Do you want to be sure you’re getting top-shelf books for your favourite people this Christmas – or on any gift-giving occasion? We are making it easy for you! Here is our selection of the very best New Zealand books…
Children’s comics embrace all the possibilities inherent in good fiction. They are original, compelling and relevant, but also of increased importance for reluctant readers, and those who value the written word and illustration. Here, Monty Masseurs and Nicola Crombie from…
Young adults who are part of gender or sexual minorities may be in need of extra support in school environments. We asked School Library Assistant Cathy-Ellen Paul to help equip school staff to be their champions, including in the reading…
We wanted to celebrate NZ Poetry Day this year with a fabulous list of children’s poetry. And who better to bring this to you than our very own Paula Green, creator of Poetry Box and NZ Poetry Shelf, and wonderful…
I’ve long maintained that our Young Adult authors are world class. But I’ve frequently heard that teens have a touch of what our adults apparently have – cultural cringe; an assumption that NZ means boring, ordinary. We need to read…
We asked Thalia Kehoe Rowden to put together a list of picture books showing a range of family set-ups, from one-parent families to families with two dads; anything but ‘Mum, Dad and the kids’. Here are some great suggestions to…
A few weeks ago, John McIntyre wrote his final replies to the last round of Dear John letters we received before he died. One of the letters asked for suggestions of must-haves for a first library, and we thought John’s…
What makes a book last? What makes it win? I try to figure this out, as a judge of the NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults this year, revisiting 15 books that won the top awards and have…
Children’s author, writing teacher and editor Raymond Huber is fascinated by the way in which children’s writers have used picture books historically to fight dictators. This is especially apt right now (ahem), so here are a few books he would…
Anzac Day brings with it a fever pitch of publishing of war books for both children and adults. This has been especially true during the centenary commemorations of World War I. People are horrified by war, but also fascinated, and…