'It’s extremely intimate and emotionally and intellectually profound!' @clairemabey.bsky.social and Jill Calder on the power of reading to children, and their new book CASS AND THE BEAST: tinyurl.com/2bc9ev2h @geckopress.bsky.social #pukapuka #booksky #literacy #illustration #picturebooks

Scarlett Robinson-Kean returns with part two of the SPRINGBOARD COMIC and this time she's in super sleuth mode. Read along to find out how to crack the code for a career in illustration: www.thesapling.co.nz/a-springboar...

Featuring my nephew, Benji! Thanks The Sapling for continuing your excellent coverage of NZ books and for introducing them to new readers. It also shows there is still an assumption among rangatahi that NZ books aren’t as good as ‘overseas’ books so it’s great to do things like this to dispel that.

The Sapling@thesaplingnz.bsky.social · 6d ago

'... there's not many other novels, I think, that do that' Teens and their teachers read the #NZCYA Young Adult finalists: www.thesapling.co.nz/nzcya-2026-t... #pukapuka #booksky #YAfiction @nzcyabookawards.bsky.social

'... there's not many other novels, I think, that do that' Teens and their teachers read the #NZCYA Young Adult finalists: www.thesapling.co.nz/nzcya-2026-t... #pukapuka #booksky #YAfiction @nzcyabookawards.bsky.social

'I draw and redraw. I paint and repaint. I cut and glue. I write and rewrite. I make all sorts of lists: lists of what I need to draw, paint or cut, lists of words that I like, lists of words that rhyme.' Lily Emo shares a day in her working life: tinyurl.com/yc4autkv #booksky #pukapuka #illustrator

'I’m definitely a joker. But I’m not sure I’d say a trickster.' Sarina Clark answers The Mahy Questionnaire: www.thesapling.co.nz/the-mahy-que... #pukapuka #booksky #MargaretMahy

Last week Lynley Dodd and The Arts Foundation awarded the Lynley Dodd Children's Writer Award to Claire Mabey. Kate De Goldi spoke, and noted of Claire; 'their writing offers all the nourishments of great fiction for young people'. We're pleased to reproduce her speech: tinyurl.com/2s8a49kx

Wherever you go, there you are: @lindajane.bsky.social explores te taio/place in the finalists for the NZCYA Elsie Locke Non-fiction Award: tinyurl.com/2hc36hzh #pukapuka #booksky #childrensliterature #kidlit #place #tetaio #NZCYA

A lovely interview with Trish Harris, author of Out of The Box @thesaplingnz.bsky.social. Such a beautiful taonga for our #disability community and for young #disabled people.. One to add to the few great ones we have www.thesapling.co.nz/who-we-reall...

'If I don’t draw, who even am I?' Lily Uivel on new parenthood, illustration and her new book BIG BANG BREAD: www.thesapling.co.nz/if-i-dont-dr... #pukapuka #booksky #illustration #bread #sciencecommunication

Last chance to vote for your favourite Kiwi kids books! www.whitcoulls.co.nz/kids-top50 #pukapuka #kidlit #voteAotearoa #booksky

The Sapling@thesaplingnz.bsky.social · 4w ago

The Whitcoulls Kids' Top 50 has a huge impact on book sales in Aotearoa, so we think more books from Aotearoa should be on it! We've collected advice for writers and illustrators on how to get their books on to the list: www.thesapling.co.nz/the-whitcoul... #pukapuka #kidlit #booksky

Robyn Hunt@accease.bsky.social · 2w ago

A lovely interview with Trish Harris, author of Out of The Box @thesaplingnz.bsky.social. Such a beautiful taonga for our #disability community and for young #disabled people.. One to add to the few great ones we have www.thesapling.co.nz/who-we-reall...

'When we see ourselves represented, it gives us permission to be more of who we really are.' Trish Harris has just launched OUT OF THE BOX, which shares the stories of 25 Deaf and disabled New Zealanders: www.thesapling.co.nz/who-we-reall... #pukapuka #booksky #disabilityrepresentation #kidlit

Pou, puns and perspectives: the translators and writers in the #NZCYA Te Kura Pounamu Awards quiz each other on their craft: www.thesapling.co.nz/nzcya-2026-w... #booksky #pukapuka #translation #kidlit #tereoMāori

Marginalia in full swing today and an extra panel for you to sink your teeth into! Yesterday, due to tech issues, @clairemabey.bsky.social couldn’t join YOU SHOULD BE READING KID LIT, so we’re giving it another go! Join us around 12.30pm for a short kōrero. www.youtube.com/live/XIvTGKa...

