In the wake of various opinions about the state of children’s literature, Hannah Marshall tells us why we should be centring the voices of young people and moving on from the tired rhetoric of PC madness and literary elitism. Two…
A fleeting comment on Radio NZ about books set in Aotearoa made student and book reviewer Hannah Marshall uneasy. She sets out on a quest to figure out why it is that we don’t want to set our books here,…
Where are the young trans heroes fighting dragons? Kylie, Rey, and Mindy Parry recount their experiences of trying to find trans role models in literature. As the parent of two transgender kids working as a school librarian, I’m keenly aware…
We all have that one book; the one that turned us on to reading, or reached out and grabbed us by the heart and squeezed.
Should children be persuaded to read critically-acclaimed and classic books? Today Steph Matuku, an award-winning writer and mother from Taranaki, puts up her case for convincing kids to broaden their literary horizons, and shares how she’s tackling the challenge of…
Chances are if you’ve had a young reader in your life in the past decade or so, you’ll have a Dawn McMillan book or two somewhere on your bookshelves. Does I Need A New Bum! ring any bells? Or perhaps…
Te Wiki o te Reo Māori continues with this installment of The Reckoning from University of Waikato senior lecturer Nicola Daly, where she explores different approaches to text layout in bilingual picture books! With a growing number of options in…
Here’s a new instalment of The Reckoning from writer and teacher Tania Roxborogh. She considers the use of Māori in classrooms and stories from here in Aotearoa and beyond – and she discusses her new book Charlie Tangaroa and the…
We’re always interested to see what David Hill has to say – whether it’s his novels, his picture books, or his reviews. In this latest instalment of The Reckoning, David talks through his experience of the struggle to please everyone……
How many books have you read about Muslims since the Christchurch mosque shootings? How many have you read in your lifetime? In this instalment of The Reckoning, Sapling editor Nida Fiazi argues for more books with Muslim representation, and offers…