Last weekend, Tara Black attended a masterclass on how to create a picture book, led by Joy Cowley. This was a fundraiser for Featherston Booktown, which Joy is the patron of. This is presented in graphic format, but with a…
The Sapling’s Simie Simpson, reviews four new picture books from Aotearoa that feature a dog searching for a forever home, a racing buggy that reaches for the stars, some local gardens, imaginative play and emotions. The Garden’s Secrets by Sarah…
TV presenter, radio broadcaster and writer Sam Wallace tells us all about his relationship with books as a child, how it changed as he grew older, and the impact of those experiences on his own kids. I wasn’t a bookworm…
Many of our wonderful picture book writers are both musicians and writers. Diana Neild, writer of Daddy Monster A-B-C and the Piggity-Wiggity series (if you don’t know these, look them up!) and June Pitman-Hayes, writer of Kia ora! You can…
It has been a phenomenal year for picture books from Aotearoa! Here’s our last batch of reviews for 2020, courtesy of co-founder and editor Sarah Forster. Check out her fascinating thoughts on five of the latest fantastic titles to grace…
Picture this. You’re a bookseller, being asked for recommendations for a ten-year-old kid who loves reading but needs something new. You pause in front of the shelf before grabbing three books to suggest – and as you give your spiel…
The Sapling is dedicated to bringing you the best books from Aotearoa for gifting this holidays. This week we bring you the coolest books for kids aged roughly 5-7. The midnight adventures of Ruru and Kiwi, by Clare Scott, illustrated…
The Sapling is dedicated to bringing you the best books from Aotearoa for gifting this holidays, and this year we are doing a little differently. If you are signed up to our newsletter, you’ll receive ALL of our recommendations at…
The Reo Pēpi series is one of the real success stories in the Aotearoa world of publishing for littlies. The popularity of these labour-of-love board books can be credited as having a major role in kicking off a new wave…
Whether you feel small, displaced or concerned about the environment, there are some wonderfully uplifting books coming for October. Traverse the universe and our natural environment with Becky Popham as she reports back on these fabulous picture books. Little Hector…