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It’s Te Wiki o te Reo Māori soon, so we’ve put together a selection of pukapuka to add to your library or classroom, including E Hoa, the new board book from 2022 Book of the Year winner, Gavin Bishop, and Arewhana Hunahuna by David Barrow, translated by Karena Kelly.
We have two finalists in the UK’s Teach Early Years Awards this year--A Perfect Wonderful Day with Friends by Philip Waechter is a Happy & Healthy category finalist and Elephant Island by Leo Timmers is a Picture Book category finalist. Follow the links above for Teacher Notes and Activities and to sign up directly for Gecko Press's next newsletter.
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 A book described as a taonga for this generation and the next, written and illustrated by one of the country’s most lauded authors, was tonight crowned the Margaret Mahy Book of the Year at the 2022 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults ceremony, held at the Alan Gibbs Centre, Wellington College.
Atua: Māori Gods and Heroes by multi-award-winning author Gavin Bishop was praised by the judges for its sense of magic and the way it validates matauranga and te ao Māori truths. “Atua is an instant classic, a ‘must have’ for every Kiwi household and library, that is packaged in stunning production values,” said convenor of judges Pauline (Vaeluaga) Smith. “The book is much more than a list of Gods and legendary heroes – it’s a family tree, presented with power and simplicity. The text is never overstated, with the glory of the illustrations as the primary mode of storytelling, rewarding the reader who closely examines them.” As well as taking out the highest accolade in children’s publishing, Atua also won the Elsie Locke Award for Non-Fiction and the Russell Clark Award for Illustration. It’s the fifth time Ōtautahi-based Bishop's work has been acknowledged with the coveted Book of the Year prize. He has now won it three times for titles he authored and illustrated and twice for books where he was the illustrator. This is more than any other children’s author or illustrator in New Zealand, even the award’s namesake Margaret Mahy, who won the supreme award twice. While Atua took out the lion’s share of the prizes on the night, it was a cheeky lion who impressed the judges when it came to the Picture Book Award, which went to Lion Guards the Cake by Wellington’s Ruth Paul. The judges loved the masterfully blended words and images, calling it confident storytelling of the highest calibre. An imaginative, thought-provoking novel with “a bit of creepy stirred in” was how The Memory Thief by Leonie Agnew of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland was described. It won the Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction, with the judges praising the skill and writing craft of the author, as well as the depth and quality of language. Learning to Love Blue by Melbourne-based New Zealander Saradha Koirala was awarded the Young Adult Fiction Award. The judging panel was enamoured by this novel that deals with striking out alone, navigating relationships and finding one’s feet in a new city, calling it an emotional and always relatable read. The standard and beautiful flow of reo in I Waho, i te Moana, translated from Yvonne Morrison’s text by Pānia Papa (Pōneke Wellington) and illustrated by Jenny Cooper, saw it awarded the Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award for te reo Māori. The judges praised the expertise of the translator, and also said the illustrations bring to life the authenticity of this story about the many taniwha that act as guardians in the moana. Among the 199 entries into this year’s awards, some of the most exciting for the judges to read were those from new voices. With the calibre encouragingly high, it was a tough category to call but the NZSA Best First Book Award went to Spark Hunter by Sonya Wilson from Auckland. The judges felt the book was perfectly pitched for middle fiction readers, with its debut author deftly weaving history, culture, conservation, humour, tension and adventure into the story. The full list of winners for the 2022 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults: Margaret Mahy Book of the Year Award $7500 Atua: Māori Gods and Heroes, written and illustrated by Gavin Bishop (Puffin, Penguin Random House) Picture Book Award $7500 Lion Guards the Cake, written and illustrated by Ruth Paul (Scholastic New Zealand) Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction $7500 The Memory Thief, written by Leonie Agnew (Puffin, Penguin Random House) Young Adult Fiction Award $7500 Learning to Love Blue, written by Saradha Koirala (Record Press) Elsie Locke Award for Non-Fiction $7500 Atua: Māori Gods and Heroes, written and illustrated by Gavin Bishop (Puffin, Penguin Random House) Russell Clark Award for Illustration $7500 Atua: Māori Gods and Heroes, written and illustrated by Gavin Bishop (Puffin, Penguin Random House) Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award for te reo Māori $7500 I Waho, i te Moana, written by Yvonne Morrison, translated by Pānia Papa and illustrated by Jenny Cooper (Scholastic New Zealand) NZSA Best First Book Award $2500 Spark Hunter, written by Sonya Wilson (The Cuba Press) An important aspect of the Awards is fostering a love of reading in New Zealand’s tamariki and rangitahi by building connections between books and young people. Many of this year’s finalists had the opportunity to present their work to thousands of children around the country in a programme of Books Alive online events and virtual story times, co-ordinated through public and school libraries by LIANZA, the Library and Information Association of New Zealand Aotearoa, and hosted on their YouTube channel. The finalists also entertained hundreds of Wellington school children at the National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa on the day of the ceremony. The hard-working team at Wellington City Libraries organised a varied programme that included story times, behind-the-book talks, workshops on writing and illustration, lively panel discussions, and live drawing sessions. The New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults are made possible through the generosity and vision of a group of committed funders and sponsors: Creative New Zealand, HELL Pizza, the Wright Family Foundation, LIANZA, Wellington City Council, The New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa (NZSA), Nielsen BookData, and 2022 Books Alive venue partner, The National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa. The Awards are administered by the New Zealand Book Awards Trust Te Ohu Tiaki i Te Rau Hiringa. Proudly bought to you by SLANZA's Business Partner, SCIS. Click below to read the latest edition.
Connections, Issue 122 
#AotearoaSchoolLibraryWeek Auckland Libraries misses you! Do you or your whānau have outstanding charges on your library cards for lost or damaged books, and is that why we haven’t seen you in a while? Make a fresh start at your library between 1 July and 30 September 2022, and we’ll remove all charges for lost and damaged books from your library account! Whether you have the item or it’s lost forever - all you need to do is chat with our friendly staff in person, by phone or online, and they’ll be happy to clear the charges for you. Find out more: aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/welcomeback. And tell all your family and friends too.
#AotearoaSchoolLibraryWeek Competition Time Thanks to the generous support of Aotearoa NZ School Library Week sponsors - NZCYA Book Awards, OneTree House Publishers and Gecko Press - we have a variety of book prizes to give away. Students and staff are invited to share School Library Week-inspired activities via social media using the hashtag #AotearoaSchoolLibraryWeek to be in a draw to win books for their library. LET’S CELEBRATE AOTEAROA NZ SCHOOL LIBRARIES TOGETHER! We are looking forward to seeing your inspiring posts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or TikTok.  |
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