An essay by Sarah Forster from Booksellers New Zealand about the threat that the Amazon-owned Book Depository poses to bookstores – and, ultimately, readers. Every time I tell somebody that Amazon owns Book Depository, they’re surprised, astonished, aghast. So let’s put that on the record. Amazon purchased Book Depository in 2011. And they’re here to … Read more
Adult literature in New Zealand gets most of the press, but kids’ books is a fresh and exciting field, writes Sarah Forster, co-creator of the brilliant website The Sapling. Have you heard of Ruth Paul? How about Bob Darroch? Or Phillip Webb? Jenny Cooper? Fleur Beale? Des Hunt? I’ll help you: each of these author has written … Read more
School libraries are a sanctuary and safe place for many children. Here Sarah Forster, co-creator of the amazing children’s literature website The Sapling, lists the things all parents should know about school librarians. I spent a LOT of time in school libraries as a kid. Remember the index cards in those fit-for-purpose filing cabinets? Remember … Read more
Sarah Forster – a judge at next year’s children’s book awards – chooses the best 20 local and international books of the year. PICTURE BOOKS That’s Not a Hippopotamus (Gecko Press, $19.99) by Juliette MacIver and Sarah Davis A hilarious take on the plight of the quiet boy who is the only person who can … Read more
Sarah Forster interviews the awesome David Hill, a finalist at next week’s childrens book awards, when he goes head to head with veteran author Kate De Goldi, horsist writer Stacy Gregg, and Luncheon Sausage Books star Jane Bloomfield. David Hill is one of New Zealand’s best-known authors of young adult fiction. He takes on serious thermes, … Read more
Sarah Forster interviews the awesome Kate De Goldi, a finalist at next week’s childrens book awards, when she goes head to head with veteran author David Hill, horsist writer Stacy Gregg, and Luncheon Sausage Books star Jane Bloomfield. Kate De Goldi is one of New Zealand’s finest writers. She has won the overall Children’s Book of … Read more
The embargo for the shortlist of the New Zealand Book Awards for Children was lifted at 5am – and this story went live at 5.01am. Sarah Forster reveals the shortlisted authors and books, and makes her picks for who will win at the awards ceremony on August 8. Those who write children’s books do it, most … Read more
Sarah Forster re-reads a classic not just of children’s literature, but of all writing – the four Faraway books by workaholic and genius Enid Blyton. Even now, nearly 50 years after her death, no other writer can bring the world of everyday magic alive as well as Enid Blyton. I recently read Blyton’s great series The … Read more
Sarah Forster chooses the year’s best books for kids. PICTURE BOOKS Yak and Gnu by Juliette MacIver and Sarah Davis Juliette MacIver and her flawless rhyming verse have become one of the perennials of the NZ book world. Her latest picture book is her twelfth in five years, and is illustrated by the equally flawless … Read more
An interview with the amazing Fleur Beale, whose latest YA novel Being Magdalene continues her series of books set in the Children of the Faith religious cult. I read Fleur Beale’s most recent YA book, Being Magdalene, while caught up in the swirl of the Ted Dawe book-banning controversy. I helped to write Booksellers NZ’s … Read more
Sarah Forster reads a newspaper set in the kids book by Bob Kerr, Changing Times. Bob Kerr’s Changing Times: The Story of a New Zealand Town and its Newspaper is easily one of the cleverest books I have seen all year. He’s a wonderful artist, and his book is the result of working on it for … Read more
Sarah Forster interviews award-winning illustrator Paul Beavis, author of two charming books about monsters. Paul Beavis won this year’s Russell Clark Award as best children’s illustrator in New Zealand for his 2014 book Mrs Mo’s Monster. He happily ventured back into the world of monsterdom this year with the release of Hello World! – a … Read more
Now that the dust has settled on the weekend’s Tinderbox Children’s Writers and Illustrators conference in Wellington, time to ask: who are the most powerful people in children’s literature? Tricky thing, power. Are the most powerful people in the New Zealand children’s book world those that are recognised internationally as experts? Do they need to … Read more