This month we’re featuring Heather McQuillan, whose new novel for young adults, Truth Needs No Colour, is released this month. Heather teaches writing, and writes short fiction and poetry and novels for young people. 1. Describe yourself in three words:…
Clinical Psychologist Philippa McDowall reviews a collection of stories for neurodivergent children. Square Me, Round World was the best book I read to neurodivergent children last year. Children who communicate differently, and who experience the sensory and social world differently…
Katherine Hurst chats with Sarah Wilkins about her new book, Diary of a Marine Biologist, scientific curiosity, AI and sea anemones. Katherine Hurst: Can you tell me a little about your background? How did you get into illustrating? Sarah Wilkins:…
Bee Trudgeon provides an introduction to manga, for grown ups who may be trying to keep up with the kids. Japan has had a failsafe way to attract teens to books for decades, but in Aotearoa the magnetic wonder of…
Kiri Lightfoot, author of the young adult novel Bear, on how writing a book for teens reminded her how tricky the transition to adulthood can be. I spent nearly a decade writing a novel for young adults. Yes, it took…
As the name suggests, Duffy Books in Homes distributes free books to almost one hundred thousand children each year. The charitable foundation has been doing it for thirty years —with impressive statistics to match— in a bid to instill a…
Hannah Bennett shares her family’s insights into the libraries of Auckland after their epic quest to visit all of them in 2024 It began, as many good conversations do, on a long family car trip. ‘I wonder what we’ll do…
Elizabeth Heritage speaks with Alan Dingley about his role as Te Awhi Rito New Zealand Reading Ambassador. When I first meet Alan Dingley, he apologises for the wodge of tissue shoved up his nose. He’d just come from playing basketball…
Librarians Penny Walch and Julie Huggins have been sharing their enthusiasm for Aotearoa’s children’s books in podcast form since 2021. Here, Penny takes us through the highs and lows of podcasting. What do two librarians with verbal diarrhoea who are…
National Library staffers Crissi Blair and Tracey Greenwood share ways National Library Services to Schools can support school communities. Building a thriving reading culture As literacy shapes futures and stories cultivate empathy, fostering a culture of reading in schools has…