Cassie Hart reviews two new middle grade novels both entrenched in a sense of place and dealing with difficult emotions. Rachael King’s The Grimmelings is beautiful and fantastical, and Leonie Agnew’s Take Me To Your Leader is funny and heartwarming….
Fiona Giles reviews four books which cover learning numbers with tūī, sharing new words with siblings, a creative retelling of a fairytale featuring tardigrades, and a Ferrari-inspired story about dreaming big. Annelies Judson reviews the fifth: the latest in Dawn…
Easter is just around the corner! Bee Trudgeon reviews the newest batch of picture books with chickens, fairies, and rabbits. Fun to read at Easter, or any time of year. I’m going to be straight up about this: my favourite…
Leila Austin reviews two new novels and comes across adventurous kids, dragon poo and mysteriously vanishing pistachio cupcakes. Maddison McQueen and the Cupcake Mystery (Red Collie Mysteries: Book 1), by Kate Gordon-Smith (Relish Books) Maddison McQueen and the Cupcake Mystery…
Transport, friendship, noisy library-users, pizza nights and child-fearing dentists are all covered in this line-up of new Aotearoa picture books. Kay Benseman reviews. Double Dippers (Big Little Blue #3), by Raymond McGrath (Scholastic NZ) This was my first read of a…
Linda Jane Keegan reviews two books that are rooted in nature connectivity. Ultrawild is a thought experiment encompassing environmental science, engineering, and outrageous ideas for how to save the planet, and The Beach Activity Book is an assortment of water-themed…
Annelies Judson shares her thoughts on four very different—but equally vibrant—picture books to hit the shelves. The Littlest Lifeguard, by Vanessa Hatley-Owen, illustrated by Lisa Allen The Littlest Lifeguard is a lighthearted look at how the smallest of us can…
Frank Wilson is an initial education lecturer at Te Herenga Waka and works for the Aotearoa Social Studies Educators’ Network. Here she explores two new Aotearoa histories texts through the lens of a critical literacy framework in light of the…
Christmas books go out from the library at any of time of the year (well at least they do in Tākaka), but obviously Christmas time is the best time for diving into these festive reads. Linda Jane Keegan reviews the…
Toitoi 33 is the latest collection of stories, art, and more, created by young people aged 5-18 from across the motu. Student Charlotte Hainstock offers us her thoughts on the newest issue. This latest issue of New Zealand’s Toitoi magazine…