Snakes and spiders, summits and survivors, not to mention aliens, reality TV, a bionic Kiwi and blowing bubbles; they’re just a few of the diverse themes featured among the finalists of the 2008 New Zealand Post Book Award’s For Children and Young Adults. With such a topic range it's no surprise there’s also a compelling and wide range of writing styles and stories that cover the globe - from the American Mid West to Everest, to our own wild West Coast.
Double nominees also feature this year. Three of this year’s finalists – Andrew Crowe, Gavin Bishop and Melanie Drewery - have more than one book shortlisted.
The finalists have been selected from more than 130 children’s books published in New Zealand in 2007. They are:
Picture Book
The King’s Bubbles, by Ruth Paul (Scholastic New Zealand)
Out of the Egg, written and illustrated by Tina Matthews (Walker Books)
Rats!, written and illustrated by Gavin Bishop (Random House New Zealand)
Tahi – One Lucky Kiwi, by Melanie Drewery, illustrated by Ali Teo and John O’Reilly (Random House New Zealand)
To the Harbour, written and illustrated by Stanley Palmer (Lopdell House Gallery)
Non fiction
A Mini Guide to the Identification of New Zealand Land Birds by Andrew Crowe, illustrated by Dave Gunson (Penguin New Zealand)
Reaching the Summit by Alexa Johnston with David Larsen (Penguin New Zealand)
Weather Watch New Zealand by Sandra Carrod, illustrated by Karsten Schneider and Richard Gunther (Reed New Zealand)
What is a Fish? by Feana Tu’akoi, designed by Vasanti Unka (Scholastic New Zealand)
Which New Zealand Spider? by Andrew Crowe (Penguin New Zealand)
Junior Fiction
Dead Dan’s Dee by Phyllis Johnston (Longacre Press)
The Dumpster Saga by Craig Harrison (Scholastic New Zealand)
The Mad Tadpole Adventure by Melanie Drewery, illustrated by Jenny Cooper (Scholastic New Zealand)
My Story Sitting on the Fence: The Diary of Martin Daly, Christchurch 1981 by Bill Nagelkerke (Scholastic New Zealand)
Snake and Lizard by Joy Cowley, illustrated by Gavin Bishop (Gecko Press)
Young Adult Fiction
Salt by Maurice Gee (Penguin New Zealand)
The Sea-wreck Stranger by Anna Mackenzie (Longacre Press)
Tomorrow All Will Be Beautiful by Brigid Lowry (Allen & Unwin)
The Transformation of Minna Hargreaves by Fleur Beale (Random House New Zealand)
Zillah by Penelope Todd (Longacre Press)
Finalists will be participating in children’s book events as part of a nationwide celebration of the New Zealand Post Book Awards. The festivities begin on Monday 12 May and continue through to the awards on Wednesday 21 May when the winners will be announced.
A full list of touring writers and dates will be available mid-March.
2 comments:
Great list this year - well pretty much is every year actually *g*
I hunted through tags and there didn't seem to be anything related to ANZAC Day yet that I could spot. A post of books related to this would be great as I am looking to purchase a book for our Playcentre and haven't found one that quite fits what we need (not sure what it is but will know it when I see it).
Any ideas for a preferably NZ picture book, with an ANZAC related story that is meaningful but not too long? For group reading we are usually dealing with 18mo - 5yos who actually sit and listen.
Thanks for any thoughts (and hopefully a related post soon :) )
Thanks ennavic
I'll pass your request on to the blog team - I'm sure someone will ferret out a suitable book!
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