Features

Big Daddy Protests: Learning to March

Writer Gem Wilder took her daughter to the School Strike 4 Climate on Friday, which reminded her of the first book she read in which non-violent protest was encouraged: Big Daddy Protests!. This book was one of a series of…

The Giselle Clarkson Comic: Number 20

This is a momentous occasion: it’s the second anniversary of Giselle Clarkson Comics on The Sapling (actually, the second anniversary of The Sapling, too). Where does the time go …?! To celebrate, here is the 20th Giselle Clarkson Comic, all…

The Reckoning: Taking Children's Books Seriously

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…

Book Quiz: School and Education in Books

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….

School Librarians of Aotearoa: Colleen Shipley

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…

‘I was running a bit toward the wild’

‘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…

Best Picture Books for New New Zealanders

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…

The Giselle Clarkson Comic: Number 19

Do you recognise the name Avis Acres? Giselle Clarkson fills us in on the importance of this early figure in New Zealand children’s literature – and slips in some rather surprising facts.

THE SAMPLING: The Book of Knowing

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.

THE SAMPLING: The Very Annoying Ghost

Kyle Mewburn Ricky’s family buy a mansion in a trendy suburb, with panoramic views of the city. Too good to be true… Yep, a real bargain. But this house also has a resident ghost, who wants them out. Cockroaches in…