Alex still stands out in editor Sarah’s mind as one of the best flawed, real female characters ever written in New Zealand YA. Alex: The Quartet brings together the four Alex books in one handy package, giving her the ideal…
Chapter books and novels are order of the day in our reviewing neighbourhood, with three new books targeted at the junior/middle fiction space, and special guest appearance by the latest Philip Pullman. Teacher and former bookseller Annelies Judson shares her…
This month we have a new te reo Māori title reviewer, Mihi Henare (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Hine, Te Whānau-ā-Apanui), reviewing a new batch of te reo Māori books released during Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori in September. Whakarongo ki…
When the review titles arrived this month, my kids called me the Book Queen and hugged the pages to their chests, eyes wide, already imagining what was inside. Book Queen? I said, I am the Queen of all the world…
It isn’t news to anyone that Aotearoa is currently marking a significant anniversary, as we pass the 250 years since James Cook circumnavigated this country’s islands in the H.M.B. Endeavour. Some see it as a cause for celebration, others commemoration,…
Here’s the latest in exciting new picture books here in Aotearoa, reviewed by Nida Fiazi – including the debut picture book from The Sapling’s very own co-editor Thalia Kehoe Rowden. There’s tries to score, oceans to clean up, voices to find…
I tēnei putanga whakanui i te Wiki o Te Reo Māori kua kōrero ki ētehi tamariki nō Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o te Tonga o Hokianga, kia rongo he pēhea ō rātou whakaaro mō ētehi tānga reo Māori ina tata…
Here’s a peek at three new non-fiction titles, as reviewed by Esther Kiernan (with a little input from her nine-year-old son). With two biographies – a palaeontologist and a sporting superstar – and one geology book, there’s something for every…
Susette Goldsmith reviews four fascinating books for older readers: think steampunk shenanigans, paranormal romance, celebrity secret identities and the grim realities of life as a member of a persecuted populace. As different as they may be, it turns out that…
Sarah Forster reviews current releases Harriet and the eye of the Bird, Bonjour Lucy Bee and The Invincibles: Power Up! She also reviews a final manuscript for Tūī Street Heroes, thanks to Wildling Books. This will release in September. The…