Picture Books

To be published August 2014

Australian Writer and Illustrator

Bob Graham

Vanilla Ice Cream

Walker Books 2014  $27.95hb 38pp

ISBN 978 1 4063 5009 8

Themes: Changes/ New experiences/Freedom/ Human rights/ India/ Sparrows

From the dust of India, a small sparrow flies on to a cargo ship bound for Australia. From the docks it is a short flight to the Café Botanica, set amidst the skyscrapers of a big city where the sparrow meets Edie, a baby in a pushchair.  In a short second or two, the lives of Edie, the sparrow and a large brown dog that is the catalyst, change for ever. What is it about? Children will take what they understand and need from the story and will make up their own from Bob Graham’s, as always, enchanting water colour paintings. Adults will find a story that shows how a wild sparrow's journey from the other side of the world sets in motion a new experience for a very little girl plus something about basic human rights.

Preschool up/ Age 4 up.

Picture Books

French Illustrator

Ronan Badel

The Lazy Friend

Gecko Press  2014  $24.99hb  24pp

ISBN  978 1 9272 7141 4

Themes: Bravery/ Courage/ Determination/ Friendship/ Jungles/ Sloths/ Wordless picture books

The lazy friend of the title is Sloth who remains asleep through the whole drama and yet, he is the cause of it all! When the tree fellers come to the jungle, they cut down a tree on which Sloth is fast asleep and load him on to a truck. Snake, his friend, slithers into action and follows him onto the truck while the other friends wave a sad goodbye. The power of the illustrator, Ronan Badel, is such, that he manages in a few simple lines, to convey abject misery on the faces of Toucan and Frog as they sit on a tree stump, waving. Dramatic adventures follow and then Snake organises the escape and the pair make it back home with Sloth opening one slightly bemused eye on arrival. Stories within stories abound here and there will be more to discover on each opening of the book. Older students may well wonder at the skill of the artist who manages to tell such a story of courage and determination without actually writing one word.

Adults with imagination will have much delight in telling and sharing the saga in their own words.  

Preschool up/ Age 4 up.

Picture Books

French Writer and Illustrator

Dorothée de Monfreid

The Cake

Gecko 2014  $19.99pb 32pp

ISBN  978 1 8775 7945 5 hb

ISBN  978 1 9272 7144 5 pb

Themes: Cooperation/ Group behaviours/ Rebellion/ Responsibility 

Tiger wants to make a cake. A chocolate cake. The four other animals want to make one too but none of them likes chocolate. Tiger is bossy and mean and won’t listen to any other suggestions but rabbit, bear, dog and monkey have their own way in the end. Or do they? Children and adults may put a very different interpretation on the resolution of the story.

Bright colours, speech bubbles and full of situations that will be familiar to all children.    

Preschool up/ Age 4 up

(To be published next month - July 2014) 

Non Fiction Picture Book

NZ Writer and Illustrator

Mary Taylor

Old Blue – the Rarest Bird in the World

Scholastic NZ  (first published 1993 – redesigned and updated edition 2014) $19.99pb 32pp

ISBN 978 1 7754 3237 1

Themes: Chatham Islands Black Robins/ Conservation programmes/ Survival

In the 1970s there were only five Black Robins left in the entire world and only two of them were females. Then into the frame stepped Dr. Don Merton from DOC (Department of Conservation) who, with his wildlife team set up a rescue and recovery programme. Thanks to this team whose hard work and many adventures which included abseiling the birds down the side of sheer cliffs, by 2012 the New Zealand total of Black Robins had grown to 256 birds.

Mary Taylor first wrote about and drew the images for this incredible story back in 1993 so it is a real pleasure to see this brand new edition 21 years later. Although it looks like a picture book the text is more suitable for confident readers although quite young people would enjoy having it read aloud.

If you go to the Chatham Island airport you will see a plaque erected to Old Blue ’saviour of her species’. She laid more eggs and mothered more chicks than any other Black Robin. When she died in 1983 newspapers throughout the world printed the headline Famous Robin Old Blue presumed dead.

Go to: http://www.nzonscreen.com/title/the-black-robin-a-chatham-island-story-1989 for an interesting documentary about the robins. 

Year 4 up/ Age 8 up

Kids' Lit Quiz National Finals National LIbrary 10.6.14

Part of the winning team and their coaches

Many congratulations to Awakeri School in the Bay of Plenty near Whakatane.

They were the winners on Tuesday (June 11^th) of the national finals of the Kids’ Lit Quiz held at National Library in Wellington.

Shortly the team of four will be off with their ‘trainers’ (and a big congratulations to them as well) to take part in the International Finals to be held this year in Cornwall. A young person’s programme of events that have been organised for them (and other winners aged 11-13 from around the world) sounds amazing.

As usual it was a stimulating experience to be watching and we all felt much admiration for the volunteers (including the unflappable Quizmaster, Wayne Mills) for all the hours of work that go into this event every year starting around April as the regional heats begin.

