competition

Wonderful collections for little New Zealanders

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Random House New Zealand have just released two new collections of stories for young New Zealanders.  Stories for 6 Year Olds and Stories for 7 Year Olds are chock full of short stories by some of our best local authors, and they’ve been specifically chosen for these age groups.

In these two books you’ll find stories by Kate de Goldi, Barbara Else, Margaret Mahy, David Hill, Sandy McKay, along with some talented new authors.  The stories are a mixture of the ordinary and the extraordinary, and about all sorts of things, from pets to monsters, climbing trees to camping.

They’re perfect books for their age groups, with a font size that’s appropriate and appealing stories.  They can be read by the children themselves or read aloud by parents or teachers.  There is something for every reader in these wonderful collections.

 

Guest Post: Juliet Jacka on Night of the Perigee Moon

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Think up your best insult, and be in to win a copy of Juliet Jacka’s award-winning Night of the Perigee Moon.

Do you like magical talents, talking cats, dogs and bats? Or how about fantastical feasts, yo-yo masters and entomologists in the making?

Then my book’s for you. Here’s the blurb.

All Tilly Angelica wants for her thirteenth birthday is to be normal! But with her changeover party looming and her mad, magical family gathering from near and far, Tilly is set to inherit a terrifying or tantalising talent of her own. But what if she inherits Hortense’s talent of super-smelling, with an oversize nose to match?

As the enchanted Angelicas gather and Arial Manor becomes a madhouse, Tilly’s troubles are tripled by her creepy cousin Prosper, and his sinister plot to bewitch the family by harnessing the powers of the Perigee Moon.

Halfway through the book, my heroine Tilly has to come up with a hit list of inventive insults. Here are three of her favourite ones.

“You’re an ox, an ass, a slubberdegullion!”

“You belligerent fleck of llama spit.”

“Earth vexing hedge pig.”

Can you come up with something similar? Send me your best one-liners (no rude words, thanks!), and the winner gets a free, signed copy of my book.

Have fun! Get inventive. Then email me at nightofperigeemoon@gmail.com

Juliet
Night of the Perigee Moon, winner of the 2013 Tom Fitzgibbon Award.

Win Pinocchio by Michael Morpurgo

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“Now – there’s no point in pretending here – I was, and still am deep down, a puppet. Everyone knows Pinocchio is a puppet. I reckon I must be just about the most famous puppet the world has ever known. But the truth is I’m not just a puppet, I’m more than just bits of wood and string. I’m me. So I thought it was about time that I, Pinocchio, told you my story…”

So begins this stunningly beautiful interpretation of the classic story. Michael Morpurgo channels Pinocchio’s words to tell the famous puppet’s story in his own inimitable, cheeky and always funny way.

To celebrate Michael Morpurgo Month I’m giving away 2 copies of Michael Morpurgo’s latest book, his retelling of the classic story, Pinocchio.  It’s a beautiful little book, with colour illustrations by Emma Chichester Clark.  Even if you’ve read the story of Pinocchio before, you won’t have heard Pinocchio’s story quite like this.  Michael Morpurgo has a great way of bringing classic stories alive and retelling them in a way that is unique and entertaining.

Thanks to everyone who entered.  The winners are Stephanie and Vicki.

Win a signed copy of Wearable Wonders by Fifi Colston

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Wearable Wonders is Fifi Colston’s fantastic new book that’s bursting with creativity, tips, tricks and ideas to help you make your own wearable wonder.  Fifi has been in Christchurch this week, running workshops for children as part of the TV2 KidsFest, and I got the chance to have a chat with her.  I’m a huge fan of Fifi’s books and I grew up watching her on What Now.

Thanks to the wonderful publisher of Wearable Wonders, Scholastic NZ, I have a special signed copy of the book to give away.  All you have to do to get in the draw is enter your name and email address in the form below.  Competition closes Wednesday 31 July (NZ only).

Thanks to everyone who entered.  The winner is Sandra Worthington.

Win a picture book pack from Scholastic NZ

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Scholastic New Zealand are publishing some wonderful new picture books in July, including books about birds, dinosaur dads, and a retelling of a piggy tale.  The best part is that they’re all by New Zealand authors and illustrators!  I’ll be reviewing them here on the blog throughout the month, but here’s your chance to get your hands on them.

