Three Pieces of Advice from Joy Cowley
Claudia Palmer attends the launch of Joy Cowley’s latest book A Lot of Silly. I didn’t follow Joy Cowley’s advice when I sat down to write this piece. Her number one tip is: don’t start with a title: write the…
Joy Cowley
2024 NZCYA Picture Book Award Finalists
The picture book finalist pukapuka are as varied as they are colourful. Linda Jane Keegan takes the shortlisted books to a few classes at Tākaka Primary School and asks the tamariki what they think. See our comments on the complete…
Reviews: Three Picture Books
Summer’s coming, and so are the school holidays. But don’t fret, Carly Thomas has you sorted with this latest batch of picture book reviews, all featuring the beach and seaside activities to do/reminisce about with your little ones! Daisy McCray…
A Book Lover’s Dream: A Review of Featherston Booktown
Sapling editor Hannah Marshall tapped into her inner journalist to attend the Featherston Booktown festival earlier this month. Her findings are reported here (spoiler: she loved every minute of it). On any ordinary day, the small southern Wairarapa town of…
Frances McBeath: Building bridges with Joy
Co-founder of The Sapling Jane Arthur has a long-standing interest in educational publishing – so when the opportunity came along to pick the brain of Clean Slate Press’ Frances McBeath, it was the perfect match. Read on to learn more…
Book Reviews: Lively New Books for Young Readers
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…
Book List: NZ-focused young reader novels
In response to a request The Sapling put out on Twitter, teacher and author Sarina Dickson has compiled this wonderful list of New Zealand titles for those young readers who have finished Harry Potter and are reading above their age…
A Day in the Life: Illustrator Kimberly Andrews
Kimberly Andrews is the illustrator of the re-illustrated Joy Cowley picture book, Song of the River (Gecko Press). Here she tells us – in words and pictures – about her daily creative routine, and her container home and studio. My…
Book List: Picture Books about Death and Grief
Whāngārei specialist children’s librarian Meredith Wightman gives us a peek into her notebook today, and gives us a list of picture books that can help children ponder and process death, dying and grief. Last week I was flicking through my…
Book List: Experiences of disability
Disability consultant, activist and blogger Robyn Hunt suggests 21 books, from picture books to YA, that illuminate experiences of disability. Designing a book list for children and YA on disability is difficult. Such books are not usually at the top…