Slowly but surely, New Zealand has built up its very own range of Christmas-themed Children’s literature. Sarah realised recently that she has most of these books at home. See how much you know about them! 1. Margaret Mahy’s The Christmas…
Today our special guest writer is the Prime Minister of New Zealand, the Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern, who is also Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage. She tells us about her surprising reading journey as a child and teenager. My…
Poet and children’s bookseller Freya Daly Sadgrove is a strong believer in the power of the right book for the right person at the right time. Here, she writes about why (in her own words) ‘books are great as gifts…
Prue Langbein was a producer in the drama department of Radio New Zealand for 26 years. She began her work there as a story producer for the ground-breaking children’s show Ears. More recently, inspired by a trip to America on…
Founding Sapling editor, Jane, has been away from The Sapling for the past three months due to having a baby, Pete. Here she offers ten thoughts about books and reading in relation to hanging out with a new human every…
Our beloved illustrator Giselle Clarkson has fallen in love again… with another book! Scroll down to see her brilliant review of Impossible Inventions: Ideas that shouldn’t work by Matgorzata Mycielska, Aleksandra Mizielińska and Daniel Mizieliński (Gecko Press).
The lovely Mina Cucina is a terrible cook! Unfortunately the Great Bonbon Confectionation, which every person in the town must enter, is coming up, and she doesn’t know what to make. Luckily, her kitchen holds a secret. You know how toys come alive when you aren’t watching? In Mina’s kitchen, it’s the forgotten food from beneath the cooker and fridge.
When we asked if Suzanne Main would write an article about funny books for kids, her reaction was, ‘What do I know about funny books? I just write them!’ Turns out the answer is, quite a bit! I don’t primarily…
Did you see our books of the year?! To help you with your Christmas and end-of-year book shopping, we published our picks of the best YA Books, Factual Books, Junior and Middle Fiction, and Picture Books over the past week,…
Two-time judge of the Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, Fiona Mackie is an excellent person to have in charge of reforming your library. This is very lucky for Pinehurst School, where Mackie has worked for the past three…