Have a look through this selection of children's and young adults' fiction we are recommending for summer reading and as seasonal gifts. Click through to read our reviews. Use the 'click and collect' function on our website to reserve your copies.
If you don't find what you're looking for here, come and talk to us: we have many other interesting books on our shelves.
This is a large-format, gorgeous, beautifully produced interactive picture book featuring the best villains of fairy tales - the giant, the witch and the wolf - all complete with both a story and exceptional lift-the-flaps revealing the inner workings and hidden goings-on of these most compelling characters. Pull the string and find out what is in the wolf’s intestines! Find the mouse – and the knife! - in the giant’s boot! Change the witch’s expression – and find the bon-bon in her pocket! A complete delight for all ages.
When a perfect stranger visits the five misfits, will he be able to inspire them to Achieve, or are they happy as they are, leaving him to look like a perfect fool?
A beautiful picture book telling of a Greek girl who loses the trunk containing her dress on arrival in a new country, and how, when the dress finally finds the girl again, although the girl is now to big for the dress, the dress is just the right size for her daughter.
At last: the beloved Herbert the Brave Sea Dog in te Reo.
At the end of the summer, a girl spends time at her grandfather’s place in the countryside. Then an unexpected guest arrives, who the girl doesn’t like. Through images and the characters’ actions, the book tells the story of those few days and what happens - it's about the assumptions we make that aren’t always right.
"An entirely new, wholly different form of bewitching visual storytelling." - Brainpickings
>> An interview with Blexbolex.
A boy finds that with some help from his nana and a costume that gives him the confidence to be himself, he is at last able to make the perfect bomb into the water.
The same in te Reo.
Will the little boy who visits Elise in pursuit of his paper plane help her to overcome her anxieties and make her life less drab? (Yes.)
Old Mrs Badger climbs the hill every Sunday, right to the top. One day she helps Leo, a young cat, to climb with her. When Mr Badger gets too old to climb, who will climb with Leo? A gentle book about friendship from the author/illustrator of the wonderful The Lion and the Bird and the 'Mr Postmouse' books.
>> "I wrote this book for my grandmother."
A charming book. "Never ever put your hand through a ghost. It can cause a serious tummy ache."
Emmett and Caleb and different creatures and they like to do things in different ways, but they live next door to each other and they are the best sort of friends. This book is about the experiences they share in just one year. "Emmett slid a single sheet of blank paper under Caleb's door. He whispered through the keyhole: 'My poem is invisible to the eye!' Caleb read Emmett's invisible poem. There were no crossings out, no spelling mistakes."
Count to 20 and back with these eager animals at their very own Olympic Games. Useful.
What should we do today? Where should we go? What should we wear? What should we eat? A beautifully illustrated book (with choices!) about all the options we have available to us every day.
>> "Maybe I'll read my favourite book. Can you guess what it's about?"
Stories of the Night by Kitty Crowther $30
Little Bear is lucky to have three bedtime stories. The first story is about the Night Guardian, who lives in the woods and makes sure all animals go to bed. But who tells the Night Guardian when it's bedtime? The second story is about the brave girl Zhara who seeks the forest's most delicious blackberries. In the third we meet Bo, the little man with the big overcoat, who finds it hard to sleep. Finally, Little Bear falls asleep, and there in bed beside her are her new storybook friends. A very lovely book.
The Barber's Dilemma, And other stories from Manmaru Street by Koki Oguma $30
Meet the people who live on Koki Oguma's street in Tokyo. Each sparks a quirky story and a very quirky drawing. A delightful book.
Tales from the Inner City by Shaun Tan $40
A wonderful new illustrated book from Shaun Tan (a companion of sorts to his Tales of Outer Suburbia), each story addressing the relationship (for better or for worse) between humans and animals in urban environments.
