World Kid Lit Month 2020: Day 17

Day 17: sports for teens. 

This time sport for teens, using sports as a vehicle to explore deeper issues. 

Speed freak by Fleur Beale (2013). 

Aimed at an older audience than Beale's Slide the corner (1993) this title is focused on karting (Slide the corner was rallying). 

Single Fin by Aaron Topp (2006). 

Surfing - and suicide. Yep. Sport as a vehicle. 

World Kid Lit Month 2020: Day 16

Day 16: diversity. 

Two picture books celebrating/ acknowledging the diversity of New Zealand's population.

Watercress Tuna and the children of Champion Street by Patricia Grace; illustrated by Robyn Kahukiwa (1984). 
Child of Aotearoa by Melanie Drewery; illustrated by Bruce Potter (2004). 

Both books quietly acknowledge the diversity of our population. It is not a melting pot - but a boil-up: each piece adds to the overall flavour, but doesn't loose its individual taste and appeal. 

World Kid Lit Month 2020: Day 15

Day 15: Henry and the Flea by Brian Falkner (2003). 

New Zealand is often sports-focused, and kids books are no exception. What is exceptional (IMO) is Henry and the Flea (aka The Flea thing [2007]) by Brian Falkner. Yes, it's about sport. But, more importantly, it is about friendship and the value of childhood.

World Lit Kid Month 2020: Day 14

Day 14: Hill & Hole by Kyle Mewburn and Vasanti Unka (2010). 

Time for a story of friendship, support and differences. 

This is a quiet, subtle gem - which sort of snuck under the radar - but deserves wider exposure. 

World Kid Lit Month 2020: Day 13

Day 13: Hairy Maclary series by Dame Lynley Dodd.

Hairy Maclary and Zachary Quack (1999). 

This is my favourite title in this classic and popular series - claimed by many countries. But, it is a New Zealand grown beauty. 

'It was drowsily warm and dozens of bees were lazily buzzing through flowers and trees...'

This came out in my first year as a children's librarian, and I read it three storytimes a week for over a month. 

World Kid Lit Month 2020: Day 12

Day 12: The wonderful Sherryl Jordan! 

The secret sacrament (2003). 

Time of the eagle (2007). 

Winter of fire (1993 / 2019). 

Rafferty Ferret ratbag (2018). 

These are just a small selection of her varied work. 

Although often Medieval-themed / influenced, her works often go in unexpected places. Sometimes, what seems Medieval or ancient, is actually post-apocalyptic / dystopian. 

World Kid Lit Month 2020: Day 11

Day 11: The kitchen science cookbook by Dr Michelle Dickinson (2017). 

The kitchen science cookbook by Dr @medickinson, the force behind the magnificent @NanogirlLabs!

I am uncomfortable using food items for non-eating purposes, so I love that you can eat your experiments.  

World Kid Lit Month 2020: Day Ten

Day 10: Haere: farewell, Jack, farewell by Tim Tipene; illustrated by Huhana Smith (2005). 

Also available in te reo Māori, translated by Manu Te Awa. 

I have read quite a few books about death over the years, and this one has stuck. 

It is a beautiful exploration of the cycle of life, through one year of a whānau - and including life and death. 

World Kid Lit Month 2020: Day Nine

Day 9: David Hill. 

A New Zealand literature great, and a lovely human. A true gentleman and scholar. David Hill.

Enemy camp (2016). 

Another little-known moment in New Zealand history: a 'rebellion' of Japanese POWs in New Zealand, which led to the deaths of 48 POWs. 

See ya, Simon (1992). 

A New Zealand classic. How this didn't win EVERY award at the time of publication!

Taking the lead: how Jacinda Ardern wowed the world (2020).  

Written BEFORE Whakaari / White Island disaster AND COVID-19 pandemic! 

World Kid Lit Month 2020: Day Eight

Day 8: History. 

Because kids need to know history - and this isn't taught in schools.

