Following yesterday’s review of Te Ata o Tū | The Shadow of Tūmatauenga (Te Papa Press), Frank Wilson had several conversations with three of its writers—all Te Papa curators—about the creation of the book and how they hope it will…
Just like the Aotearoa Histories curriculum itself, the catalyst for Te Ata o Tū was the petition from several Otorohanga High School students to include the New Zealand Wars as a compulsory topic in schools. Curators from Te Papa Tongarewa…
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…
Dame Fiona Kidman is a legend of letters in Aotearoa. Among her many achievements and accolades, she’s been the recipient of the Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement (2011), she’s won the top fiction prize in the country (This Mortal…
Novelist and playwright Whiti Hereaka is wondering where our Māori heroes were, in the commemoration of WWI. Her upcoming YA novel Legacy, will be released this month, and is based on the Māori experience of WWI. I haven’t been to…
Anzac Day is fast approaching, and if there’s one thing you can count on from Anzac publishing, it is great books about companion animals. We featured Maria Gill and Glyn Harper talking about this phenomenon last month, but how well…
Glyn Harper’s and Maria Gill’s latest books are both part of the final year of publishing in commemoration of the centenary of WWI. Bobby the littlest war hero, for 4- to 8-year-old children, is about a canary in the tunnels…
Children’s author, writing teacher and editor Raymond Huber is fascinated by the way in which children’s writers have used picture books historically to fight dictators. This is especially apt right now (ahem), so here are a few books he would…
Anzac Day brings with it a fever pitch of publishing of war books for both children and adults. This has been especially true during the centenary commemorations of World War I. People are horrified by war, but also fascinated, and…
Our editor Jane Arthur comes out from behind the curtain to interview the multi-accoladed Australian children’s writer Ursula Dubosarsky, whose latest novel The Blue Cat is out now. Ursula Dubosarsky made me an evangelist at first read. It was The…