List #2: CHILDREN & YOUNG ADULTS

We recommend these books as seasonal gifts and for summer reading. Click through to our website to reserve or purchase your copies—we will have them delivered anywhere or aside for collection. Let us know if you would like them gift-wrapped. 
If you don't find what you're looking for here, browse our website, or e-mail us: we have many other interesting books on our shelves.

New Zealand's Backyard Birds by Ned Barraud          $30
The domestic outdoors of Aotearoa is filled with birds, both resident and visiting, both native and introduced. This pleasing book, with its clear illustrations and succinct text, is the perfect companion for every child. 


Atua: Māori gods and heroes by Gavin Bishop          $40
Beautifully presented and endlessly fascinating, Bishop's new book belongs on every child's and every adult's bookshelf. Lively illustrations and text tell the unique stories of Aotearoa's gods, demigods and heroes.  
>>Other books by Gavin Bishop. 

Koro by Gavin Bishop              $18
The child and their koro explore the day – they go for a walk, collect food from the garden, eat, tell stories, and snuggle up for a rest to finish. A beautiful, simple board book in te reo Māori.
>>Also available in English as Pops. 


Truthmaker ('The Severed Land' #2) by Tony Chapelle         $20
"This sequel captures the essence of my novel and takes my characters on a tense and dangerous journey through the world of The Severed Land." —Maurice Gee. Picking up where The Severed Land left off, this suspense-filled novel continues the story of the brave ex-slave Fliss. Despite her idyllic life behind the safety of the wall, she can't help longing for someone special to fill the vague sense of loneliness that nags at her. That is until a young man appears, preaching peace and unity. His arrival, however, is about to send Fliss and her friend Minnie back through the wall on a hazardous mission. 
>>Read Stella's review. 
The Tiny Woman's Coat by Joy Cowley and Giselle Clarkson         $25

The tiny woman really needs a coat to keep warm, but how will she get one? The trees give her some leaves, the porcupine gives her a needle, the horse gives her its hair for the thread—everyone contributes something and the tiny woman can make herself a coat. This delightful book will be an instant favourite.

A Winter's Promise ('The Mirror Visitor' #1) by Christelle Dabos            $26
"This is an excellent fantasy epic with compelling characters. Ophelia and Thorn are both intriguingly complex, the clans and their gifts fascinating, and the interpersonal relationships between the main characters complex and ever revealing. There is amazing world-building and the plot is tight and tense, with plenty of twists and turns, political games, and machinations of seduction, threat and trickery as the story and its characters feed on the desire for power and status. You will be craving the next instalment." —Stella
>>Read Stella's review. 
>>Read the whole series!
The Sky by Hélène Druvert                         $45
This gorgeous, large-format book is filled with astounding laser cutouts that take readers away through the clouds, through the atmosphere and to the planets, the stars and beyond. On the way they'll learn about birds, insects and pollination, witness a tornado and an eclipse, and see all kinds of flying machines. 
>>Other books by Druvert.

The Sun is a Star: A voyage through the universe with Dick Frizzell           $45
Dick Frizzell fills his spaceship with his artist friends (including John Pule, Greg O'Brien, John Reynolds, Judy Darragh, Reuben Patterson, Grahame Sydney, Karl Maughan, Ani O'Neill, Reg Mombassa and Wayne Youle) and sets off into Space to explain the wonders of the universe. 
Te Tuna Wātakirihi me ngā Tamariki o Te Tiriti o Toa / Watercress Tuna and the Children of Champion Street by Patricia Grace and Robyn Kahukiwa (translated by Hirini Melbourne)            $20
What special gifts does the magical Tuna bring the children of Cannon's Creek? Since its publication in 1984, this wonderful, joyous story about a magical eel that presents cultural treasures to a group of Maori, Pasifika and Pakeha children, who then use their gifts to enrich their neighbourhood, has been essential to any child's library.
The Uprising: The Mapmakers in Cruxcia by Eirlys Hunter        $23
Having triumphed in The Mapmakers' Race, Sal, Joe, Francie and Humphrey Santander are back, looking for their father, a famous explorer who disappeared on his last expedition. Their search takes them to Cruxcia, where the people are fighting to protect their land from the all-powerful Grania Trading Company. The Santanders’ mapping skills may just help Cruxcians save their ancient valley—and perhaps provide the key to reuniting their family.
>>Read Stella's review of the phenomenal first book.
There's a Ghost in this House by Oliver Jeffers           $38
A young girl looks everywhere in the haunted house but cannot find the ghosts that are supposed to live here. The glassine overlays show the reader just where they are hiding (and playing), however. A large amount of lightly spooky fun. 
White Fox by Chen Jiatong             $22
Cana Dilah the white fox find the treasure that will enable him to turn into a human? Or will the wicked blue fox get there first? A story steeped in Chinese folklore, and followed by White Fox in the Forest. 


