Fiction — Adults The Bone Tree Airana Ngarewa, Moa Press. $37.99 The Axeman’s Carnival Catherine Chidgey, Te Herenga Waka University Press. $35 Birnam Wood Eleanor Catton, Te Herenga Waka University Press. $38 Kāwai Monty Soutar, David Bateman. $39.99 Pet Catherine Chidgey, Te Herenga Waka University Press. $38 The Girl from London Olivia Spooner, Moa Press. $37.99 Bird Life Anna Smaill, Te Herenga Waka University Press. $38 Everything is Beautiful and Everything Hurts Josie Shapiro, Allen & Unwin. $36.99 The Whale Rider Witi Ihimaera, Penguin Books. $15.99 The Waters Carl Nixon ..read more

In 2023 a cohort of excellent, world-class authors from Aotearoa penned novels for young adults. Here is Kete’s pick of the year based on reviewers’ insights. Here Upon the Tide by Blair McMillan. Amir escapes war-torn Syria, leaving his settled loving family and the promise of what was to be a bright future. Milly has lost her mother and her home in the Canterbury earthquakes. Bringing these two young people together ‘is a tour de force of the author’s imagination,’ writes reviewer Anne Ingram. There are ‘difficult themes in the story – refugees and their need for a safe home, the loss of a p ..read more

So, what’s this book all about? Well, it covers a lot of the interesting stuff around and about Aotearoa, aka New Zealand… Reviewed by Nadine Molloy, Library Assistant, Remarkables Primary School In his own words, the author details this book as having “heaps of weird, odd, funny and amazing facts, figures, bits and pieces of history, events and happenings” as well as “important and helpful information”. I initially started at the back, reading the six-page timeline, which in itself was very informative. Did you know that Old Russell was the capital in 1840, or that frozen meat was exported as ..read more

I am the one for whom there is a defining moment. Reviewed by Petra Verbeek Deputy Principal, Hamilton Christian School This novel is told from two perspectives. 15-year old Milly, a victim of the Christchurch earthquakes, is bitter with grief and guilt over her mother’s death. Then there is 14-year old Amir who a Syrian refugee. Both have lost parents, their cities, and homes. Their lives have been ripped apart by events completely beyond their control, and they are faced with working through feelings of loss and anger. Both teenagers are uprooted, having to move house and adapting to a new s ..read more

Max lived next door to a big, empty house. Reviewed by Angela Thompson, Library Lead Teacher, Remarkables Primary School Max wants is a friend who is just like him. So he’s excited a family move in next door. But when Jun sneezes, he says ‘HAKUSHON!’ – a very different sound to the ‘AH CHOO!’ that Max makes. So, Max picks up a feather and makes his way through the playground, looking for a friend who sounds just like him when they sneeze. In the end Max decides that sneezes must be like people – different, but the same. This book has a lovely concept; that we are the same but different, and I ..read more

Imagine yourself in a sky of bright blue observing the world with a bird’s-eye view. Reviewed by Ange Birks, Classroom Teacher, Ohinewai School, North Waikato Right from the first page the reader is invited to use their imagination to become this bird themselves; this immediately personalises the story and draws the audience in. At first I imagined it would be a nice little story for entertainment about a bird but the author subtly introduces ideas of conservation and nature with the invitation to “come closer” and notice another rumbling stomach. When the Kererū mother returns, the nest is em ..read more

Monday’s bird is noisy and bold. Reviewed by Louana McCormack, Librarian, Ōpaheke School The popular nursery rhyme ‘Monday’s Child’ gets a new spin in this book by Darryl and Gillian Torckler. Each day features a different native or introduced bird from Aotearoa with big and bold photographs. Alongside the big double spread photograph is a smaller one, accompanied by a short snippet of information e.g. “Tarāpunga/Red-Billed Gull – Noisy birds that are seen on most beaches yet are under threat of extinction.” I really enjoyed this extra layer of information that takes it from merely a nice rhym ..read more

Hi, I’m Jack Tait. I’d like to tell you about an adventure I had with my mate Eddie. Reviewed by Angela Thompson, Library Lead Teacher, Remarkables Primary School I thoroughly enjoyed Jack and Sandy; this is a lovely family history retelling with lots of facts and dates in there too. At times, I was a little overwhelmed by the recollection of facts and dates and the story was somewhat lost. The title page refers to Jack and Sandy as a ‘graphic novel by Bob Kerr’. This is slightly misleading as much of the book is written in novel form, which graphics on occasions. If a student was looking for ..read more

When Pūkeko, Kiwi and Hoiho want to show how they feel, they get their musical instruments out to express how emotions are real. Reviewed by Kimberley Nielsen, Kamo Primary School, Northland ‘Strum a tune when you’re happy: kei te pai’ is the fourth book by author/illustrator Rebecca Larsen. It begins with a spoken verse to set the scene, then follows the tune ‘if you’re happy and you know it’. Each verse talks about an emotion, a musical instrument that represents that emotion, and an action you can do to express or work through the emotion. Illustrations show native birds and animals playing ..read more

“I saw it with my own eyes,” said Police Commander Jelley. Reviewed by Jackie Rodgers, Senior English teacher, Wakatipu High School I remember watching Jason Gunn on television with The Son of a Gunn show’ in the 90’s. Reading Jason and Andrew Gunn’s children’s book, ‘Jason Mason and the Flightless Bird Fiasco’ leaves me with a reminiscent ‘feel’: a guffaw in my chest, and a giggle on my lips. It didn’t matter that I hadn’t read the first book, (I have now), as this was great a stand-alone. So if you’re 7 years old or above, it’s a funny read and I highly recommend it. Read the full review Bu ..read more