Blog Archives

Boys’ own journey, Chris Szekely

Posted on March 17, 2019 by NZ Books

The Top Secret Undercover Notes of Buttons McGinty
Rhys Darby
Scholastic, $18.00,
ISBN 9781775434979

Between
Adele Broadbent
One Tree House, $20.00,
ISBN 9780995106420

Slice of Heaven
Des O’Leary
Mākaro Press, $25.00,
ISBN 9780995109247

I reckon I had the best summer break in ages: lots of sunny days, lots of sleep-ins, and a trio of junior-fiction books to read for pure pleasure. At the beach, on the couch, under a shady tree, it felt like the school holidays for a grown-up.

Tagged with: Adele Broadbent, Autumn 2019, Chris Szekely, Des O’Leary, Issue 125, Mākaro Press, One Tree House, Rhys Darby, Scholastic
Posted in Children, Literature, Review

Truths both bald and stretched, Eirlys Hunter

Posted on May 28, 2017 by NZ Books

The Diamond Horse
Stacy Gregg
HarperCollins, $25.00, ISBN 9780008124397

Grandad’s Wheelies
Jack Lasenby
Penguin Random House, $17.00, ISBN 9780143507338

Rona
Chris Szekely
Huia, $15.00, ISBN 9781775501985

The Impossible Boy
Leonie Agnew
Penguin Random House, $20.00, ISBN 9780143309062

Reading fiction allows a child to imagine what it would be like to be someone else, and to develop insight into character, motivation and relationships. These four novels are very different from each other, but they all include depictions of behaviour and relationships that will help their readers to understand something true about people.

Tagged with: Chris Szekely, Eirlys Hunter, HarperCollins, Huia, Issue 118, Jack Lasenby, Leonie Agnew, Penguin Random House, Stacy Gregg, Winter 2017
Posted in Children, Literature, Review

“A most entertaining little man”, Chris Szekely

Posted on March 13, 2016 by NZ Books

Hocken: Prince of Collectors Donald Jackson Kerr Otago University Press, $60.00, ISBN 9781877578 663 Dry bread and milk for breakfast. Dry bread and milk for supper. Not much chop for a boy of eight at Woodhouse Grove in 1844, but that…

Tagged with: Autumn 2016, Chris Szekely, Donald Jackson Kerr, Issue 113, Otago University Press, Thomas Morland Hocken
Posted in Art, Biography, Non-fiction, Review