Gecko Press Blog

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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Wolf Erlbruch, ‘a careful and caring visionary’

Duck Death and the Tulip

“Children do not need pink elephants or cute cats. They want more interesting stories that are new to them.”

Curiously Good Book Club Event: Reading-alouding!

Bim Bam Boom books for babies Gecko Press

Come to Porirua Library and learn how to be a a good reader-alouder! 

The Curiously Good Book Club – thank you to everyone so far!

Curiously Good Book Club read aloud picture books

Gecko Press is in the last days of our crowdfunding campaign to help build the Curiously Good Book Club – the deadline is 6 pm June 21. The aim of the Club is simple – that every child loves to read. To do that, we want to take books to places and people where they are not… Read more »

All the Wonders of Don’t Cross the Line!

Gecko Press website banner from Don't Cross the Line

Break the rules and step across the line! This month, Don’t Cross the Line! is featured over at the beautiful picture book blog,  All the Wonders.

Our friend John

John McIntyre of the Children’s Bookshop Kilbirnie was a champion and friend of many, and myself and all of us at  Gecko Press are just very sad that he has died. Our hearts go to Ruth and the Children’s Bookshop and all his family, many of whom we met at his 65th birthday this year…. Read more »

Become an art collector, and kickstart every child into a lifetime of reading!

David Barrow Have You Seen Elephant picture book print

Our illustrators from New Zealand and around the world are supporting the Curiously Good Book Club by offering limited edition prints, limited edition signed prints and original illustrations.

Behind the Curiously Good Book Club

When Gecko Press began in 2005, only 1 percent of books published in English countries came from non-English languages. I thought it odd that English speaking children did not have access to the best writers and books from the rest of the world. And that was the beginning of Gecko Press. Gecko Press continues to… Read more »

Our first Curiously Good Book Club event

Curiously Good Book Club events

On May 25 we had our first Curiously Good Book Club event! With our partners at Space Place, we launched Sabrina Malcolm’s Zeustian Logic and gazed at the stars.  The planetarium was filled with old and new friends, with booksellers, authors, teachers and readers. We would love to organise more events like this one. But for that,… Read more »

Michael Rosen on poetry in primary schools

Gecko Press square image from What Dog Knows, dog reading the paper in an orange armchair

A recommended read for Curiously Good schools and libraries! Michael Rosen’s blog is a great resource, with many marvellous ideas for sparking a love of poetry in children. “Make yourself a finder-out of poems for the class. Tell the children when you’ve discovered a poem. Tell them that you’re excited when they discover a poem… Read more »

The authors who helped us grow up

Gecko Press spot art from When I am Happiest, Dani reads a blue book with a cat and two guinea pigs

Need a book recommendation? The New Yorker children’s literature archive is a wonderful resource. From Where the Wild Things Are to Harry Potter,  with articles from the 1920s to early 2000s, there’s a lot of booky ground covered. We want to hear about your favourite children’s books. Are they the same as when you were a child?… Read more »

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