The Pōrangi Boy by Shilo Kino              $25
"In The Pōrangi Boy, Shilo Kino has crafted, through hard edges and deftness of touch, a story that will endure. Niko’s intensely personal journey is woven through with threads of issues that permeate the lives of young people in Aotearoa – environmental damage, neocolonialism, bullying, poverty – but never slips into didacticism or preachiness. Where the story shines the brightest is in Shilo Kino’s uncontestable genius for crafting believable, authentic voices that are thoroughly rooted in this place, these times. You feel the shapes of the words in your mouth, hear the resonance they leave in your ears – and the resonance of these words and this book is clear and long-lasting." —Judges' citation on the book winning the Young Adults section of the 2021 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. 
Lit: Stories from home edited by Elizabeth Kirkby-McLeod      $29
A collection of vital New Zealand short stories for young adults exploring ideas about identity, activism awareness, coming-of-age, society, and family. Stories by Gina Cole, Lani Wendt Young, Rajorshi Chakraborti, Witi Ihimaera, Anahera Gildea, Elsie Locke, Owen Marshall, David Hill, Katherine Mansfield, Patricia Grace, Frank Sargeson, J.P. Pomare, Tracey Slaughter, Russell Boey, Nithya Narayanan, and Ting J. Yiu. 

Learning to Love Blue by Saradha Koirala              $25
The sequel to the excellent YA novel Lonesome When You Go.  With Vox Pop and high school behind her, 18-year-old Paige arrives in Melbourne with her suitcase and bass guitar; a copy of Bob Dylan's Chronicles and Joni Mitchell's Blue - a gift from her estranged mother that she's still learning to love. Following in the footsteps of her musical heroes, all of whom left home to make it in 1960s New York, Paige knows Melbourne's the new rock and roll capital of the world: if she can't make it here, she can't make it anywhere. Besides, her high school crush Spike lives here... Paige has always had music, but realises she still has a lot to learn about relationships: how to be vulnerable and how to be blue.
Fossils from Lost Worlds by Benjamin Laverdunt and Helene Rajcak           $40
Clues to prehistoric life lie hidden under the ground, and paleontologists are forever modifying our ideas of the deep past on the basis of new evidence. This lively, gloriously illustrated large-format volume for children is a wonderful introduction not only to the sheer variety and strangeness of creatures that preceded us, but also to the ways in which science is always improving the model it builds of reality and of the past. 
Falling into Rarohenga by Steph Matuku            $30
It seems like an ordinary day when Tui and Kae, sixteen-year-old twins, get home from school - until they find their mother, Maia, has disappeared and a swirling vortex has opened up in her room. They are sucked into this portal and dragged down to Rarohenga, the Maori Underworld, a shadowy place of infinite dark levels, changing landscapes and untrustworthy characters. Maia has been kidnapped by their estranged father, Tema, enchanted to forget who she really is and hidden somewhere here. Tui and Kae have to find a way through this maze, outwit the shady characters they meet, break the spell on their mother, and escape to the World of Light before the Goddess of Shadows or Tema holds them in Rarohenga forever.
Baby Meets Bird by Kate Muir         $20
A beautiful high-contrast board book introducing various native birds of Aotearoa. 
The Boy Who Made Things Up by Margaret Mahy, illustrated by Lily Emo            $25
"Shall we just walk along, Dad, or shall we make some of it up?"  Join Michael and his over-worked father as they journey home one fun-filled afternoon. Nelson illustrator won the Margaret Mahy Illustration Award for this book. 
"Voila: an actual Mahy, republished with wildly beautiful artwork by Nelson illustrator Lily Emo. The press release about this one called Emo’s work 'breathtaking' and usually that’s hyperbole but in this case my breath actually did catch, more than a few times, as I turned to a fresh page. The seascapes are dreamy, they’re what you notice first, but after many re-reads my very favourite thing about the art here is Emo’s gentle skewering of adults’ terrible awful screen-induced posture." —Catherine Woulfe, The Spinoff
Stop the Tour! by Bill Nagelkerke           $20
The Springbok Tour held in New Zealand over 3 months in 1981 remains one of the most divisive periods in New Zealandâs recent history. Through his (fictional) diary entries, we learn about 13-year-old Martin Daly's experiences during the tour and his thoughts and feelings about the escalating conflict. His sister, Sarah, is out to stop the tour in protest against South Africa's racist apartheid system. His rugby-mad dad is equally determined that the tour should go ahead. Martin wishes the whole thing would simply go away. But a growing understanding of the issues helps him to stop sitting on the fence and choose a side.
Ngake me Whātaitai by Ben Ngaia and Laya Mutton-Rogers              $20
This strikingly illustrated book in te reo Māori tells the legend of how the two taniwha, Ngake and Whātaitai, formed the harbour and hills of Te Whanganui-a-Tara.