Benevento, a town in southern Italy, is famous for its witches, who are not broomstick-riding hags but a variety of supernatural beings. Among them are the Janara, who fly about on stormy nights performing mischief; the Clopper, an old witch who chases children through the streets of town; and the Manalonga, who hide in wells and under bridges and try to drag children down. Benevento is an ancient town; a Roman theatre is at the centre, a castle fortress overlooks the town and the river, and farmland surrounds it. The stories in the 'Witches of Benevento' series take place in the 1820s and feature five children, two of whom are twins. Book #2 is The All-Powerful Ring.
>> Website (fun).
When Louisiana Elefante's granny wakes her up in the middle of the night to tell her that the day of reckoning has arrived and they have to leave home immediately, Louisiana isn't overly worried. After all, Granny has many middle-of-the-night ideas. But this time, things are different. This time, Granny intends for them never to return.
Separated from her best friends, Raymie and Beverly, Louisiana struggles to oppose the winds of fate (and Granny) and find a way home. But as Louisiana's life becomes entwined with the lives of the people of a small town - including a surly motel owner, a walrus-like minister, and a mysterious boy with a crow on his shoulder - she starts to worry that she is destined only for good-byes.
Four children temporarily lose their parents just as they are about to begin the race that offers their last chance of escaping poverty. Their task is to map a rail route through an uncharted wilderness. They overcome the many obstacles posed by nature—bears, bees, bats, river crossings, cliff-falls, impossible weather—but can they survive the treachery of their competitors?
>> Read Stella's review.
This wonderful series (which can be read in any order) has been reissued as beautiful hardbacks with Jansson's original cover designs. Great characters, deep insights lightly given, memorable adventures - these are some of the best children's book ever written (i.e. for the best children).
>> Click through to see the books.
"Call me Bathsheba." A remarkable inversion of and futuristic riff on Moby-Dick for older children and young teens, told from the point of view of the whale and no less a portrayal of the damaging effects of obsession and brutality. Beautifully illustrated and produced.
>> Ness talks about the book.
>> Read Stella's review.
Dawn Raid by Pauline (Vaeluaga) Smith $18
Like many 13-year-old girls, Sofia’s main worries are how to get some groovy go-go boots, and how not to die of embarrassment giving a speech at school. But when her older brother starts talking about protests and overstayers, and how Pacific Islanders are being bullied by the police, a shadow is cast over Sofia’s teenage days. Through diary entries, this book describes the terror of being dawn-raided and provides an insight into the courageous and tireless work of the Polynesian Panthers in the 1970s as they encourage immigrant families across NZ to stand up for their rights.
>> Find out more about the Polynesian Panthers.
Wundersmith: The calling of Morrigan Crow ('Nevermoor' #2) by Jessica Townsend $20
Are Morrigan's dreams of escaping her curses existence over as soon as they have begun? Why does the Wundrous Society seem so intent on suppressing her mysterious ability? How has Nevermoor turned from a place of safety into a place of danger? Can the ominous Ezra Squall be resisted? Find out in this riveting sequel to Nevermoor.
Those Sugar-Barge Kids by Jon Tucker $23
Swallows and Amazons in New Zealand's Bay of Islands! Two generations of children have (actually!) lived aboard an old sugar barge in the Bay of Islands. This exciting adventure story is packed with interesting details and an eco-positive message (as are all of Tucker's 'Ransomy' quartet).
The Murderer's Ape by Jacob Wegelius $19
Sally Jones is not only a loyal friend, she's an extraordinary individual. In overalls or in a maharaja's turban, this unique gorilla moves among humans without speaking but understands everything. She and the Chief are devoted comrades who operate a cargo boat. A job they are offered pays big bucks, but the deal ends badly, and the Chief is falsely convicted of murder. For Sally Jones this is the start of a harrowing quest for survival and to clear the Chief's name. Powerful forces are working against her, and they will do anything to protect their secrets. Now in paperback.
