Gecko Press Blog

By Rachel Lawson, publisher at Gecko Press. When we translate a book into English from another language, one of the first questions for the translator is the names of the characters—and often that affects the title too.

“When I was eleven I used to pretend I was a boy a lot, and I was longing for love. All I wanted to do was to play-wrestle with my friend Michael. He had bleached hair and could play Nirvana songs on his guitar. But I was so tall and skinny it was hard to get boys interested. They liked the short and cute girls, not ones with cricket legs like me.”

There are so many excellent books about dinosaurs and fossils that it is very difficult to pick just a few to feature. Our scientific knowledge of extinct animals has increased exponentially as researchers continue to discover amazing fossils and use modern tools to gather insights about their lives.

By Catharina Valckx. My books can start with an idea, a word or an image. Ideas come into my mind, and sometimes I feel—Ah! Here’s one that interests me!

I discovered children’s literature in the form of picture books in the local library when my son was young. I knew a few good books from my childhood, but I didn’t imagine they would be just the tip of the iceberg. Some books were revelations!

Hi! I’m Kristina, author of The Secrets of Cricket Karlsson. I live in a town called Malmö in the southern part of Sweden. I usually write my books sitting on the couch in my living room, with the view of the sky, the ceilings and my new – very happy – lamp!

Eva Lindström has been awarded the 2022 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA). Lindström writes stories that shift between the everyday and the existential, combining shrewd humour with absurd mystery.

My hope is that for anyone struggling, these eight brilliant books will be a small support and help start important conversations about war and particularly its impact on people. I hope they show the positive impact that hope, kindness and empathy can have too.

As so often is the case, I was working on multiple stories about boats that weren’t really going anywhere, until Elephant appeared and ideas started to click. Once I figured out the storyline, I started pondering every beat of the story. What does it mean, what do I want to say? And how can I visualize this as clearly as possible?

Over the last 2 years, COVID-19 infection prevention measures have meant that tamariki visiting the hospital have had heavily restricted access to toys