Home Child, based on child migrant Pat Brown’s early life, is such a major change of pace, a poignant, heart-wrenching story by a writer so well known for her hugely successful funny rhyming books like I Need a New Bum,…
What connects the mysterious hairy man of the Australian bush, the Japanese author Haruki Murakami, and a struggling donkey just trying to get by in the big city? I loved Tohby Riddle’s 2009 picture book Nobody Owns the Moon from…
We are pleased to present a regular series highlighting the work, expertise and enthusiasm of some of the greatest children’s booksellers of New Zealand. Here’s a shop that was born in the same year as The Sapling’s two founding editors:…
Australia-based New Zealander Bren MacDibble has been a published writer for many years, but only recently broke into the trade children’s publishing market. Last year, she won both the Young Adult and the Junior Fiction Awards at the NZ Book…
Illustrator Stevie Mahardhika is best known for his work for Scholastic NZ, including Row, Kiwi, Row Your Boat and the new picture book Five Little Ducks Went Off to School. Here, he tells us about his typical day and how…
Debbie McCauley is an award-winning author, historian, indie publisher, librarian and poet with a passion for telling the stories of her local area and community. Philippa Werry finds out how she goes about it all. I first met Debbie in…
In 2014, New Zealand teacher Kerri Thompson participated in a Global Read Aloud. This programme was founded by US educator Pernille Ripp. Ella West was one of the first authors to be invited to participate in the NZ version of…
Author Swapna Haddow has recently moved to Christchurch from her home in the UK. Her Dave Pigeon books are absolutely hilarious, so we asked her to tell us a bit about the funny books of her childhood. From Sweet Valley,…
Phoebe Morris is the illustrator of a series of acclaimed picture book biographies written by David Hill, which have included the stories of New Zealanders Jean Batten, Burt Munro, Edmund Hillary and most recently Hero of the Sea: Sir Peter…
October 2017 saw Sunshine Coast local Jessica Townsend hit the big time. Her children’s novel Nevermoor was the biggest-selling Australian children’s debut since records began. It swept the world into a frenzy and propelled her into literary stardom. The second…