Over the past decade, Kiwi illustrator Richard Fairgray has moved from self-publishing comic books, to picture books, to being picked up internationally. He is published in New Zealand by Puffin and Scholastic NZ. Richard Fairgray is a comic book artist…
Author Melinda Szymanik considers war books for children, how they create deeper empathy, and tells us what writers balance as they write these books. Every year, amongst the latest batch of published stories for children about superheroes, horses, dogs and…
Poet, historian and Green Party candidate Leilani Tamu shares the importance she places on words and ideas in her family – and the one book that suits everyone. My husband and I have two children: Kahlei, who is six (going…
Jack Gabriel gorges on six international picture books from Walker Books and Gecko Press, from France, the UK and the US, finding something to recommend about each and every one. Warning: get your wallet ready. Like any good smorgasbord, this…
Hilarious writer-about-parenting, Emily Writes tells us about the books her kids love, and what story time looks like at their place.
First-time authors Chaz Harris and Adam Reynolds have been all over the international media lately, thanks to the success of their self-published, crowdfunded picture book, Promised Land. It’s a fairy tale about ‘friendship, responsibility, adventure and love’ which just happens…
David Hill reviews Torty and the Soldier, a picture book about the true story of a very old tortoise, by Jennifer Beck and illustrated by Fifi Colston. Children’s writers are accustomed to getting judged both on literary grounds and for…
‘Out of the gate, and off for a walk, went Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy.’ It’s possible that this is the most famous line of any NZ picture book, thanks to Hairy’s superstar status in the UK. Dame Lynley Dodd…