Hattie and Olaf by Frida Nilsson and Stina Wirsén             $20
Hattie wants a horse more than anything. Her friend Ellen has three ponies. When Hattie’s father finally comes home with a horse float, Hattie is ecstatic. But instead of a horse, out stomps Olaf—a donkey. Now Hattie not only has horse fever, she suddenly catches lying sickness as well... The audacious and captivating Hattie and her best friend Linda navigate the social politics of their first school years in this funny illustrated chapter book.
The Loop by Ben Oliver         $22
"A fast-paced sci-fi thriller for teens. Not only is the unwinding story compelling, and the mysterious experiments on the populace mind-bending, but there is also plenty of emotional heft too, with its diverse characters, developing relationships and consequential situations." —Stella
It's Luka Kane's sixteenth birthday and he's been inside The Loop for over two years. Every inmate is serving a death sentence with the option to push back their execution date by six months if they opt into "Delays", scientific and medical experiments for the benefit of the elite in the outside world. But rumours of a war on the outside are spreading amongst the inmates, and before they know it, their tortuous routine becomes disrupted. The government issued rain stops falling. Strange things are happening to the guards. And it's not long until the inmates are left alone inside the prison. Were the chains that shackled Luka to his cell the only instruments left to keep him safe? In a thrilling shift, he must overcome fellow prisoners hell-bent on killing him, the warden losing her mind, the rabid rats in the train tunnels, and a population turned into murderous monsters to try and break out of The Loop, save his family, and discover who is responsible for the chaos that has been inflicted upon the world. 
Inside the Suitcase by Clotilde Perrin            $33
Another wonderfully inventive lift-the-flap book from the creator of Inside the Villains and The House of Madam M. Once upon a time, in a little house behind the hills, a boy packs his suitcase for a long journey. Lift the flaps to see what he takes, and travel with him over oceans and mountains, under water and into the forest. With every step on this voyage of obstacles, the boy faces a decision that will lead to a new adventure and help him get home. Delve deeper into each page and always remember what's in the suitcase.
>>Peek inside the suitcase. 
>>Read Stella's review. 

Rhyme Hungry by Antonia Pesenti          $23
Some things sound like other things, and those things could be very silly indeed. Pesenti continues the madness of the very popular Rhyme Cordial in this bold and inventive board book. Each page also opens backwards to reveal an illustrated silly sound-alike. Would you fancy instant poodles or a cheese ghostie for lunch? A large amount of fun. 
A Mother is a House by Aurore Petit               $30
A mother is a nest, a mirror, a moon. The baby sees their mother in every aspect of their day. As the pages go by, the child grows. The mother who was a refuge becomes a road, a story, and a show. On the final page, the child is ready to take their first steps. This beautifully illustrated story looks through the baby's eyes for an unexpected and affecting picture of parents and home. 



Skinny Dip: Poetry edited by Susan Price and Kate De Goldi             $30
Thirty-six poems for young readers from Sam Duckor-Jones, essa may ranapiri, Bill Manhire, Anahera Gildea, Amy McDaid, Kōtuku Nuttall, Ben Brown, Ashleigh Young, Rata Gordon, Dinah Hawken, Oscar Upperton, James Brown, Victor Rodger, Tim Upperton, Lynley Edmeades, Freya Daly Sadgrove, Nina Mingya Powles, Renee Liang and Nick Ascroft. Illustrations by Amy van Luijk.
"Bold and timely. A magnificent range of form from some of our best contemporary voices." —Hera Lindsay Bird

