Falling—a touching YA romance that centres teen…

The Sampling: Once Upon a Wickedness

By Fleur Beale Fleur Beale—one of Aotearoa’s most prolific children’s authors—appeals to a younger audience with her latest offering, titled Once Upon a Wickedness. This magical adventure story, with its powerful messages, brave heroine, and familiar fairytale backdrop is sure…

The Sampling: Jason Mason and the Flightless Bird Fiasco (#2)

By Jason Gunn and Andrew Gunn The Gunn brothers continue their action-packed, hilarious, and classically Kiwi junior fiction series with Jason Mason and the Flightless Bird Fiasco. It’s fast-paced, packed with local references, and spotlights an uber relatable protagonist—the perfect…

The Sampling: Catch a Falling Star

By Eileen Merriman The Sapling is running a Summer Excerpt Series showcasing the junior and young adult titles from the 2023 Storylines Notable Book Awards. Catch a Falling Star (read a review here) is the prequel to Eileen Merriman’s Catch…

List: A selection of re-released picture books

Many books are worth reading more than once, and some are worth publishing more than once. Here we highlight a few titles re-released this year. To Catch a Cloud By Elena de Roo & Hannah Peck Published by Faber RRP:…

Quiz: A Kiwi Christmas

The last time The Sapling did a Christmas quiz was in our founding year, 2017. Since then, Aotearoa’s canon of Christmas books has continued to grow. Test your knowledge with our festive-themed quiz! Questions 1. Heather Haylock’s Granny McFlitter series…