Thanks to Scholastic NZ I have a pack of their wonderful new picture books to give away. The pack includes a copy of One Little Fantail by Anne Hunter and Dave Gunson, My Dinosaur Dad by Ruth Paul, and The Three Little Pigs retold and illustrated by Gavin Bishop.

Thanks to everyone who entered.  The winner is Debbe.

 

Win Diary of a Frog and Diary of a Sea Lion

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Diary of a FrogDiary of a Frog and Diary of a Sea Lion are the latest in the ‘Diary of a…’ series from Scholastic.  Sally Sutton and Dave Gunson introduce kids to the life of different animals through their entertaining and informative diaries.

Thanks to Scholastic I have a copy of Diary of a Frog and Diary of a Sea Lion to give away.  All you have to do to get in the draw is enter your name and email address in the form below.  Competition closes Wednesday 10 July (NZ only).

Thanks to everyone who entered.  The winner is Brenda.

Win a signed copy of Red Rocks

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Rachael King’s Red Rocks was my favourite for the 2013 New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards.  Although it didn’t win the award, it’s a winning book in my opinion.  As part of the New Zealand Post Children’s Book Festival in Canterbury we gave away copies of Red Rocks to children at every school we visited.

Luckily for you, we had a few copies left over at the end of the week so I’m giving away 3 signed copies of Red Rocks here on the blog.  All you have to do to get in the draw is enter your name and email address in the form below.  Competition closes Wednesday 10 July (NZ only).

Thanks to everyone who entered.  The winners are Stephanie, Joy and Sandra.

Win a stack of new books from Walker Books for your school

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Walker Books Australia have so many fantastic books being released this month.  From a tale of Ancient Greece, to a story of a girl who wants to act but suffers from stage fright, and even a new book by David Almond and Dave McKean.

Thanks to Walker Books I have a stack of their latest release novels to give to one lucky school.  The pack includes:

  • 2013-06-10 17.49.33That Boy, Jack by Janeen Brian
  • Murder at Mykenai by Catherine Mayo
  • In the Wings by Elsbeth Edgar
  • View from the 32nd Floor by Emma Cameron
  • Wild Boy by Rob Lloyd Jones
  • Mouse, Bird, Snake, Wolf by David Almond and Dave McKean

To get in the draw just enter your name and email address in the form below and tell me why your school deserves a stack of books.  These books are suitable for ages 9+.  Competition closes Wednesday 19 June (NZ only).

Thanks to everyone who entered.  The winner is Grace for St George’s School.

Win the Dinosaur Rescue Megasaurus Mash-up 2

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MegasaurusI’m a huge fan of the Dinosaur Rescue series by Kyle Mewburn and Donovan Bixley.  They’re hilarious adventure stories full of all sorts of disgusting things, they’re chock-full of prehistoric facts and perfect for younger readers.  The second bind-up of Dinosaur Rescue stories (books 5-8) has just been released by Scholastic NZ, which contains Spino-rottysaurus, Dako-snappysaurus, Scuto-stickysaurus and Salto-scaredypus.  One of the added extras of these mash-ups that I really like is the Meet the Creators pages in the back.  Donovan’s prehistoric likeness of himself and Kyle makes me laugh every time I see it and their answers to the questions are so funny.

Thanks to Scholastic NZ I have a copy of Dinosaur Rescue Megasaurus Mash-up 2 to give away.  All you need to do to get in the draw is enter your name and email address in the form below.  Competition closes Monday 17 June (NZ only).

Thanks to everyone who entered.  The winner is James.

Win a Carlos Ruiz Zafon prize pack

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Seeing Carlos Ruiz Zafon at the Auckland Writers and Readers Festival at the weekend is the highlight of my year.  Carlos is the author of my favourite book, The Shadow of the Wind, as well as many other amazing books.  He has written books for both adults and teens, including his latest YA book, The Watcher in the Shadows.

I have a special prize to give away to one Carlos Ruiz Zafon fan – a signed copy of The Prisoner of Heaven and an unsigned copy of The Watcher in the Shadows.  To get in the draw just enter your name and email address in the form below.  Competition closes Monday 27 May (international).

Thanks to everyone who entered.  The winner is Laraine.