The Fierce Little Woman and the Wicked Pirate is an enduring story by Joy Cowley that was first published as a school reader in 1984. Gecko Press published a picture book edition illustrated by Sarah Davis in 2010. In 2024, Japanese publisher Tokuma Shoten commissioned Miho Satake to create illustrations to go alongside their Japanese… Read more »
David Barrow is author and illustrator of Have You Seen Elephant? and Have You Seen Dinosaur? Come in to his studio… My studio is at the bottom of my garden. It’s built from an old outbuilding previously used by Kettering shoemakers to make shoes from home. It’s warm, has internet, and is my happy place…. Read more »
Gavin Bishop has created four board books for the very young that introduce first words and concepts through a lens of whānau and our place in the world. The direct gaze of child and adult faces draws the reader into each illustration, while single words spark conversation about objects, emotions, relationships and more. The series… Read more »
Sofia Chanfreau’s ‘Giraffe Island’ is a magical adventure about Vega and her unseen animal friends. Discover the mystery and magic. Available August 2024.
Julie Völk’s ‘A Rainy Dragon Day’ is a tale of friendship and fantasy. Join Fred the dragon on a cozy, rainy day turned magical journey. Available August 2024.
I am particularly fond of books which feature kind characters, especially when those books are for children and young people. Here are some that are new and some that have been part of my life for a long time.
I’ve lived my whole life with Joy Cowley’s stories and was totally stunned when I was invited into the Gecko Press office and asked if I’d like to illustrate a collection of them. I felt pretty daunted, but also very excited and I couldn’t wait to start drawing.
Winter 2019 is the season of intrepid explorers in Gecko Press books: from Cam in Song of the River to Otto in Otto Goes North, from Zanzibar to The Runaways. And keep an eye out for Cornelia and the Jungle Machine later in the year.
We asked Katie at Time Out Bookstore in Auckland to recommend some stories for adventurers of all ages.
Leo Timmers’ new book, Monkey on the Run, has all the characteristics of his picture books. As an illustrator, Leo asks the reader to look—then look again, and again. He uses collisions, movement, problem-solving, colour and humour in his plot. Here he talks about how Monkey on the Run developed as a story, even demanding new technique.
A book read aloud in the classroom can stay with a child for a lifetime. I can still conjure the beautiful Scottish voice of one brilliant reader-alouder from my primary school, forty years later. My children frequently recommend books their teachers have read them—and hunt them down for re-reading. They both went to Te Kura… Read more »
