The environment, conservation, and an Olympic athlete feature in five of Aotearoa’s newest non-fiction books, as lead editor Linda Jane Keegan tells us in this latest batch of reviews. Sylvia and the Birds by Johanna Emeney and Sarah Laing Sylvia…
Founding editor Sarah Forster talks all things aeroplanes, albatrosses, creepy dolls and more in Aotearoa’s latest offering of junior fiction annuals. Annual 3, edited by Susan Paris and Kate De Goldi On opening Annual 3, I was impressed by the…
By Denika Mead Denika Mead brings us the final title in The Crystal Continent series. After defeating the Ghost Warriors, Ivy is now Queen of the Crystal People. But peace doesn’t last for long when a dragon hatches in the…
Our first post-hiatus batch of reviews comes from Kay Benseman, with her incredibly thorough insights into books with questions, laughs, things to look for, local history and some sticky situations. Jiffy’s Greatest Hits by Catherine Chidgey and illustrated by Astrid…
In the wake of various opinions about the state of children’s literature, Hannah Marshall tells us why we should be centring the voices of young people and moving on from the tired rhetoric of PC madness and literary elitism. Two…
Richard Fairgray is an award-winning creator who has published over 200 titles, ranging from children’s books like Gorillas in Our Midst and My Grandpa Is a Dinosaur to graphic novels like Black Sand Beach, Blastosaurus and Cardboardia. Here, Charlotte Fielding…
Mikaela Ellwood is the School Librarian at Henderson North School in Tāmaki Makaurau. The school library I am privileged to work in is tucked in a corner of Henderson, on the edge of Auckland. I was welcomed to this role…
Gone are the days of beating around the bush and euphemisms about the birds and the bees. Here guest writer Susan gives us the rundown on books for kids about puberty, sex, bodies, gender, and relationships. Susan is a journalist,…
By Richard Fairgray Four-Color Heroes is a touching love story which follows two star-crossed young men who—in spite of their disparate backgrounds—find escape and one another through the pages of a comic book. The coming-of-age romance is set in a…
Begone, hiatus! Lets bring back the most vital space for discussing Aotearoa’s fabulous kids books! Editor Sarah hands over the reins to Linda Jane and both put in a call for greater diversity on the page and behind it. For…