New Zealand Migration (Oratia Books, 2023) 

I loved learning so many fascinating and inspiring stories of migration for this book.

 Iris and me (Ahoy! Cuba Press, 2023) 

Runner-up, NZSA Laura Solomon Cuba Press Prize 2022
Winner, Young Adult Fiction Award, NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults 2023
Longlisted for the ARA Historical Novel Prize 2023
Storylines list of notable books for 2023
Aotearoa books of the year for 2023 (The Spinoff)
Best children’s and YA books books for 2023 (National Library)
Best of the year: Aotearoa’s YA class of 2023 (Kete)
Highlights of 2023 (Wellington City Libraries)
Shortlisted for the NZ Booklovers Awards 2024
Ten top junior, middle grade and YA books by NZ authors over past ten years (Kete)
IBBY Honour List 2024 (IBBY: International Board on Books for Young People)

The Water Bottle

The Water Bottle is the story of three children: Tom, Airini and Derya. They come from different backgrounds, but maybe their families are connected in ways they don’t yet know.

This has been a lovely book to work on. There are a number of Anzac Day-themed picture books, but I think this one is unique for its pairing of a NZ writer and Turkish illustrator. I loved working with Oratia and seeing how the project developed, from our initial discussion to the finished book.  

Picture book writers and illustrators often work quite separately, but because Burak Akbay was in Turkey, we sent him suggestions for some NZ scenes, like what a typical war memorial or classroom might look like. But of course he was very familiar with the Turkish scenes, and it was fascinating to see his interpretation of them, and to watch the illustrations developing as he created them. 

You can read more about the book (and my own trip to Gallipoli) here on my website. 

Quarantine

Today polio is an almost forgotten disease, but a hundred years ago, polio epidemics regularly swept the world. This is the story of the 1936/37 polio epidemic in New Zealand.

Quarantine was first published by Scholastic as Enemy at the Gate, but it's now been republished and brought under the My New Zealand Story banner.

I love the fabulous new cover, and I'm so pleased that this book will now reach a new generation of readers for whom epidemics are now part of their lives, not just a story from history. 

Thanks to Bobs Books Blog for this thoughtful review. 

Why do creative rights matter?

Sharing the stories behind my books Enemy at the Gate and The Great Chocolate Cake Bake Off here with @CreativeReadsNZ. 

As their website says, creative rights are Good for our economy, Good for our culture, Good for our social wellbeing and Good for all of us.

#KeepthePagesTurning
#CreativeRightsNZ @CreativeReadsNZ

2021 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults

I'm very happy and excited to be shortlisted in the Picture book section of these awards with This is Where I Stand, beautifully illustrated by Kieran Rynhart and published by Scholastic. It's a privilege to be included amongst these five lovely titles - and I know there were many other amazing picture books that came out last year as well, so  big congrats to all those writers and illustrators, shortlisted or not.  

Anzac Day 2021

 Seven years after marking Anzac Day at Gallipoli with the wonderful group of Gallipoli Volunteers (and some thousands of others), it felt very special today to be at another Anzac Day service beside the sea, as the local community gathered on a still and sunny morning at Paekākāriki.

Poppy tree in the village

Another special thing about this service was that nearly everyone who spoke or carried out an official function was a woman: MC Janet Holborow, the woman who called the karanga, the representative from the Turkish Embassy, the minister who gave the Prayer of Remembrance and the benediction, Alex Haddow who sang (beautifully) the NZ National Anthem and Po Atarau - Now is the Hour, Sunny Amey who read (beautifully) Binyon's Ode of Remembrance, Paranahia Broughton who read the Roll of Honour and Lieutenant Jaiselmer Keivom-Lockhart who gave the Memorial Address.   

"What last year taught us was that there are many ways in which we can serve our country" - Lieutenant Jaiselmer Keivom-Lockhart.

Yet another special feature was that for the first name, the names were read out of the ten US marines who died in a training exercise off Paekākāriki beach on 20 June 1943. Before her reading, Sunny Amey shared her memories of being at secondary school during WW2 and having US servicemen come to their home for lunch every Sunday. 

Getting ready for the Paekākāriki Anzac Commemoration 2021 

Across the road from the Paekākāriki Memorial Hall, the surf was up and the surfers were marking the day in their own way - you can just spot a couple of them in the bottom photo.