Reviews

Book Reviews: Three new titles for teens

The Sapling’s Sarah Forster reviews three fantastic new titles for teens: think epic fantasies and slave trades, tales of religious differences and big decisions, and revisiting and healing from trauma. But as different as these books may be from one…

We know Harry – now meet Hare

Ataraira Cameron, a first-language reader of te reo Māori, explains her feelings towards the publication and translation by Leon Blake of Hare Pota me te whatu manapou, as part of the Kotahi Reo Pukapuka series by Auckland University Press. E…

E matatauhia ana a Harry. Nā, tūtaki ki a Hare

I tērā tau i whakaputahia e whā ngā pukapuka tuatahi a te kaupapa Kotahi Rau Pukapuka. Nā tokowhā ngā kaiwhakamāori waingōhia i whakamāori, tuhi rānei, ēnei pukapuka whai tikanga. I pānuitia tētahi pukapuka rongonui e Ataraira Cameron, ā, nāna i…

Book Reviews: New picture books from Aotearoa

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…

New non-fiction reviews

From a tale of mythical women in northernmost Tuvalu to a story of a modern mophead woman of Tuvaluan, Samoan, French, Scottish and English descent – as well as adventures in tech through time, seaside exploration and Niuean icons. It’s…

Illustrating new kiwi tale The Longdrop

Bob Darroch is known New Zealand-wide for his depiction of bedtime favourite The Little Kiwi, but for this book he has taken a swerve into the bush, to the humble longdrop. The Longdrop is published by Oratia Books. .

Book Awards: The Picture Book Finalists

It seems only right that the review for the picture book finalists for NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults should be illustrated! We asked accomplished comic artist Tara Black to review all five finalists. Here, in pictures, are…

Book Reviews: The Latest in NZ Non-Fiction

It isn’t news to anyone that Aotearoa is currently marking a significant anniversary, as we pass the 250 years since James Cook circumnavigated this country’s islands in the H.M.B. Endeavour. Some see it as a cause for celebration, others commemoration,…

Book Awards: The Picture Book Finalists

As part of our coverage of this year’s NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, we’ve asked the publishers of the picture book finalists to explain why that story caught their imaginations and demanded to be told in published…

Book Review: Legacy, by Whiti Hereaka

Whiti Hereaka has combined science fiction and World War I in her new YA title, Legacy. You read the excerpt last week, now 15-year-old Kimihia Garcia-Grace tells us his thoughts on the novel, launched at the 2018 National Writers Festival….