Paula Green shares eight poems for children from Roar Squeak Purr: A Treasury of New Zealand Animal Poems. In 2013, I launched Poetry Box, an online poetry page for children in Aotearoa. I wanted to create a meeting place for…
It was an exciting day at the Storylines Margaret Mahy Awards last weekend. Sapling editor Hannah Marshall was not only the winner for the Unpublished Writer Award in the young adult manuscript category, but captured her reflections of the day—both…
By Philippa Werry The Sapling is running a Summer Excerpt Series showcasing the junior and young adult titles from the 2023 Storylines Notable Book Awards. As well as being a Notable Book, Iris and Me was the Young Adult Fiction winner in the…
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…
It’s our final installment of the NZCYA finalists before the winners are announced next week. Briar Lawry gets the downlow from her high school students on what they think of the finalists, with some insightful if not judgemental reckons. The…
Tomorrow marks 108 years since the landings at Gallipoli in 1915. Editor Linda Jane Keegan tells us about some ANZAC-related books from the last few years, followed up with links to all of The Sapling’s previous book lists, interviews, and…
Sarah Forster reviews three recent junior fiction reads from some of Aotearoa’s most accomplished writers. Below, by David Hill This book takes you underground and leaves you there, gasping for breath until the very end. It is pure David Hill,…
Robin Hyde (pen name for Iris Wilkinson), one of New Zealand’s best poets, novelists and journalists, is widely praised for her wit, compassion, and imagery, as well as for the power and emotional accuracy of her writing. She is credited…
In the first of a two-part series with Kay Benseman (Pākehā German, Irish, Scottish, Spanish, English ancestry) and Barry McLernon (Te Āti Awa & Pākehā Scottish, Dutch ancestry) about Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Kay shares her thoughts about the lack…
We’re always trying to keep things fresh and interesting in our awards coverage, whether that’s remixing what we do with which category or coming up with something new altogether. For 2021’s Picture Book Award finalists, we decided to put the…