By Rachel Lawson, publisher-at-large The phrase “fractured fairy tale” took a while to permeate the Gecko Press lexicon. Possibly because we saw most of these books first as funny stories. It turns out we’ve made a number of fairy tales with a difference over the years. They have familiar characters and a story structure we… Read more »
by rachel lawson, publisher-at-large One of the best books we’ve published at Gecko Press is All the Dear Little Animals by Ulf Nilsson and Eva Eriksson. Three children start a funeral business to bury the dead animals they find in their neighbourhood. This book takes me instantly to my own childhood garden and to important… Read more »
BY NATHAN LUFF, MANAGER OF CHILDREN’S AND YA PROGRAMME, SYDNEY WRITER’S FESTIVAL, AUSTRALIA
We asked Nathan Luff for a list of books he likes to recommend that feature theatrical content. As well as being a published children’s book author, Nathan also works part time as a teacher specialising in creative writing and performing arts.
We asked Giana Torrez, El Paso Library, Texas, for a list of books she likes to recommend that feature characters with disabilities—a broad topic, of course, as shown by her list that includes main characters with autism, dyslexia and physical disabilities.
For our new series, The Books that Raised Me, we talked to the School Library Association of New Zealand to discover the books that raised the librarians of SLANZA.
We are celebrating Pride 2021 with a list of children’s books featuring LGBTQ+ characters from Phoebe Wilton-Stuart of Wardini Books.
For this month’s book list we asked some parents in the book world what bedtime favourites their children ask for again and again. Jane Arthur, manager at Good Books, Wellington, poet and mother of Pete We’ve somehow ended up with two identical copies of Peter Gossage’s How Maui Slowed the Sun in board book format,… Read more »
The books we read and remember as a child really do the heavy lifting of raising us as a reader. These are some of the books that raised me.
We often get asked for recommendations for a particular age of a child so this month’s book list is by the Gecko Press team recommending our top picks from our shelves to help with your gift buying this season.
In my learning support classroom, I have a growing list of ‘go-to’ picture books and early readers that have proven popular with my students with dyslexia over the years.
