Features

The Sampling: Cook Islands Heroes

We are excited to present this excerpt from David Riley’s Cook Island Heroes, the most recent book in his Pasifika Heroes series. David Riley’s book covers a huge spectrum about what a ‘hero’ is, and mixes legends with true tales of heroic Cook Islanders. He includes leaders, scientists, educators, creative artists, writers, and sportspeople, and many more.

Storylines Hui: Where Islands Connect

Did you know that there is a gathering especially for writers and illustrators happening in Auckland at the start of October? There is! The Storylines Hui looks set to be an invaluable opportunity to catch up, learn from and hang…

Father’s Day: Four Dads on Reading at Home

Ahead of Father’s Day, four Kiwi Dads let us in on what their family reading lives are like. Here are some excerpts from previous The Sapling articles by music journalist Nick Bollinger; founder of the Ngaio Marsh Awards and writer…

Children’s Literature: From Page to Stage

Children’s Theatre expert and teacher Robert Dil writes about the joy of seeing your favourite book on stage, the history of the connection from page to stage, and how theatre can be used to benefit literacy learning. The best stories…

Book List: An Alphabet of Poetry for Kids

We wanted to celebrate NZ Poetry Day this year with a fabulous list of children’s poetry. And who better to bring this to you than our very own Paula Green, creator of Poetry Box and NZ Poetry Shelf, and wonderful…

Quiz: the Who’s Who of the Kids’ Book Awards

You know their words, you know their pictures … but do you know their faces? We were very privileged to be at the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults last week, and here are a few of…

School Librarians of Aotearoa: Clare Forrest

New Zealand’s school librarians are passionate, engaged professionals who know how to get students of all ages and reading levels into reading. Clare Forrest works at Raroa Normal Intermediate, and is the sixth librarian featured in this segment. I have…

And the winners of the Book Awards are …

Freshly announced at the Awards Ceremony in Wellington, the winners of the 2017 NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults are … The Margaret Mahy Book of the Year and the Russell Clark Award for Illustration SNARK Illustrated and…

This book changed my life: Once Were Warriors

Jo Cribb, the recently appointed new Chief Executive of the New Zealand Book Council, chooses one – possibly unexpected – book she wishes every person in this country could read by the age of 18. Jumping on my red Raleigh…

The Reckoning: Cross-cultural reading

In the current Anglo-Saxon book market, there is much that is the same. If one book is successful, there’s a flurry to find another one just like it. Sameness can make us all feel safe, but Julia Marshall from Gecko…