The diary format makes these stories more immediate & appealing. 

Two examples of our racist history - with ongoing and lasting damage. How far have we come? 

Bastion Point: 507 days on Takaparawha: Auckland, 1977-78 by Tania Roxborogh (2017). 

e-tangata has a fabulous article from an eyewitness. 

Forty years on, Auckland is the site of another land protest at Ihumātao.  

Dawn raid by Pauline (Vaeluaga) Smith (2018).  

In 2019, Porirua hosted a gallery exhibition commemorating the Dawn Raids of the 1970s. Now, our Pacifica communities are facing online abuse during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

World Kid Lit Month 2020: Day Seven

Day 7: How to mend a kea + other fabulous fix-it tales from Wildbase Hospital by Janet Hunt. 

It's time to celebrate New Zealand's fauna. New Zealand is home to some unique wildlife - and the Wildbase Hospital treats many examples of them. 

The follow-up book, Three kiwi tales is also worth hunting out.  

World Kid Lit Month 2020: Day Six

Day 6: 

Mophead: How Your Difference Makes a Difference by Dr Selina Tusitala Marsh (2019). 

Absolutely brilliant. There's really nothing to add to that. This is a brilliant graphic memoir, ready to inspire and reassure children that they CAN be and do what they want. Exactly as they are. 

World Kid Lit Month 2020: Day Five

Day Five: The fat man by Maurice Gee (1994). 

Based on near where I grew up.

One of my best memories as a school librarian. When this was released - and shortlisted for a children's book award (not young adult) we were told to pass on subject warnings to kids. So I asked my first reader what he thought. 'It scared me shirtless, Miss, but it was brilliant'. 

My sister reads horror - and this is one of the most chilling, terrifying things she has read. 

World Kid Lit Month 2020: Day Four

Day 4: perspectives.

The adventures of Tupaia by Courtney Sina Meredith and Mat Tait (2019). 

First map: how James Cook charted Aotearoa New Zealand by Tessa Duder; illustrated by David Elliot (2020). 

250 years after Cook's journey around the New Zealand two children's books have different takes on that voyage - and its meaning then, and now. 

As with all colonised areas, New Zealand and New Zealanders have an uneasy relationship with their history. These books explore that history, and raise interesting topics to explore further. 

World Kid Lit Month 2020: Day Three

Day 3: War and peace.

Because two are better than one, right? So, a couple of books about war and peace.

The duck in the gun by Joy Cowley (1969 with illustrations by Edward Sorel; 1984 & 2009 with illustrations by Robyn Belton). 

Stripes! No, spots! by Vasanti Unka. With a guest spot by David Attenborough! 

World Kid Lit Month 2020: Day Two

Day 2: Things in the sea are touching me by Linda Jane Keegan, illustrated by Minky Stapleton (2019).

A relatively recent addition to New Zealand bookshelves, this is a joy! A celebration of the sea, its flora & fauna; and family. 

The illustrations are colourful and vibrant.

The fact that there are two mums in this family is just a fact. Not an issue. 

World Kid Lit Month 2020: Day One

September is #WorldKidLitMonth and, after YEARS of a hiatus on this blog, I thought it worth sharing my selections for this month - and sharing my thoughts on why I've chosen them.

As a New Zealander, I will share *some* of my favourite New Zealand books.

Day one: The Changeover by Margaret Mahy (1984).

Made into a powerful movie in 2017. 

Margaret Mahy was (is) a powerhouse in New Zealand publishing. 

New Zealand is a lightly drawn character in the book. 

New Zealanders can see themselves in her writing - but The Changeover garnered the Carnegie Medal in 1984 - recognised by UK librarians as an 'outstanding new English-language book for children or young adults.' 

Margaret's The lion in the meadow (1969) was my gateway to New Zealand books. It is the first book I remember, and involved my first memory of visiting a library. 

Also pictured is me with Margaret at a dinner for her 70th birthday, admiring the bracelet I made her.