Marginalia '26: You Should Be Reading Kid Lit Catch-Up Session

YouTube video by Jackie Lee Morrison

youtube.com

Translation is a fine and mysterious art, so we asked the translators and writers in the @nzcyabookawards.bsky.social Te Kura Pounamu Awards what they'd most like to know about each other's work: www.thesapling.co.nz/nzcya-2026-w... #pukapuka #booksky #tereoMāori #translation #kidlit

'Every child deserves access to stories that reflect who they are, while also creating opportunities for all readers to connect with and learn from the rich diversity of our communities' Bee Trudgeon takes a closer look at the DANZ Children's Book Awards: tinyurl.com/yx3w6xw5 #booksky #pukapuka

Have you voted in the Whitcoulls Kids' Top 50 yet? Vote for your favourite kids books from Aotearoa here: www.whitcoulls.co.nz/kids-top50

The Sapling@thesaplingnz.bsky.social · 4w ago

The Whitcoulls Kids' Top 50 has a huge impact on book sales in Aotearoa, so we think more books from Aotearoa should be on it! We've collected advice for writers and illustrators on how to get their books on to the list: www.thesapling.co.nz/the-whitcoul... #pukapuka #kidlit #booksky

Kid lit books ask the essential question of fiction, which is: ‘what if?’, and then answers it with: ‘why not?’" @jaxies.bsky.social tells us about Marginalia Lit Fest Live, and why we should all be reading kid lit: tinyurl.com/3wx9mj9r #booksky #pukapuka #kidlit #childrensbooks #literaryfestival

Review! A propulsive and action packed new middle grade novel by @gracikim.bsky.social: tinyurl.com/5f84eprw

The Whitcoulls Kids' Top 50 has a huge impact on book sales in Aotearoa, so we think more books from Aotearoa should be on it! We've collected advice for writers and illustrators on how to get their books on to the list: www.thesapling.co.nz/the-whitcoul... #pukapuka #kidlit #booksky

While the finalists in the NZCYA NZSA Best First Book Award may be new names to readers, there's more to them than overnight success. We asked them about their paths to publication: www.thesapling.co.nz/nzcya-2026-t... #booksky #kidlit #newauthor #nzcya #pukapuka

Each of the nine visible stars in the Matariki cluster has its own unique characteristics. Here is a list of book recommendations for exploring the significance of each star wtith tamariki: www.thesapling.co.nz/a-new-matari... #booksky #Matariki #Aotearoakidlit #booklist

'An achievable read such as these are a great entry point for readers who aren’t quite ready for something meatier ... the books hold enough wit for adults to genuinely enjoy during shared reading time.' Belinda Whyte reviews books two and three in the TERRIBLE TRIO series: tinyurl.com/SaplingNZ

Take a peek into the sketchbooks of the finalists in the @nzcyabookawards.bsky.social Illustration Award! www.thesapling.co.nz/nzcya-2026-t... #booksky #illustration #childrensbooks #comics #pukapuka

'This book will likely be treasured' Hamish Win reviews YOU'LL ALWAYS BE MY BABY by Jessica Urlich and Jeda Robaard: www.thesapling.co.nz/review-all-t...

We Waited for You: Bee Trudgeon recommends books for explaining IVF conception to children www.thesapling.co.nz/book-list-we... #pukapuka #booksky #IVF #wheredobabiescomefrom

Any aspiring children's book creators out there? Here's why you should register for the Storylines National Hui: www.thesapling.co.nz/community-cu... #booksky #pukapuka #kidlit

"This is a great book, full of insight and wonderfully illustrated by Luca Tu’avao Walton" Hamish Win reviews Rere Atu ki Poronihia / Flight to Polynesia for @thesaplingnz.bsky.social www.thesapling.co.nz/review-all-t... #oratiabooks #reomāori #gender #pasifika #lgbtqia #diversityandinclusion

'What a fantastic book. We haven’t been able to stop reading it.' Hamish Win reviews Sand-Play Time on the Sun-Baked Beach by @juliettemaciver.bsky.social and Lily Uivel: www.thesapling.co.nz/review-all-t...