After reading The Encyclopedia of Grannies, curiously good readers from Wardini Books’s 7-to-9-year-old Book Club came up with new questions for the ‘Wisdom’ page.
Welcome to a combobulation of articles from our favourite thinkers, stories from behind the scenes, lists of good books, Gecko Press news and things that amuse us from time to time.
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Harsu & the Werestoat Review
This is such a gripping, marvellous book I can’t wait for you to discover its magical highways, its fascinations and its gripping secrets. I do hope this is the first of a series! Highly recommended.
Favourite time-travel or fantasy junior adventure novels list by Barbara Else
With Barbara Else’s Harsu and the Werestoat release this month, we asked Barbara about her favourite time-travel books for middle-readers that Harsu’s fans could also enjoy. It is a great list of books worth checking at your favourite book store or library.
2019 Storylines Notable List Winners
The Mapmakers’ Race, Cook’s Cook and Oink have been selected for the 2019 Storylines Notable Books List. The awards ceremony was in Auckland yesterday. Congratulations to Eirlys Hunter, Gavin Bishop and David Elliot. You can view the entire list here.
Harsu & the Werestoat: Q&A with Barbara Else
In the ancient story of Beowulf, the hero kills a dreadful monster then discovers that the monster’s mother is a thousand times worse. I’ve often thought, if his mother was so terrible, what chance did the poor monster ever have to grow up normal and nice? My own story became one of a boy who manages to choose the right way to live.
Oink – The New York Times Review
The delicacy and subtlety of the art only adds to the frisky humor.
8 books about grannies from booksellers (plus one encyclopedia)
This month we release Eric Veillé’s Encyclopedia of Grannies, a book that recognises that grannies come in all shapes and varieties and celebrates them all. Every page brings something unexpected: granny yoga positions, playing hide and seek at granny’s place, how to cheer up a sad granny, knitting ideas, hairdos, staying up late to view… Read more »
Curiously Good Event: Snake and Lizard by APO
Gecko Press and Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra invite you to join APO 4 Kids Storytime fun-filled concert for pre-schoolers and families and celebrate storytelling together.
Passion and craft in children’s book publishing, or: the hard craft of a good book
In a picture book, every word must earn its place, humming in tune with the pictures, setting up a much bigger hum, that has children and adults looking, returning, over and over.
French Language Day at Gecko Press
It’s French Language Day, a good day to share the books Gecko Press has translated from French and to acknowledge our French translators, who work hard to make every word perfect. This is a particular challenge with books using word play or rhymes like the pun-filled My Pictures after the Storm by Eric Veille and… Read more »
