Book Reviews Archive
Review: Tiaki: A shout-out to Aotearoa’s lesser known creatures
Author: Jean Donaldson. Reviewer: Alex Eagles.
This book is a shout-out to the weird and wonderful endangered species in Aotearoa, those lesser-known creatures that don’t regularly make the news. But they are just as important as the ‘stars’ like kākāpō and kiwi, for they are the foundation of our unique biodiversity.
November 2022 release
Extract: Auckland Zoo 100 Years of Stories: A century of wild life at Auckland Zoo
Extract from: Auckland Zoo 100 Years of Stories: A century of wild life at Auckland Zoo by Sarah Ell with Aja Pendergrast and Jane Healy (in association with Sherlock-Co).
Living at the Zoo is every animal-mad kid’s dream. But for former head curator and veterinarian Richard Jakob-Hoff, it was just part of the job.
November 2022 release
Review: The Ghost House
Author: Bill Nagelkerke. Reviewer: Alex Eagles.
Bill Nagelkerke has a knack for using creative perspectives and the paranormal as a recurring theme in his work. Both are used well in The Ghost House.
October 2022 release
Interview: James Ryan for Nature’s Wildlife Weapons
Author: James Ryan.
Join teen author James Ryan as he shares a bunch of surprising, cool and occasionally gross facts with us about some of nature’s most awesome animals and their built-in weapons.
January 2022 release
He arotake: Sylvia and the Birds: How The Bird Lady saved thousands of birds and how you can, tooNā Alex Eagles i arotake
He arotake: Sylvia and the Birds: How The Bird Lady saved thousands of birds and how you can, too
Nā Alex Eagles i arotake
September 2022 release
Review: Sylvia and the Birds: How The Bird Lady saved thousands of birds and how you can, too
Authors: Johanna Emeney and Sarah Laing. Reviewer: Alex Eagles.
Part graphic biography, part practical guide to protecting our bird wildlife, Sylvia and the Birds is based on the life of ‘The Bird Lady’, Sylvia Durrant, who helped more than 140,000 sick, injured and lost birds during her lifetime., It inspires a reverence for the natural world and is a call to action for all young ecologists and environmentalists.
September 2022 release
Review: Kidnap at Mystery Island
Author: Carol Garden. Reviewer: Alex Eagles.
Kidnap At Mystery Island, winner of the 2021 Storylines Tom Fitzgibbon Award, is the action-packed junior novel just released by Scholastic.
July 2022 release
Review: A Portrait of Leonardo
Author: Donovan Bixley. Reviewer: Sarah Forster.
What an astonishing thing Donovan Bixley has achieved in completing his accessible, playful portrait of Leonardo da Vinci after so many years’ research and work. A portrait of Leonardo sees Bixley stretch himself as an artist in imagining the world and life of Leonardo da Vinci as it may have looked in the 15th century in Florence and beyond.
June 2022 release
Review: Night Race to Kawau
Author: Tessa Duder. Reviewer: Sarah Ell.
In the 40 years since its release, Night Race to Kawau has rightly become a classic, part of our nautical and literary heritage. Now an anniversary edition has been released so younger readers can continue to enjoy the adventurous coming-of-age tale.
February 2022 release
Review: Spark Hunter
Author: Sonya Wilson. Reviewer: Sofia Glucina and Renee Liang.
Spark Hunter is an original, fresh fantasy novel for young readers, lovingly crafted from author Sonya Wilson’s memories of a childhood spent roaming Fiordland.
October 2021 release