Best Kids Books
THE HOUSE OF MADAME M
by Clotilde Perrin (Gecko Press, $38)
This isn’t just a feat of wild imagination, it’s also one of skilful (paper) engineering as Clotilde Perrin, author of last year’s similarly inventive Inside the Villains, crafts a magnificent haunted house and conjures worlds within worlds. Suitably spooky, this lift-the-flaps (and open the drawers and read the miniature books) books blends thrills and chills with ghostly goings-on to enchant readers of all ages.
THE FATE OF FAUSTO
by Oliver Jeffers (Harpercollins, $35)
Eccentric characters and even more off-the-wall scenarios populate Oliver Jeffers’ exquisite books, with the quirky nature of the stories cleverly disguising wry observations about the world around us. So it is with Fausto, a man “who believed he owned everything and set out to survey what was his”. Only, of course, it isn’t his and Fausto is soon to learn his limits because his fate doesn’t matter to the “the lake and the forest, the field and the tree, the sheep and the flower … ” Poignant and timely.
TUMEKE
by Michael Petherick
(Massey University Press, $30)
How do you grab the attention of young readers when they’re more used to screens and multimedia? You do what Michael Petherick has done with his debut book and write a “multimedia novel” that tells big-hearted stories of community and connection by using texts, Instagram posts, emails, fliers, blog posts, school assignments, a lively community noticeboard and even raps as Newtoun gets ready to commemorate Waitangi Day. It’s an Annual Ink title, so has the feel of an annual but with a thoroughly modern and endearing twist.
I GO QUIET
by David Ouimet
(Cannongate Books, $28)
Exquisitely illustrated in sepia-toned and black and white, I Go Quiet creates a fantastical world where a lone girl finds refuge from a hectic world in the pages of books, which helps her face her fears and assuage her anxieties. Original, unusual and very beautiful.
THE CAT FROM MUZZLE
by Sally Sutton, illustrated by
Scott Tulloch (Picture Puffin, $20) Inspired by a true story about a cat called Dwayne who moved towns with his owners but decided he preferred life back on the farm at Muzzle Station. So, the tabby cat decided to return all the way from Kaikoura to Southern Marlborough, crossing mountains and rivers on a five-week walk home. It’s a heartland New Zealand tale full of relatable scenes, flora and fauna that will delight young readers.
THINGS IN THE SEA ARE TOUCHING ME
by Linda Jane Keegan, illustrated by Minky Stapleton (Scholastic, $19)
There’s a temptation when writing books with a message for children to neglect the story in favour of getting across the important Life Lessons we want kids to take on board. Linda Jane Keegan avoids that trap, writing a story about an anxious child trying to enjoy a day at the beach. She subtly combines a range of subjects to produce a vibrant story that presents social diversity in all its glorious forms.
THE CRAYONS’ CHRISTMAS
by Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers (Harpercollins, $30)
Oliver Jeffers’ fans are in for a treat this summer with the release of The Crayons’ Christmas. It’s the third in a series written by Drew Daywalt and illustrated by Jeffers about a packet of crayons with minds of their own. This time, they’re helping young Duncan write Christmas wish lists but, naturally, all is not what it seems.
THE ADVENTURES OF TUPAIA
by Courtney Sina Meredith, illustrated by
Mat Tait (Allen & Unwin, $35)
A spectacular hardback published in partnership with Auckland Museum to accompany the Tupaia exhibition (now on), this follows the story of Tupaia from his childhood in Ra’iatea to becoming a high-ranking ‘arioi and master navigator who sailed with Captain James Cook as part of the crew on the Endeavour. Meredith and Tait incorporate a range of styles in this evocatively illustrated work, which adds nuance to the story of how Europeans put Aotearoa on their maps.
DINOSAUR HUNTER
Joan Wiffen’s Awesome Fossil Discoveries by David Hill, illustrated by Phoebe Morris (Picture Puffin, $25)
It’s not a new format but this fifth collaboration from David Hill and Phoebe Morris is interesting and inspiring while being entertaining and humorous. Hill’s pitchperfect words are matched by Morris’ entertaining drawings which, at times, imagine what it might be like if dinosaurs still roamed Earth.
SWAN LAKE (THE STORY ORCHESTRA)
by Jessica Courtney Flint (Quarto, $33)
The story of the world’s favourite ballet has been told repeatedly, but I loved this jewel-coloured picture book, which lays out the basic premise complete with a sample of the music from various scenes. There’s information about composer Tchaikovsky, a glossary of terms and explanations of why the music was composed and placed the way it was. A treat for ballet fans and lovers of orchestral music alike.
THREE KIWI TALES
by Janet Hunt (Massey University Press, $25) Who doesn’t love stories of challenge and triumph especially when there’s a national treasure like kiwi central to them? Subtitled “More Fabulous Fix-it Stories from Wildbase Hospital”, these tales from the frontline of conservation medicine, designed for younger readers, have rarely been as engaging as Hunt, author of How to Mend a Kiwi, makes them in this wellillustrated and lively book.
WILDLIFE OF AOTEAROA
by Gavin Bishop
(Puffin, $40)
This is destined to become a classic, a book that should take pride of place in family homes, classrooms and libraries around the country. Ostensibly for children, it is for everyone, especially those with an interest in New Zealand wildlife and conservation from our seas through to our homes. It is a treasure box to be delved into, each page read and looked at — and looked at again — with wonder, care and amazement. Amazement that Aotearoa New Zealand is home to such an array of species; amazement that one person was able to bring all this together in vivid and rich detail.