Features

Michele A’Court: The Books My Kids Are Reading

Writer, comedian and author of a new collection of true love stories, How We Met, Michele A’Court tells us about the books she reads to her granddaughter, and the tricks she uses at story time. As much as I am…

THE SAMPLING: 1918: Broken Poppies

1918: Broken Poppies is the fifth and final book in Scholastic NZ’s ‘Kiwis at War’ series, which commemorates New Zealand’s involvement in the First World War. Author Des Hunt based this book on the experiences of two of his uncles who fought in WWI.

School Librarians of Aotearoa: Michelle Simms

Michelle Simms is the Library Manager and ICT Coordinator at Te Totara Primary School in the north of Hamilton. She also writes the blog Good Keen Librarian, where she talks about her experiences as a school librarian. I am the…

Book List: When Parents Break Up or Divorce

We all know books can be faithful companions in hard times. Blenheim school counsellor Louisa Woods suggests some books that might help children process what’s going on in their families during separation. Separation is a challenging, often tumultuous situation for…

Queen Olivia St Redfern: Rainbow Story Time

At The Sapling, we believe that books grow humans. Rainbow Story Time is a recent phenomenon helping to grow humans who aren’t too hung up on the gender binary, and who are comfortable with who they are. Here to tell…

Author interview: Pauline (Vaeluaga) Smith

NZ-Pasifika writer Pauline (Vaeluaga) Smith has recently published her first book, Dawn Raid, as a part of Scholastic’s ‘My New Zealand Story’ series. Leilani Tamu catches up with Pauline to find out more about her writing journey and the experience…

Book List: Prescription Pad Literature

We all know books can be faithful companions in hard times. Today Palmerston North Youth Librarian Alan Dingley gets out his prescription pad and suggests excellent books for children going through tough stuff. My six-year-old daughter asked me the other…

Book Quiz: Animals during wartime

Anzac Day is fast approaching, and if there’s one thing you can count on from Anzac publishing, it is great books about companion animals. We featured Maria Gill and Glyn Harper talking about this phenomenon last month, but how well…

Review: Go Girl: A Storybook of Epic NZ Women

You will have seen our Sampling, you have seen why it needed to be written. Now, here’s the verdict on Go Girl: A Storybook of Epic NZ Women. Is it everything it promises to be? Emily Writes is here to…