New Zealand

Fast Five with Sharon Holt

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  • Why did you want to be a writer?

I was naturally good at it and I loved reading. I believe we are born with talents and gifts and that was one of mine. I am also very passionate about writing, reading and books.

  • What’s the best thing about being a writer?

The best thing is getting feedback that your hard work has made other people happy.

  • What’s your favourite New Zealand book?

Most things by Kate DeGoldi – at the moment, it’s The 10pm Question and The ACB with Honora Lee.

  • What do you love most about New Zealand?

Everything! The friendly people, green open spaces, positive can do attitudes and easy going lifestyle.

  • What do you love most about libraries?

Everything! I would live in one if I could! My happy place is sitting among piles of picture books. (Librarians are great people too!)

Sharon Holt is the author of novels, picture books and the wonderful Te Reo Singalong series.  Her books include two of the My New Zealand Story books, No Survivers and Sabotage.

Fast Five with Nikki Slade-Robinson

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  • Why did you want to be a writer?

Why not!  I think if the ideas are there, and the characters are demanding to be let out, you don’t get much choice really.  Writing and illustrating was always my dream.  And luckily my parents let me have plenty of paper so I didn’t have to draw and write on the walls.

  • What’s the best thing about being a writer?

Ooooh it’s soooo fun!  I put writing and illustrating together because I do both.  I can spend lots of my day playing with my imagination and not many jobs let you do that.  I love being self employed too, and having so much flexibility.   It’s also very cool when you see one of your books picked up and turned into something else like a show.

  • What’s your favourite New Zealand book?

Oh that’s not fair – there are so many wonderful NZ books, how can I choose just one?  Is it ok to list a few?  I do love Jack Lasenby’s ‘The Lake’ and his Seddon St gang ones.  Nobody can go past Margaret Mahy of course, horracapotchkin! (Oh dear – did I spell that right?)  And I use Andrew Crowe’s ‘Which NZ Insect?’ a lot.  Des Hunt’s books because they are set in areas I know… Joanna Orwin – oh there’s so many good writers here – sigh!  In terms of picture books, that too is really hard to choose.  I just really enjoy being able to read NZ stories.

  • What do you love most about New Zealand?

The environment.  We do live in paradise really, you only need to travel away from here to realise how good we really have it.  And our society, really it’s great.  I just hope we can all look after it and really cherish what we have.

  • What do you love most about libraries?

We’ve got this really old picture book about a little boy who can hold an elephant and a lion and a rocket under one arm.  He can hold anything you can think of under his arm.  And at the end you find out it’s because he can go to the library and get a book about anything out.  Libraries are like that – you can find so much there… and it’s free so nobody has to miss out.

Nikki Slade-Robinson is an author and illustrator whose books include Munkle Arvur and the Bod, That’s Not Junk! and Hannah Bandanna’s Hair.  Nikki has also illustrated books for other authors, including Mind Your Gramma and The Seven Stars of Matariki.

Fast Five with Sherryl Jordan

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  • Why did you want to be a writer?

I wanted to write books even before I could write. My first book, made when I was four years old, was a picture story about a little mermaid. I had to draw pictures to make the book, because I couldn’t write. The book doesn’t exist anymore (it probably went up the vacuum cleaner!) but my love of books and writing has never left me.

  • What’s the best thing about being a writer?

I get paid to day-dream.

Also, it’s an awesome thing to live in the world inside my head, the world of the imagination. While I’m writing a book, that imagined world is much more real to me than this world.  Another wonderful thing about being a writer is receiving letters from readers who love my stories. It’s amazing to realise that my dreams have been shared by someone else.

  • What’s your favourite New Zealand book?

Ah… a hard question. I have several favourite NZ writers – Margaret Mahy and Joy Cowley at the top — but no single book I love the best.

  • What do you love most about New Zealand?

Freedom of speech. The freedom to write what we want to write, and not be imprisoned for it.

  • What do you love most about libraries?

A library is like a cave full of treasure — every book another world to be explored, another dream to be shared. What riches! I always feel overwhelmed in a library, hoping I choose the right world for me, and don’t miss out on another one that I’d also love.  Mind you, books can be dangerous, too … a book could change your life.  My life has been changed several times, by books I’ve read.