The Raven's Children by Yulia Yakovleva $18
Leningrad, 1939. When Shura and Tanya's parents and baby brother suddenly disappear, it's rumoured that they have been kidnapped by the mysterious Black Raven - and that their parents were spies. Determined to find his family, Shura decides to hand himself in to the Raven. Flagging down a KGB car, he is taken to the Grey House, where everyone is given a new name and a set of grey clothes, and everyone seems to forget their families and who they really are. Now Shura must do everything he can to cling to his memories, and to escape...
Tamara has been living on a star freighter in deep space, and her kidnappers are terrifying Crowpeople - the only aliens humanity has ever encountered. No-one has ever survived a Crowpeople attack, until now - and Tamara must use everything she has just to stay alive.
The exciting new book from the Nelson author of the 'Spark' trilogy.
When the Rift opens, death follows. For generations, the Rangers of Black Water Island have guarded the Old Herd against horrors released by the Rift. Cal West, an apprentice Ranger with a rare scar and even rarer gifts, fights daily to prove he belongs within their ranks. After nine years away, Meg Archer returns to her childhood home only to find the Island is facing a new threat that not even the Rangers are prepared for. Meg and Cal can't ignore their attraction, but can they face their darkest fears to save the Island from disaster?
>> Read Stella's review.
Long ago, following a cataclysm called 'The Rupture', the world was shattered into floating celestial islands, known now as Arks. Ophelia lives on Anima, an Ark where objects have souls. Beneath her worn scarf and thick glasses, Ophelia hides two powers: the ability to read the past of objects and their human owners, and the ability to travel through mirrors. When she is promised in marriage to Thorn, Ophelia must leave her family and follow her fiancé to Citaceleste, the floating capital of a distant Ark. Why has she been chosen? Why must she hide her true identity?
Fourteen-year-old Dita is one of the many imprisoned by the Nazis at Auschwitz. Taken, along with her mother and father, from the Terezín ghetto in Prague, Dita is adjusting to the constant terror that is life in the camp. When Jewish leader Freddy Hirsch asks Dita to take charge of the eight precious volumes the prisoners have managed to sneak past the guards, she agrees. And so Dita becomes the librarian of Auschwitz.
An exciting historical fantasy set in the Renaissance. A jester’s daughter, Giovanna, is thrown into a world of deception, danger and passion; of passionate revenge and passionate love. What will one do to uncover the truth? When should one speak out and when is it absolutely necessary to remain silent?
>> Read Stella's review.
Identical twins Sonja and Charlotte are musical prodigies with extraordinary powers. Born on All-Hallows-Eve, the girls could play music before they could walk. They were found one night by Tatty, the Tattooed Lady of the circus, in a pail on her doorstep with only a note and a heart-shaped locket. They've been with Tatty ever since, roaming the Outskirts in the circus caravans, moving from place to place.But lately, curious things have started to happen when they play their instruments. During one of their performances, the girls accidentally levitate their entire audience, drawing too much unwanted attention. Soon, ominous Enforcers come after them, and Charlotte and Sonja must embark on a perilous journey through enchanted lands in hopes of unlocking the secrets of their mysterious past. A wonderful illustrated story.
"Full of wonders. Vivid and attractive." - Philip Pullman
>> Watch the trailer, meet the characters and read the sample.
>> Read Stella's review.
Helen and the Go-Go Ninjas by Ant Sang and Michael Bennett $30
A new graphic novel from the creative genius of The Dharma Punks. Kidnapped by time-travelling ninjas, Helen is thrust into the year 2355 - a ruined future with roving gangs and 'Peace Balls', giant humming devices that enslave and control people's minds. The Go-Go Ninjas have one goal - to destroy the Peace Balls. They believe that Helen knows how. Can Helen use her knowledge of the past to help them save the future?
>> A glimpse.
In a utopian world in which AI look after everyone's interests and people never die of old age, the scythes are tasked with culling the population to keep it within within tolerable limits. When two teenagers become apprentice scythes, they are faced with many dilemmas and adventures.
>> Read Stella's review.
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