News and Events

The Moon Is a Ball featured in New York Times

The Moon Is a Ball by Ed Franck and Thé Tjong-Khing has been featured in a recent article in The New York Times titled ‘It Takes Two: Friendship in Three New Books for Early Readers’.

It is described as having “captivating text, ideal for reading aloud.”

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Admirable mothers in picture books

For Mother’s Day, we are noticing books that demonstrate good parenting—often without the child realising. The Poo Bum series is one.

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The House that Jack Built in Aotearoa New Zealand schools

This picture book tells the story of colonisation in Aotearoa for our tamariki and our rangatahi.  They can look at and see and feel–what happened here, what was the impact, what changed in Aotearoa from page one to the end of the book? This book is a huge asset as a launch pad for deeper learning for our students.

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Serendipity—one reason we attend the Bologna Children’s Book Fair

The Bologna Children’s Book Fair is a cornerstone of the Gecko Press business, and it was magnificent for me and Julia to be back under the porticos in Italy this March—four years since the last visit!

News and Events

Tickle My Ears to every toddler in Scotland

The Scottish Book Trust has selected Tickle My Ears by Jörg Mϋhle for their Bookbug Toddler Bag for 2023. These are given to every child in Scotland to help them develop a love of stories and reading from an early age.

Over 40,000 copies will be sent out to toddlers throughout Scotland this year, along with a couple of other books and learning materials.

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Look selected for dPictus 100 Outstanding Picturebooks 2023

Look – A Tummy Time Book by Gavin Bishop has been selected for the dPictus 100 Outstanding Picturebooks 2023.

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Be kind to the duck

Written by Julia Marshall, founder of Gecko Press.

We are celebrating the life of Wolf Erlbruch, who died this week aged 75.

Duck, Death and the Tulip is a pivotal book for Gecko Press, one of the books I am most proud to have on our list.

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New The House that Jack Built teacher notes

Free comprehensive teacher notes for Years 1 to 10 available for download.

These teacher notes are based on the new Aotearoa New Zealand Histories curriculum being implemented in 2023 and written by Defyd Williams, who was part of the Ministry of Education reference group for the curriculum.

News and Events

Two Gecko Press books selected for White Ravens Award 2022

This year, the White Ravens contain a selection of 200 notable children’s and young adult books from 53 countries published in 37 languages. Bumblebee Grumblebee and Duck’s Backyard have both been selected.

Talking about Bumblebee Grumblebee, the judge said “Board books for the very young can sometimes feel a bit dull to adults. But not when David Elliot puts his hand to creating one.”

Recommended reads

The books that raised me: Bookshop Day 2022 edition

This Bookshop Day, we’re celebrating booksellers around Aotearoa by asking some to share a book that was special to them growing up, a book that raised them. How do you pick just one when you’re surrounded by a treasure trove!