Friends of Gecko Press
At Gecko Press, we believe that one good book can spark a lifetime love of reading.
We have built a digital and real-life community where people can share knowledge about great books for children (not just our books) and find creative ways to encourage children to love to read.
Friends of Gecko Press takes books to places they are not normally found and works with anyone who wants to encourage a child to love to read. This community brings together the entire book ecosystem – libraries, booksellers, schools, families, children.
If you want our help to organize an event, create a book club, or if you have ideas to promote children’s books and reading, please become a Friend of Gecko Press and share them with us.
Do you want to receive our monthly newsletter, events invitations and special offers?
Gecko Press Blog:
Time to be brave: publishing in a pandemic
Julia Marshall started Gecko Press in 2005 when she discovered that Ulf Stark’s classic Can You Whistle, Johanna? had been translated into 20 languages but not English…and that was the start of being brave for Gecko Press.
15 years on and in the middle of a pandemic, Julia reflects on publishing children’s books.
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Continue the story you have just finished…
Click on the image to download the activity sheet.
Book List of the month: Stories that teach kindness
This month’s book list is from Bridget Schaumann, Chair of the Dunedin Writers and Readers Festival Trust.
As Bridget says on the books in her list, “[these books] melted my cynical old heart, I guarantee you’ll feel that too with these treasures.”
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To receive a reading journal, send us an email at [email protected] with ‘Gecko Press Reading Journal’ subject line and your home address. Currently available to New Zealand club members only. Produced with support from the Wright Family Foundation.
Book Talk
The particularities of translating children’s books
A good translation is all in the detail; the result often reflects the amount of effort put in to giving every word its due and making the multitudes of small decisions that can make or break the book. A good translation will not be rushed.
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Book Lists, Book Talk
Book list: Silent children’s books
In this month of noise, we’ve made a list of silent books.
We were very pleased to have three Gecko Press books selected for the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) 2021 silent book collection, with Aleph by Janik Coat chosen as an Honour Book.
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Book Talk
Gecko Press Guaranteed Good Gift Guide
It’s a fun time of year to choose books, so we’ve chosen some favourites, for everyone from peek-a-boo toddlers to speedy preschoolers and adventure-loving book-gobblers.
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Book Talk
Hello from next year!
All publishers become used to working with a sort of temporal displacement. Books take at least six months to get from finished manuscript to book…
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Book Lists
Book list of good ideas from our 2021 books
Looking back on what we published in 2021 we noticed some unexpected recurring themes. They turned out to be a pretty good list of ideas so we’ve collected them here.
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Q&As
The Uprising: Q&A with Eirlys Hunter
As a child I was obsessed with the idea of flying and of seeing the world from above. That was related to my passion for maps—and of books with maps in.
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Book Talk
Fantasy or ‘real world’ in children’s fiction
When you experience your real life as dull and predictable, a book is a portal to adventure, to excitement, to dreams, experimentation and possibility.
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Book Talk
Book list: Novels in verse
Novels in verse are a bit like graphic novels, in how quickly they can be consumed, and in the way you have to join some of the dots yourself.
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Book Talk
Day in the Life of Giselle Clarkson
Hello! I’m Giselle, the illustrator of The Tiny Woman’s Coat. I live in a small town near Wellington in New Zealand. I work from home in the corner of a room…
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Book Talk
Ulf Nilsson 1948—2021
Gecko Press sadly informs our readers that Ulf Nilsson, the much-loved author of Detective Gordon, died in Sweden on 22 September at the age of 73.
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