Sherryl Jordan is the author of many wonderful books in her long career, including Rocco, The Wednesday Wizard, The Raging Quiet, Finnigan and the Pirates, and her latest book Ransomwood.

It’s Not a Monster, It’s Me by Raymond McGrath

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I love this video so much that I have to share it with everyone!  Raymond McGrath made it (with the help of his very talented friends) to promote his picture book, It’s Not a Monster, It’s Me! published by Penguin New Zealand.  I’ve seen this book in the library and not even realised it was created by a New Zealand author/illustrator.

Check out It’s Not a Monster, It’s Me! by Raymond McGrath in your library or bookshop now.  It’s a great book to read and share for New Zealand Book Month.

Fast Five with David Hill

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Throughout NZ Book Month I”ll be posting lots of mini interviews with New Zealand authors and illustrators.  My first Fast Five is with David Hill.

  • Why did you want to be a writer?
Became an author partly because i wasn’t much good at anything else. Also because I liked telling jokes and stories to people and making them laugh and listen. Also (No 2) because when our kids were born, I thought they were so special that I wanted the whole world to know about them – so i started writing stories about them for adults.
  • What’s the best thing about being a writer?
When you write a story / poem/ review, you’ve made something that never existed in the world before. It’s an amazing feeling, and it’s one of the special pleasures of being an author.
  •  What’s your favourite New Zealand book?
I’m a great fan of any of Maurice Gee’s books. I love the ways he mixes reality and fantasy. He turns our world into something strange and fascinating.
  • What do you love most about New Zealand?
I like the light of NZ. It’s bright and clear and very special. I also like the fact that so many of our museums, libraries, art galleries, places like that are FREE! It doesn’t happen in many other countries.
  • What do you love most about libraries?
Libraries are gyms for the mind and the imagination. You read books; your mind becomes fitter and more active. You go on trips that people who don’t read will never experience. Books provide you with this. Libraries provide you with those books!

My Brother's WarDavid Hill is the author of See Ya Simon, Aim High, Journey to Tangiwai, and My Brother’s War.

Phantom of Terawhiti by Des Hunt

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Des Hunt is one of my favourite New Zealand authors because he writes action-packed adventure stories set in New Zealand.  The setting is always so important in his stories and Des has introduced Kiwi kids to parts our beautiful country that are both familiar and unexplored territory for them. In his latest book, Phantom of Terawhiti, Des takes us to Wellington’s wild southwest coast and introduces us to Zac, who stumbles on an interesting discovery.

It’s the school holidays and Zac thinks he might go crazy with boredom. He’s living in exile with his disgraced father on the remote Terawhiti Station on Wellington’s wild southwest coast. Then Zac and his dad witness a boat sink during a storm. Investigating further, Zac finds a set of unusual animal prints on the beach. Whose boat is it? And what creature could have made the prints? Soon armed men are prowling the coast, and threatening Zac, his friends and his family. He must do all he can to protect the Phantom of Terawhiti from those intent on hunting it down.

Phantom of Terawhiti is an action-packed adventure story, packed with mystery,  armed and angry Russians, brainless hunters, wild weather, a car chase, and a race against time.  Des Hunt is a gifted storyteller who never fails to write a story that grips readers and makes you keep turning the pages to find out what happens next.  In Phantom of Terawhiti there are plenty of heart-stopping moments, especially when Zac and Jess clash with the Russians.  The mystery of the ‘Phantom of Terawhiti’ draws you in and, even when the creature is revealed, you wonder how it will survive in the wild with the hunters trying to track it down.

Like the main characters in his other books, Zac and Jess are just normal Kiwi kids, who happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time (or maybe the right place at the right time).  Zac gets dragged by his dad to come and live on the remote Terawhiti Station, and it’s while he’s here that he discovers the wreck of the yacht and the paw prints in the sand.  When they discover the Phantom of Terawhiti, Zac and Jess know that they must do everything they can to protect it.  Kiwi kids will relate to Zac and Jess and will imagine themselves in their shoes.

Phantom of Terawhiti is one of Des Hunt’s best books so far and I can’t wait to see where in the country he will take us to next.

