List #6: CHILDREN'S NON-FICTION 

We recommend these books as seasonal gifts and for summer reading. Click through to our website to reserve or purchase your copies—we will have them delivered anywhere or aside for collection. Let us know if you would like them gift-wrapped. 
If you don't find what you're looking for here, browse our website, e-mail us, or come and talk to us: we have many other interesting books on our shelves.

Where Is It? A wildlife hunt for kiwi kids by Ned Barraud        $20

Can you find the animals in the various habitat? (Some of them really shouldn't be there...).

Amazing Aotearoa Activity Book by Gavin Bishop           $25

Puzzles, games and creative activities that explore Aotearoa, its history and people. Endless fun, and attractively presented. You'll learn to introduce yourself in Maori, solve puzzles and crack codes, play games, invent a superhero, draw your future home, make maps, curate your heroes in a wall of fame, design a flag, create a menu, and much more!

Altitude by Oliver Bocquet and Jean-Marc Rochette       $40

At 16, bivouacked on a mountainside beneath a sky filled with stars, Jean-Marc Rochette has already begun measuring himself against some of Europe's highest peaks. The Aiguille Dibona, the Coup de Sabre, La Meije: The summits of the Massif des crins in the French Alps, to which he escapes as a teenager, spark both exhilaration and fear. At times, they are a playground for adventure. At others, they are a battlefield. The young climber is acutely aware that death lurks in the frozen corridors of this Alpine range. 

In Altitude, Rochette tells the story of his formative years, as a climber and as an artist. Part coming-of-age story, part love letter to the Alps, this autobiographical graphic novel captures the thrill and the terror invoked by high mountains, and considers one man's obsession with reaching the top of them.

Easy Peasy: Gardening for kids by Kirsten Bradley and Aitch       $40
For the next generation of green fingers there are different ways to bring nature into the home. Make your own pots, build balcony boxes, create your own bird feeders and even get friendly with worms! Each activity has been carefully chosen to create living, renewable and sustainable environments for kids and their families. Each activity has been carefully written by Kirsten Bradley, a leading practitioner in permaculture for kids and co-founder of Milkwood permaculture farm in Australia, and the book is illustrated by Romanian folk artist Aitch.  

Illumisaurus by Carnovsky and Lucy Brownridge       $40

Three coloured lenses reveal dinosaurs of all kinds almost leaping from the pages. A large amount of fun. 

Abigail and the Restless Raindrop by Matthew Cunningham and Sarah Wilkins         $20

Abigail is a little girl with big questions. Find out about the water cycle with her in this beautifully illustrated New Zealand book. 

How Do You Make a Baby? by Anna Fiske        $33
A very effective and informative blend of good information and hilarious illustrations. 
>>See also Tell Me.

Deep Dive into Deep Sea by Tim Flannery        $30
Who is the giant squid's mortal enemy? Can you see ghosts in the deep sea? Why would a sea cucumber have teeth on its butt? And what on earth is a headless chicken monster? Put on your SCUBA gear - you're about to find out!  

The Nature Activity Book: 99 ideas for activities in the natural world of Aotearoa New Zealand by Rachel Haydon and Pippa Keel         $35
Good fun and good information; produced in conjunction with Te Papa. 

Timeline: Science and technology by Peter Goes           $40

In his signature playful style, Peter Goes illustrates the most fascinating technologies, from the first tools to the most specialized IT, from medical breakthroughs to the creation of YouTube. He includes remarkable scientists and innovators and highlights lesser-known stories. A compelling history of technology from the Stone Age to the present day, from America to the Southern hemisphere and beyond. A companion volume to Timeline: A visual history. 

AntiRacist Baby by Ibram X. Kendi and Ashley Lukashevsky       $25

A board book. Start as you mean to go on. 

One of a Kind: A story about sorting and classifying by Neil Packer        $35

Framed by a charming narrative about a father and son, this is a book about categories. On a journey into town, a boy called Arvo explores the many ways in which we classify the world around us, to fascinating. A stunningly beautiful large-format picture book.

Art This Way by Tamara Shopsin and Jason Fulford       $40
Unfold pages, lift flaps, gaze into mirrors, and interact with art like never before. Inspired by the many ways that art can be viewed and experienced, this book encourages children to spend time with a curated selection of fine art from the Whitney collection — and to dig deeper and consider all angles. Each artwork is showcased with a novelty mechanism and caption, for curious hands and wondering eyes. Delightful. 

My Little Book of Big Questions by Britta Teckentrup            $45
Teckentrup’s wonderful collection of questions, one per spread, takes readers on a dreamlike wander through the boundaries of possibility and reality. Beginning with “How will I see the world when I am grown up?” the queries address themes of change, identity and relationships, and hopes and fears. In her signature graphic style, Teckentrup illustrates grainy figures on white backgrounds—the likenesses gaze out of windows, appear in groups and alone, and populate sweeping vistas. In one spread—“Is the world inside or outside of me?—a blue sky and white clouds comprise a person’s torso. Though many of the inclusions feel weighty, all that curiosity can’t help but come with a wink, and the book ends with an amusing ask: “Do all people ask the same questions?”

Wonder Women: A bingo game by Isobel Thomas and Laura Bernard       $35

Get to know these high-flying women from many fields and countries in this beautifully drawn (and fun!) game. Many of these women featured in the Wonder Women Happy Families Game, but there are several new additions to the pantheon in this game, including Jacinda Ardern and Greta Thunberg. 

Ready, Set, Draw! by Hervé Tullet        $30
 Showcasing Hervé's signature bold colours and minimalist shapes and lines, this wildly graphic and highly intuitive card game will unlock every young (and old) artist's creative potential. Select WHAT to draw from one deck and HOW to draw it from the other; then flick the colourful spinner wheel to randomise the options. From "draw a tree with your eyes closed" to "draw a friend... upside down!", the combinations are endless — and endlessly fun!

The Big Book of Blooms by Yuval Zommer         $30
Beautifully illustrated and highly informative. 
>>Other books by Yuval Zommer.