It’s a rare treat to find a book that you know straight away is going to be a winner as a read-aloud. It needs to be a book that has a clear voice, will resonate with children and adults alike, captivate everyone, and have the whole class bursting into laughter. Jenny Pearson’s latest book, Grandpa Frank’s Great Big Bucket List, is one of these books. The main character, Frank John Davenport, doesn’t feel seen by his parents. His mum is always too busy and his dad is forever getting caught up in some scheme or other, leaving his family having to start a new life somewhere else. All of the mal ..read more

I’m super excited that Swapna Haddow and Sheena Dempsey’s new book, Bad Panda, is finally here in NZ! It is an absolutely hilarious read that you will have you giggling along while you read it. You can read my review here on the blog. On my stop of the Bad Panda NZ Blog Tour today Swapna shares her story about collaborating with Sheena. Read on to find out how this collaboration (and their friendship) began. Check out the end of this post to enter to win a copy of Bad Panda. Working in Collaboration by Swapna Haddow I first met illustrator Sheena Dempsey in 2014. I had just signed my first bo ..read more

I absolutely love Swapna Haddow and Sheena Dempsey! They’re the dream team who brought us the hilarious Dave Pigeon series, which has been a huge hit at my school (and makes me laugh every time). They’ve teamed up again to bring us the comedy gold that is Bad Panda. In the first book in this new series, Swapna and Sheena introduce us to Lin, a panda who is sick and tired of being called cute and fluffy. Since the day that she was born Lin’s cute, fluffy face has been adored at the panda sanctuary. Her face is on all of the posters and people bring her gifts. Eventually though, all this fame w ..read more

Renée Treml’s Sherlock Bones series is one of my go-to suggestions for kids who like books like The Bad Guys and Dog Man. It’s a fun and fact-filled series about a bird skeleton who solves mysteries in a natural history museum. Renée has now brought her humour and fantastic illustrations to her new series of graphic novels for younger readers. The Super Adventures of Ollie and Bea bursts on to shelves this month with the first two books, It’s Owl Good and Squeals on Wheels. Ollie is an owl who wears glasses. He’s worried about what others will think of him wearing glasses, because owls are ..read more