The Sapling

'There is family history here, a responsibility to do better, to leave a legacy of healing and sustainability.'
Author Tim Saunders on farming and writing:
www.thesapling.co.nz/a-day-in-the...

'Who can ever be lonely (or stupid) when a library is your friend?'
Vasanti Unka shares a love letter to Auckland Central Library:
www.thesapling.co.nz/love-letter-...

QUIZ!
The shortlists for the NZ Booklovers Awards were announced yesterday, so we're putting your knowledge of the children's finalists to the test today!
www.thesapling.co.nz/quiz-nz-book...

Who is your favourite picturebook grandparent?

4-year-old great-nephew knows all about knitting, because he has had the Granny McFlitter books re-read to him, repeatedly.

I want a Granny McFlitter tattoo! I may not be a granny, but I feel connected to Granny McFlitter.

"With her gentle sense of humour and vast knowledge of te ao, Nanny Mihi teaches her mokopuna values like patience and connecting to nature."
Annelies Judson examines the role of grown ups in picture books

Read the full article in @thesaplingnz.bsky.social

Big people in books for little people – Annelies Judson examines the role of adult protagonists in picture books:
www.thesapling.co.nz/big-people-i...

OMG!! Totally recommend this to anyone feeling a bit flummoxed about the literacy lingo 📖🙌

What's a phonic when it's at home?
Samantha Montgomerie has created a guide to literacy lingo for parents and others who aren't quite sure what all those terms around learning to read mean:
www.thesapling.co.nz/literacy-lin...

And @thesaplingnz.bsky.social for children's books.
www.thesapling.co.nz

We've solved Christmas for you!
We asked the children's bookstores around the country what books you need this Christmas, and here's what they said:
www.thesapling.co.nz/from-the-sho...

Gavin Bishop's latest book is a monster-sized tome about Aotearoa's mythical taniwha. Take a look inside:
www.thesapling.co.nz/the-sampling...

Kiwi Christmas Books is a fabulous charity making sure thousands of children have a book to open on Christmas morning. We spoke with founder Sonya Wilson about the initiative:
www.thesapling.co.nz/kiwi-christm...

'… what is becoming an adult if it isn’t working out to use your little piece of power, for the good of others, or yourself'
@forster81.bsky.social reviews the new YA novel from @elizabethknoxnz.bsky.social:
www.thesapling.co.nz/review-kings...

'King, like Violet, is rocking out'
Lucy Black reviews @rachaelking70.bsky.social's new Violet and the Velvets adventure:
www.thesapling.co.nz/review-a-sop...
@allenandunwinnz.bsky.social

This Saturday is Bookshop Day!
Here's what your local children's bookstore has planned:
www.thesapling.co.nz/bookshop-day...

Fishy business! Reviews for a guide to fishing from Al Brown, and books on coastal creatures and fish from Donovan Bixley and Gillian and Daryl Torckler:
www.thesapling.co.nz/fishy-busine...

'If illustration were a sport, then, in my opinion, children’s books are the ultramarathon!'
Illustrator Hope McConnell on a day in her working life:
www.thesapling.co.nz/a-day-in-the...

Here's short story to start your weekend, 'The Olive Twig' from Sonya McArthur's Tales of Curiosity:
www.thesapling.co.nz/the-sampling...

Sorry! We've had to shut the site down to traffic outside of NZ/Australia – we hope to restore it soon and will update it when we can!

Ruby Jones on her collaboration with @jacindaardern.bsky.social:
www.thesapling.co.nz/comic-ruby-j...

Ngā mihi ki a koutou e whakamaioha ana ki ēnei pukapuka i te wiki nei.

Kia kaha te reo Māori!
Toitū te reo!

Nā Elizabeth Gray rāua ko Rehua Wilson tēnei taonga, ā, kua toa tēnei pukapuka i te whakamānawa hou mō ngā pukapuka e pūhia ana i te reo Māori (ki te rōpū Te Kura Pounamu) ki ngā New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults i tēnei tau.

Ko te pukapuka whakamutunga o Te Wiki o te Reo Māori ko Hineraukatauri me Te Ara Pūoro.
www.thesapling.co.nz/te-whakataui...

Congratulations Vida Kelly (A LOT OF SILLY), Sophie Hooper and Te Kani Price (THE DREAM FACTORY) on your joint win this evening!

Thursday’s Te Wiki o te Reo Māori book is Te Whaea o te Motu: Whina Cooper me Te Hīkoi Roa mō Te Manatika—a moving biography of one of the most remarkable figures in Aotearoa’s history.
shorturl.at/YjzQ1

The PANZ Book Design Awards are announced tonight!
We asked the finalists for the children's category to quiz each other on their work
shorturl.at/l6iGo

Mō te Rāpare nei, te rā tuawhā o Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori, e whakanui ana mātou i tētahi rangatira nui whakaharahara: pānuihia tēnei Whakatauira nō Te Whaea o te Motu: Whina Cooper me Te Hīkoi Roa mō Te Manatika.
shorturl.at/YjzQ1

Wednesday’s Te Wiki o te Reo Māori book is He Taonga Te Toka by Sacha Cotter and Josh Morgan (Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Rongowhakaata). This is a beautiful exploration of feelings and what to do with them by this dynamic duo.
shorturl.at/xSYjh

Tuesday’s Te Wiki o te Reo Māori book is How Many Times? / Me Hia Rawa Ngā Wā? Tim Tipene’s newest picture book is bilingual, making it a great text for reo Māori learners to have a go with. It also shares a message that parents will appreciate (listen to your mum!).
shorturl.at/pOhYE

First up is The Lost Words by Kimberley Ngareta Kearney (Ngāti Maniapoto, Tuhoe) and Taylor Terewai Tiave (Ngāpuhi). We love the narrator’s statement: ‘These words are our words. And they will never be lost again’.
www.thesapling.co.nz/te-whakataui...