Across the Ditch: From the ear to the page
The Sapling co-editor Nida Fiazi reviews the first picture book retelling of her favourite childhood folktale Buz-e-Chini. She recalls...
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My Childhood Books: Catherine Robertson
Catherine Robertson reflects on her early years from a literary angle, focusing on the intrinsic connection between her memories of books...
'I was running a bit toward the wild'
'From where I sleep I can see the book on my bookshelf. I have read it so many times it has fallen apart, and now exists as an inelegant...
Swapna Haddow: The Books of My Childhood
Author Swapna Haddow has recently moved to Christchurch from her home in the UK. Her Dave Pigeon books are absolutely hilarious, so we...
For Crying Out Loud: Crying and Kids' Books
'I’m a kindred spirit to Anne of Green Gables’ Anne Shirley. When I feel like crying, you see it in my cheeks, in the flicker in my eyes,...
In Memoriam: An Elegy for Charlotte
What fictional death have you never got over? That's the question asked of our editor Jane Arthur by poet Chris Tse, guest curator of the...
'Your taste is why your work disappoints you'
Claire Murdoch is the recently appointed Publishing Manager of Penguin Random House New Zealand. We asked her to share some formative...
A Wise Place to Rise: National Poetry Day
'Throughout my life I have turned to the page as a soft place to fall and a wise place to rise.' For Phantom Billstickers National Poetry...
Bill Manhire and Blyton’s Faraway Tree
Multi-accoladed poet and founder of the creative writing programme at Victoria University of Wellington, Bill Manhire relives the magic...
From the Lake District to Mangere Island
Kura Rutherford ruminates on how powerfully children's books can evoke geographies both unknown and familiar, from Beatrix Potter’s Lake...
Kate Duignan: The Books of My Childhood
Kate Duignan recalls two influential books from her childhood, Heidi and The Diddakoi, in this stunning personal essay about the...
Emma Neale: The Books My Kids Are Reading
Emma Neale is a Dunedin-based poet, novelist, and recently appointed editor of the esteemed New Zealand literary journal, Landfall, which...
Book List: Picture Books about Death and Grief
Whāngārei specialist children's librarian Meredith Wightman gives us a peek into her notebook today, and gives us a list of picture books...
Nida Fiazi: Books, Homes, and World Refugee Day
For World Refugee Day, former refugee Nida Fiazi writes about her life and how books have intersected with it, and includes her...
The Books That Formed My Childhood
Bonnie Etherington, author of the multi-award-nominated novel The Earth Cries Out, reminisces about the stories and books from her...
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