Take Me Home: An activity journal for young explorers by Mary Richards          $20
Mary Richards has created an excellent series of activity books to help children become more aware of their surroundings in fun and creative ways. Look at familiar places — or approach unfamiliar ones — in new ways to engage learning and develop self-expression. 
Also available: 
Charlie Tangaroa and the Creature from the Sea by T.K. Roxborogh            $25
On a beach clean-up, thirteen-year-old one-legged Charlie and his half-brother, Robbie, find a ponaturi - a mermaid - washed up on a beach. An ancient grudge between the Maori gods Tane and Tangaroa has flared up because a port being built in the bay is degrading the ocean and creatures are fleeing the sea. This has reignited anger between the gods, which breaks out in storms, earthquakes and huge seas. The human world and realm of the gods are thrown into chaos. The ponaturi believes Charlie is the only one who can stop the destruction because his stump is a sign that he straddles both worlds. 
"This is a uniquely New Zealand story, and one in which so many of us can see ourselves." —judges' citation when naming this book the 2021 Margaret Mahy Book of the Year. 
Kia Kaha: A storybook of Māori who changed the world by Jeremy Sherlock and Stacey Morrison        $45
Featuring people and groups both historic and contemporary, who have achieved great things from land marches and language revival to hip hop and contemporary Maori fashion design, this book will fill readers of all ages, and from all walks of life, with aroha, whanaungatanga and hope for our future. Illustrations by Akoni Pakinga, Haylee Ngaroma, Isobel Joy Te Aho-White, Jess Thompson aka Maori Mermaid, Josh Morgan, Kurawaka Productions, Miriama Grace-Smith, Ngaumutane Jones aka Ms Meemo, Reweti Arapete, Taupuruariki Whakataka-Brightwell, Xoe Hall, and Zak Waipara.
The Outlaws Scarlett and Browne, Being an account of their daring exploits and audacious crimes by Jonathan Stroud          $22
New from the author of the wonderful 'Lockwood & Co' and 'Bartimaeus' series. England has been radically changed by a series of catastrophes – large cities have disappeared and London has been replaced by a lagoon. The surviving population exists in fortified towns where they cling to traditional ways, while strangely evolved beasts prowl the wilderness beyond. Conformity is rigidly enforced and those who fall foul of the rules are persecuted: some are killed, others are driven out into the wilds. Only a few fight back – and two of these outlaws, Scarlett McCain and Albert Browne, display an audacity and talent that makes them legends.
"Stroud doesn’t miss a beat in laying down some great challenges: climate change, species mutation, psychological manipulation, and power struggles — as well as more endearing qualities of humanity in bravery, loyalty and friendship." —Stella
No-One Is Angry Today by Toon Tellegen and Marc Boutavant        $35
Ten thoughtful, philosophical, absurd tales about forest animals—from squirrel to scarab beetle—spending their days as friends do, with birthday parties, writing letters, visiting, dancing, or sometimes all alone. Each day brings emotions that are always worth exploring, although not always easy...

Egg Marks the Spot ('Skunk and Badger' #2) by Amy Timberlake and Jon Klassen        $25
Odd companions Skunk and Badger became firm favourites for many (young and old) with their first book, and now they're back, setting off on a rock-finding expedition that is just bound to be very different from what they were expecting!

Oceanarium by Loveday Trinick and Teagan White        $50
Step inside the pages of Oceanarium to enjoy the experience of a museum from the comfort of your own home. This stunning  large-format offering from the 'Welcome to the Museum' series guides readers around the world's oceans, from sandy shorelines to the deepest depths. Get up close and personal with giant whale sharks, tiny tropical fish, majestic manatees and so much more, travel the world from frozen Arctic seas to shimmering coral reefs, and learn why it is so important that we protect our oceans.
When We Got Lost in Dreamland by Ross Welford              $18
When 12 year-old Malky and his younger brother Seb become the owners of a "Dreaminator", they are thrust into worlds beyond their wildest imagination. From tree-top flights and Spanish galleons, to thrilling battles and sporting greatness - it seems like nothing is out of reach when you can share a dream with someone else. But impossible dreams come with incredible risks, and when Seb won't wake up and is taken to hospital in a coma, Malky is forced to leave reality behind and undertake a final, terrifying journey to the stone-age to wake his brother.
The Big Book of Belonging by Yuval Zommer           $35
A celebration of all the ways that humans are connected to life on planet Earth. With children at the heart of every beautifully illustrated spread, this book draws parallels between the way humans, plants, and animals live and behave. We all breathe the same air and take warmth from the same sun, we grow, we adapt to the seasons, and we live together in family groups.
VOLUME BooksBook lists, Gift selector