Reviews

Three Kiwi series for independent readers

Rachel Moore reviews three world-class Kiwi series for readers from around the age of seven: Miniwings by Sally Sutton, Flying Furballs by Donovan Bixley and The Dragon Defenders by James Russell. Make a note of these for any upcoming nieces’…

Four Very Different NZ Picture Books

Mark Broatch reviews four recent picture books by New Zealand authors and illustrators – Inspector Brunswick: The Case of the Missing Eyebrow about a feline detective and an art gallery, What Are You Supposed to Be? about a weird wolf,…

A review of Pieces of You by Eileen Merriman

Earlier this month we published a short excerpt from Pieces of You, a major new YA novel from a debut Kiwi author. We asked Denis Wright, YA novelist and experienced high school English teacher to give us his verdict. Let…

Reviewing Mr Postmouse, the Dedicated Postie

Here Comes Mr Postmouse and Postmouse Goes on Holiday are charming creations from French-Canadian Marianne Dubuc, translated by Greet Pauwelijn. Book Island were based on the Kapiti Coast, but are now based in Brighton, UK. In Here Comes Mr Postmouse,…

Factual books for kids from NZ and beyond

Mary Walker reviews one British and three Kiwi non-fiction books for children of various ages and finds that, generally, they’re being done well. Here are books on biodiversity, space, sharks and feet! Books are big in our house. As a…

The Upside-Down World of Twice Upon a Time

Poet and children’s writer James Norcliffe is a national treasure. He has been involved in the School for Young Writers in Christchurch for many years, and releases both poetry and junior fiction books regularly. Sarah Forster reviews his latest novel…

A book club reviews the new Patrick Ness

Today, Release, a new YA novel by Patrick Ness, hits the shelves of New Zealand bookshops. We asked a Wellington-based book club – adults who read a lot of YA, and fans of Ness’s previous work – to get together…

Ted Dawe’s Into the River, an American view

Soon after the 2015 banning controversy in New Zealand, Into the River was purchased by US publisher Polis Books, and will be released in paperback in the US this month. We had YA writer and renowned American book critic Michael…

Introducing poetry to kids: two books

Poet Hannah Mettner considers two international books aimed at inspiring a love of poetry in young readers. Like many other New Zealanders of my generation, I grew up with a hard-cover copy of Poems to Read to Young New Zealanders….

Words/pictures: a review of graphic novel, Moa

Mitch Marks reviews Moa, a collection of comics by James Davidson (published by Earth’s End), and makes a case for the importance of graphic novels in general. It’s well documented, and kind of a no-brainer, that combining words and pictures…