Features

2024 NZCYA Picture Book Award Finalists

The picture book finalist pukapuka are as varied as they are colourful. Linda Jane Keegan takes the shortlisted books to a few classes at Tākaka Primary School and asks the tamariki what they think. See our comments on the complete…

Day in the Life: Graci Kim

It’s time to look into a day in the life of another Aotearoa book creator! New York Times bestselling author Graci Kim reveals all the hardships of being on tour. A day in the life of an author, you ask?…

The Finalists of the 2024 NZ Kids’ Books Awards Are…

Each year, the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults make for a massive occasion in the Aotearoa kids’ book world—move over Oscars, out of the way Silver Scrolls. This is our night. Well, nearly. Awards night isn’t until August, but between…

The Reckoning: Antiquating the NZ English Curriculum

The New Zealand English school curriculum is undergoing a rewrite and some of the changes suggest a move backwards rather than forwards. High school English teacher Susan Briggs questions who this rewrite prioritises, and describes how English teachers are perfectly…

The Sampling: The Te Papa Activity Book

By Helen Lloyd & Pippa Keel Te Papa Press brings us an excerpt from their latest activity book which can be used at Te Papa, at home, or wherever the desire takes you! It contains colouring and drawing activities, word…

Festival Review: Pukapuka Adventures at AWF

Earlier this month the Auckland Writers Festival saw record-breaking attendance levels. Pukapuka Adventures—the children’s hub of the event—took over Level 5 of the Aotea centre and was brimming with activity. Attendee Annelies Judson describes her experience on the Saturday with…

The Reckoning: The Reasons Why

Following on from the Auckland Writers Festival, David Hill answers the perennial question of authors everywhere: why do you write? In Graeme Lay’s first novel, The Mentor, a sultry female follower approaches the author-narrator, and breathes “Tell me: why do…

A Day in the Life: Feana Tu‘akoi

Feana Tuʻakoi has authored many fiction and non-fiction works for children and is the current University of Otago College of Education Creative New Zealand Children’s Writer in Residence. Here she tells us about why she writes what she writes, and…