Quiz master Wayne Mills in poster form

In the shiny halls of National Library the early arrivals wait to go into the event area

Here are some photos I took on Tuesday. They are not my best ever so if I find some better ones taken by other people I will replace them during the week.

Young Adult Fiction (and Adults)

Here is the whole jacket which is quite spectacular

NZ Writers

Tim Jones and others (see below)

Lost In the Museum

Phoenix Writers  2014  $24.99pb 220pp

ISBN 978 0 4732 8320 9

Themes: Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa/ Short stories/ Scary stories

What happens when the museum closes for the night? Many writers and illustrators have imagined the scenario but here is a new and original take on the idea. 21 pieces go to make up this collection of short (some scary) stories in a whirlwind sort of book, full of energy and enthusiasm.  Many artefacts will be familiar to any visitor to Te Papa – Big Baby (what a sad story) and John Britton’s V-1000 but there is also the resident ghost buster (Miss Evangeline Marple), a cross-dressing bridegroom, a misplaced ice-cream vendor, and a lost pterodactyl. Miss Marple and Tui Merriweather (the (fictional) Museum Director) are the thread that hold the stories together.

The Phoenix Writers (Tim Jones, Lyn McConchie, Glynne MacLean, Phillip Mann, Tracie McBride, Rob Campbell, Lillian Hetet, Jenny Hammond, John Homes, Eileen Mueller, Jeena Murphy, A J Ponder, Vic Scott, Jean Stevens and Lorraine Williams) are part of the Phoenix Science Fiction Society which is based in Wellington. 

Google the title to see where to buy, as this book is available in several forms. 

Year 9 up/ Age 13 up (and adults)

LIANZA SHORTLIST 2014 Announced Today

Here are the results of the LIANZA Shortlist that was announced today.

A very big congratulations to everyone on the lists and good luck for the final announcements to be made in August. See the links below for details. 

 

LIANZA Young Adult Fiction Award
Recon Team Angel, Book 3: Ice War by Brian Falkner, (Walker Books Australia)
Dear Vincent by Mandy Hager, (Random House New Zealand)
When We Wake by Karen Healey, (Allen & Unwin)
Bugs by Whiti Hereaka, (Huia NZ Ltd)
Mortal Fire by Elizabeth Knox, (Gecko Press)
Cattra’s Legacy by Anna Mackenzie (Random House New Zealand)

LIANZA Esther Glen Junior Fiction Award
 Dunger by Joy Cowley, (Gecko Press)
Brave Company by David Hill, (Penguin Books)
Project Huia by Des Hunt,(Scholastic New Zealand)
Felix and the Red Rats by James Norcliffe, (Random House New Zealand)
A Winter’s Day in 1939 by Melinda Szymanik, (Scholastic New Zealand)

LIANZA Russell Clark Illustration Award
Bruiser and the Big Snow by Gavin Bishop, (Random House New Zealand)
Flight of the Honey Bee by Raymond Huber, illustrated by Brian Lovelock, (Walker Books Australia)
Taka Ki Ro Wai by Keri Kaa, illustrated by Martin D. Page (National Treasures Design Ltd trading as Tania & Martin)
The Teddy Bear’s Promise by Diana Noonan, illustrated by Robyn Belton, (Craig Potton Publishing)
Henry’s Map by David Elliot (Random House New Zealand)

LIANZA Elsie Locke Non Fiction Award
Wearable Wonders by Fifi Colston, (Scholastic New Zealand)
Flight of the Honey Bee by Raymond Huber, illustrated by Brian Lovelock, (Walker Books Australia)
The Beginner’s Guide to Hunting and Fishing in New Zealand, by Paul Adamson, (Random House New Zealand)
Anzac Day, The New Zealand Story, What it is and why it matters by Philippa Werry, (New Holland Publishers (NZ)

LIANZA Te Kura Pounamu (te reo Māori)
Taka Ki Ro Wai by Keri Kaa, illustrated by Martin D. Page (National Treasures Design Ltd trading as Tania & Martin)
Meariki by Helen Pearse-Otene, illustrated by Andrew Burdan, (Huia NZ Ltd)
Pūao (series) Te Pātiki, Te Mānawa, Te Whai, Te Tāmure by Huia Publishers, (Huia NZ Ltd)
Tāhoe: He Pakiwaitara mō Hinemoa rāua ko Tūtānekai by Chris Szekely and Andrew Burdan, (Huia NZ Ltd)
Ngā Kaitiaki a Tama! By Kawata Teepa and Jim Byrt, (Huia NZ Ltd)

For more details on HELL  Pizza’s community support visit www.satanslittlehelper.co.nz 

Follow the LIANZA Children’s Book Awards:

http://www.lianza.org.nz/awards/lianza-childrens-book-awards

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/LianzaChildrensBookAwards