Author Melinda Szymanik considers war books for children, how they create deeper empathy, and tells us what writers balance as they write these books. Every year, amongst the latest batch of published stories for children about superheroes, horses, dogs and…
Every two weeks we compile, for your browsing pleasure, cool children’s book happenings (and peripherally related news) from around Aotearoa, the world and the internet. We were really pleased to learn that Duck, Death and the Tulip creator Wolf Erlbruch…
An excerpt from David Hill’s Flight Path, a YA novel about 18-year-old Jack who wanted to escape boring little New Zealand – but soon finds that flying in a Lancaster bomber to attack Hitler’s forces brings terror as well as excitement.
Storylines Children’s Literature Foundation has given awards for local children’s literature since 2000, named for some of our most distinguished authors, both living and dead. All images below are courtesy of Crissi Blair. This is the first time I have…
School principal Fraser Smith writes about how his debut children’s novel Awatea’s Treasure went from idea to manuscript to published book. Awatea’s Treasure began on a School Camp, sitting around a fire on round rocks still warm from the sun,…
In which our illustrator attempts to preserve her childhood innocence by living in denial for a decade.
Nina Powles revisits her childhood obsession with The Saddle Club series and finds their appeal, though flawed, remains. There was one book in the school library that I got out so many times I knew its exact place on the…
One of the first things we did when considering The Sapling was sit down and think: now, what can we offer that nobody else can? There are a lot of wonderful book-focused bloggers in New Zealand, as well as quite…
Child psychologist Amy Wilson-Hughes gives some practical advice for using books and stories to help kids who are struggling with anxiety. Parents, caregivers and teachers: bookmark this one! There aren’t too many people who make it through life – especially…
New Zealand’s school librarians are passionate, engaged professionals who know how to get students of all ages and reading levels into reading. This is the first of our monthly spotlights on inspirational school librarians. I am fortunate enough to be…