4 out of 5 stars

Celebrate our best authors and illustrators in New Zealand Book Month

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NZBM green logo rgb smNew Zealand Book Month officially starts this Friday and runs for the whole month of March.  It’s the month where we celebrate all the wonderful authors and illustrators that we have in New Zealand.  Here on My Best Friends Are Books there will be lots of cool things happening, including:

  • Fast Five Questions with NZ children’s and young adult authors and illustrators, including David Hill, Sherryl Jordan, Diana Noonan and Donovan Bixley.
  • Guest blog posts from Melinda Szymanik and Barbara Else.
  • Lots of NZ book reviews and promotions.
  • NZ book giveaways.

Make sure you check back in March to help celebrate New Zealand books, authors and illustrators.  You can also check the NZ Book Month website to see what is happening around the country throughout the month.

Don’t forget to pick up or download your $5-off voucher that you can put towards any book you buy in March.  For more info see the NZ Book Month website.

Join the International Book Giving Day Blog Hop

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We invite those of you with blogs to share stories of how you celebrated International Book Giving Day via our International Book Giving Day blog hop!

Last week I celebrated International Book Giving Day by sending donated books off to KidsCan and Duffy Books in Homes, as well as donating some lovely new picture books to the doctor and dental surgery in my community. You can read all about it here on the blog.

One of the things that makes International Book Giving Day special is connecting with others from around the world who are giving books to kids! This blog hop offers one way for people from around the world to connect and share stories of how they celebrated International Book Giving Day.

To participate:

1. Write a post describing how you celebrated International Book Giving Day! A short and sweet post (e.g. a photo of you or your child leaving a book in a waiting room) is welcome!

2. On February 21st or shortly after, add a link to your post to our blog hop at any of our host blogs:

The entire collection of links to stories about how people celebrated International Book Giving Day will be available at each of these blogs. The blog hop will remain live through March 21st. If you’ve got a blog post about International Book Giving Day to share, all you need to do is use the linky (the blue button, “Add your link”) below to input the URL of your blog post about what you did for International Book Giving Day.



For those of you without blogs:

We invite you to share photos via Instagram or Twitter by adding the tag #giveabook. You are also invited to email photos to amy dot broadmoore at gmail dot com, and we will share them here at International Book Giving Day’s website.

You can see how others around the world are celebrating International Book Giving Day by 1. following Instagram photos and tweets tagged #giveabook, 2. looking at the photos and stories that we share here at International Book Giving Day’s website, and 3. reading stories shared by bloggers as part of the International Book Giving Day blog hop.

My Most Anticipated March New Releases

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A Necklace of Souls by R.L. Stedman (NZ)

In the Kingdom of the Rose only the power of the Guardian’s necklace can keep the people safe from the forces threatening to destroy it. In a hidden kingdom a mysterious Guardian protects her people with the help of a magical necklace. But evil forces are also seeking the power of the necklace, and as the Guardian grows weaker these forces threaten to destroy the kingdom. With the help of her best friend, Will, and the enigmatic N’tombe, Dana, the rightful heir, must claim the power of the necklace and save her people. But the necklace takes a terrible toll on whoever wears it – a toll that Dana may not be prepared to face. A NECKLACE OF SOULS was the winner of the Storylines Tessa Duder Award for unpublished young adult fiction in 2012.

Seven Wonders: The Colossus Rises

The day after twelve-year-old Jack McKinley is told he has six months to live, he awakens on a mysterious island, where a secret organization promises to save his life – but with one condition. With his three friends, Jack must lead a mission to retrieve seven lost magical orbs, which, only when combined together, can save their lives. The challenge: the orbs have been missing for a thousand years, lost among the ruins and relics of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. With no one else to turn to and no escape in sight, the four friends have no choice but to undertake the quest. First stop: The Colossus of Rhodes … where they realise that there’s way more at stake than just their lives.

The Book of Doom by Barry Hutchison

Heaven has lost the most important object in existence and getting it back is gonna be Hell … The second hilarious book in Barry’s AFTERWORLDS sequence – comic fantasy perfect for fans of Pratchett and Douglas Adams. There’s panic up in Heaven. They have mislaid the BOOK OF DOOM – the most important object in existence. Oopsy. They think Satan might have stolen it, the sneaky little devil, so to save the world – plus, you know, quite a lot of embarrassment, fifteen year old Adam and his angelic guide Angelo are sent to retrieve it. Sadly directions aren’t Angelo’s strong point and they soon find themselves just as lost as the book, wandering through Afterworlds such as Valhalla and Hades and encountering some colourful characters along the way… Can the hapless pair make it to Hell and back?

Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made by Stephan Pastis

Take eleven-year-old Timmy Failure – the clueless, comically self-confident CEO of the best detective agency in town, perhaps even the nation. Add his impressively lazy business partner, a very large
polar bear named Total. Throw in the Failuremobile – Timmy’s mom’s Segway – and what you have is Total Failure, Inc., a global enterprise destined to make Timmy so rich his mother won’t have to stress out about the bills anymore.

Fearless by Cornelia Funke

After saving his brother, Jacob Reckless faces death from the fairy’s curse burning in his heart. In search of a cure he returns to the Mirrorworld, where he is reunited with Fox, a beautiful shape-shifting girl. He has one more chance: a golden crossbow, with the power to both save and destroy life, buried in a dead king’s tomb beneath an invisible palace. Jacob must cross continents, face monsters and men – including a dangerous rival – and learn what it means to stay alive.

A Winter’s Day in 1939 by Melinda Szymanik (NZ)

Taken from their home, forced to leave their country, put to work in labour camps, frozen and starved, Adam and his family doubt that they will ever make it out alive. Even if they were to get away, they might freeze to death, or starve, or the bears might get them. For the Polish refugees, the whole of the USSR becomes a prison from which there is seemingly no escape.

Zom-B City by Darren Shan

How many survived the zombie apocalypse?
Where do the living hide in a city of the dead?
Who controls the streets of London?
B Smith is setting out to explore…

When We Wake by Karen Healey

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What do you think the world would be like if you fell asleep right now and woke up in 100 years time?  Would the world be incredibly technologically advanced or would it be ravaged by an apocalyptic event?  Would people be more tolerant of differences in race, ethnicity and sexuality? Karen Healey shows us her version of a future in earth in her latest book, When We Wake, about the first person to be cryonically frozen and successfully revived.

Sixteen-year-old Tegan is just like every other girl living in 2027 – she’s happiest when playing the guitar, she’s falling in love for the first time, and she’s joining her friends to protest the wrongs of the world: environmental collapse, social discrimination, and political injustice. But on what should have been the best day of Tegan’s life, she dies – and wakes up a hundred years in the future, locked in a government facility with no idea what happened.

Tegan is the first person to be cryonically frozen and successfully revived, which makes her an instant celebrity – though all she wants is to rebuild some semblance of a normal life … including spending as much time as possible with musically gifted Abdi, even if he does seem to hate the sight of her. But the future isn’t all she hoped it would be, and when appalling secrets come to light, Tegan must make a choice: Does she keep her head down and survive, or fight for a better future?

When We Wake has everything a great science fiction story should have – mystery, action, actual science, a future world, cool technology, and a main character who you route for right from the start.  Karen keeps you guessing and her writing is fast-paced so you want to keep reading so you can find out how it ends.

It’s a sign of a great character when you connect with them as soon as they start talking.  Karen hooked me in from the first paragraph and I wanted to know everything about Teegan and the insane situation that she finds herself in.  You empathise with her because you know how strange and difficult it would be to adapt to a different world. The more you find out about her and the sort of person she is, the more I liked her.  She’s the sort of person who won’t be pushed around and told what to do.  Even though she’s told by the army and various religious groups that her life doesn’t belong to her she does everything to prove them wrong.  She’s not concerned about making a spectacle, even when she’s being broadcast to millions of people around the world.  Other people try to force their morals and ethics on to Teegan, but she has her own strong opinions and no one is going to change those.

One of the things that really stood out for me in When We Wake was the way that Karen brought the future society’s moral and ethical views into the story.  Many science fiction stories (especially for teens) don’t delve into these aspects of future worlds so it made Karen’s feel fresh and different.  Through Teegan you see how the future society’s views of religion, ethnicity, and sexuality have changed, and how, even with massive climate change, people still aren’t looking after the planet.  Like today’s society, many of the people in charge of this future earth have questionable morals and ethics, and it’s these that shape the story.

5 out of 5 stars