POSTHUMA, Sieb Where is Rusty? Gecko Press, 2014 (2005) unpaged NZ$19.99 pbk ISBN 9781927271469 SCIS 1675219 One of the greatest fears of a parent is losing their child in a crowded space. Well, Rusty is a young white fox terrier and he has an inquisitive spirit (or more accurately nose) and follows its calling when family and friends are at the Department Store. When however Rusty spies a salesperson selling a smart machine that makes scrumptious dog bones/biscuits and turns around to his mother to make a serious request, he is horrified that she is not there. Meanwhile chaos occurs…
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MEYER, Madeleine How Long is a Piece of String Windy Hollow (Helen Chamberlin), 2014 unpaged $25.95 ISBN 9781922081346 SCIS 1678478 Under a sleeping moon, and roused from bed by a barking dog, a sleepwalker takes hold of the end thread of a large ball of string, and wanders throughout the course of a day, through a dream-like fantasy landscape containing weird buildings, plants, mountains and assorted monsters, to eventually find his missing dog on the seashore. The companions then retrace the thread back through a different viewpoint of the same landscape, to their home where the sleeper takes a drowsy…
MASCIULLO, Lucia (illus.) Sonya Hartnett (text) The Wild One Viking, 2014 unpaged $24.99 ISBN 9780670076970 SCIS 1675363 If there is such a thing as the perfect picture book, this is as close as it gets. Apart from the content, Viking has spared no expense in the format, the choice of an enticing semi-cloth textured cover, and wondrously illustrated end papers that add a further dimension to the text. That text in itself is scrupulously spare, but trembles with emotion and meaning; and that is not to indicate that it is overly emotional – for the emotion is controlled and springs…
Joe Ducie, author of The Rig, and newly released sequel, Crystal Force talks about entering the Guardian and Hot Keys Young Writer’s Prize, and his subsequent win. In early 2012 I was scrolling through the old twitter feed (something I don’t do nearly often enough) and happened upon a tweet by the indomitable Neil Gaiman—author of all things amazing. Gaiman had gone and tweeted a link to the Guardian and Hot Key Books Young Writer’s Prize (YWP), which I went on to win about a year later, in March 2013. If not for that wonderful tweet, my writing career three years on…
REYNOLDS, Alison (text) Heath McKenzie (illus.) A New Friend for Marmalade Five Mile Press, 2014 unpaged $14.95 ISBN 9781743466599 SCIS 1647200 Ella and Maddy are best friends, along with their ginger cat, Marmalade but each time they begin to play, everything is ruined by a cape-wearing boy called Toby from across the road. He destroys their cubby house, their sandcastle and even rubs Marmalade’s fur the wrong way. He just can’t do anything right. One time, he even sends Marmalade scooting up the tree after he activates the sprinkler system, sending shoots of water into the air. The girls are…
NORFOLK, Tania (text) Chris Norfolk (illus.) Grasshopper’s Week Craig Potton Pub, 2014 unpaged NZ$19.99 pbk ISBN 9781927213063 SCIS 1672013, NZ$29.99 hdbk ISBN 9781927213070 SCIS 1670896 One morning (and other subsequent mornings) Grasshopper asks Tree what day it is. Tree thinks for a long time and states, not the usual Monday, Tuesday… but rather an event that signifies nature in all its diversity: Wild-wind-day for Monday, Bug day for Tuesday etc. On each day, what Tree states seems to happen in unique and special ways. Behind the predictable narrative structure is the unpredictable perspective that Tree brings, on what signifies a…
MORGAN, Sally (text) Tania Erzinger (illus.) Feast for Wombat Omnibus, 2014 unpaged $24.99 ISBN 9781742990187 SCIS 1651669 This story is about a wombat who ventures out of his burrow only when he absolutely has to have a dust bath, no matter how lonely he has been feeling prior to that. He finds his friendly, talented, very special friends having a wonderful time: however, Wombat thinks they are a little too special to associate with him . Morgan uses a wonderful combination of words in her story, such as when Wombat tells Magpie she sings like a ‘beautiful bubbling stream’ or Dingo…
MENDICINO, Valentina (illus.) Dinosaur Rhyme Time Faber & Faber, 2014 unpaged $17.99 ISBN 9780571308330 Little children are endlessly fascinated by dinosaurs, as much as they enjoy the rhythm of nursery rhymes. So it is perhaps not such a strange idea to put the two together as they appear in this delightful little compendium of nursery rhymes. Mendicino’s dinosaurs are not the fearsome, rampaging carnivores of the cinema, they are cutely benign creatures of colourful pastel hues, coquettish eyes, sporting sun hats and parasols and who delight in family activity. In cameo pictures framed against wallpaper-patterned leaves they play ‘round and…
Over the past year we have reviewed many of the titles that made the Notable List for the Eve Pownall Award for Information Books….
Over the past year we have reviewed many of the titles that made the Notable List for Picture Book of the Year….