Beaten by a Balloon Margaret Mahy, illustrated by Jonathan Allan Hamish Hamilton, $29.95, ISBN 0 241 13 778 0 The Bump Joy Cowley, illustrated by Linda McClelland Scholastic, $12.95, ISBN 1 86943 345 9 Nicketty-Nacketty Noo-Noo-Noo Joy Cowley, illustrated by…
The Other Side of Silence Margaret Mahy Hamish Hamilton $29.95 ISBN 0 241135516 The Other Side of Silence, Mahy’s latest book for older children, was shortlisted for the Esther Glen Award in 1997 but did not win. I find it…
The Happy Isles of Oceania: Paddling the Pacific Paul Theroux, Hamish Hamilton, $34.95 The barrage of criticism that greeted this book in New Zealand needs to be ignored. The exception taken to Paul Theroux’s acerbic comments about New Zealanders and…