Quality non-fiction and phenomenal firsts — NZCYA 2021

This post — one of a series of reviews

This blog post is one of a series reviewing books on the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults (NZCYA) shortlist in the run-up to the announcement of the award winners on 11 August.

The shortlists

Elsie Locke Award for Non-fiction

From a book to make you laugh out loud to one that will make you sad, there's a broad range of themes in the five finalists for the non-fiction category. The production quality is superb, with beautiful hardcovers for all but one, and amazing illustrations which complement the text.

Egg & Spoon: An Illustrated Cookbook

Lettuce soup? Strawberry French toast? Apple chips? Or how to boil an egg or roast a chook.

Egg & Spoon: An Illustrated Cookbook by Alexandra Tylee and illustrated by Giselle Clarkson (Gecko Press) is a wonderful cookbook. It's beautifully presented, well laid out, and has fabulous recipes. Some, like fairy cakes and corn fritters, are old favourites. Other recipes, like those above, are more unusual.

It caters well for tricky eaters too, such as gluten intolerant and dairy-free, offering alternative ingredients.

Great illustrations support the text. Some are funny (seagulls on the fish and chip recipe page), but most are informative, such as showing how a cashew nut grows.

It makes me want to go home and cook!

Mophead Tu: The Queen’s Poem

There is a 'u' and an 'i' in the word unity. For Selina Tusitala Marsh, this realisation becomes the springboard for the poem she writes after her selection as the Commonwealth Poet. She is asked to write a poem on the theme of unity and invited to perform it for the Queen at Westminster Abbey.

Selina's Mophead Tu: The Queen’s Poem (Auckland University Press) wittily recounts her visit to the Queen. It has quirky images in black and white, with touches of purple bringing the appropriate regal flavour. She includes insights into the writing process, along with serious issues such as colonialism and peer pressure, in a fun and entertaining way. Bonus — you'll find the entire poem in the front endpapers.

Mophead Tu is as engaging as its prequel Mophead: How Your Difference Makes a Difference, which won the supreme award — the Margaret Mahy Book of the Year — in 2020. Read our review of Mophead.

New Zealand Disasters: Our Response, Resilience and Recovery

How do you present a book that is about sad, at times tragic, events in a way that shows respect yet covers all the important aspects of the disaster?

New Zealand Disasters: Our Response, Resilience and Recovery by Maria Gill, illustrated by Marco Ivančić (Scholastic New Zealand) covers natural and man-made disasters in New Zealand’s history, from the lesser-known 1846 landslide in Te Rapa to the 2019 Whakaari | White Island eruption.

This well-constructed book uses colour coding and icons to identify the type of disaster and provides clear content and index pages, and a map. They all make accessing the information easier. Stunning, sensitive illustrations and photographs help create a book with pick-up appeal, despite its subdued topic.

North & South: A Tale of Two Hemispheres

I know that this beautiful book was several years in the making. The effort was worth it. North & South: A Tale of Two Hemispheres by Sandra Morris (Walker Books Australia) begins with attractive and informative endpapers. Double-page spreads inside feature one animal from each of the northern and southern hemispheres, focusing on a theme, for example, camouflage, migration, food.

Stunning illustrations portray a realistic image of each creature. And, with careful attention to detail including typeface and colour, each spread is full of fascinating facts. The distinction between the seasons in the hemispheres and the conservation status are all explained.

Morris has chosen well-known animals such as the kiwi and polar bear, but I particularly enjoyed reading about some more unusual ones such as the hazel dormouse, hoatzin, and eastern quoll. Did you know the eastern quoll 'females give birth to up to 30 young, each the size of a grain of rice'?

You’re Joking: Become an Expert Joke-Teller

When one of the first jokes in Tom E. Moffat's book You're Joking: Become an Expert Joke-Teller (Write Laugh Books) is 'statistically speaking, six out of seven dwarves are not Happy', I know I’m going to enjoy it. But this joke book is different from so many that your kids love to try and gain your attention with.

It explains the different types of jokes, and how and where to deliver them for the best effect. Littered with examples of at least five different types of jokes, I can guarantee there'll be more than one to make you chuckle. And, if you follow the 'instructions', you will become an expert joke-teller.

Best First Book Award

The five nominees for this year’s Best First Book Award are all so phenomenal it’s hard to believe they are debut children’s authors and illustrators. Three beautiful picture books, a junior graphic novel, and a young adult title are vying for the 2021 prize. They all share themes of New Zealand animals, nature, and environmentalism, which are clearly things that we Kiwis hold dear.

Hare and Ruru: A Quiet Moment

Hare and Ruru: A Quiet Moment by Laura Shallcrass (Beatnik Publishing) is an exquisite picture book, produced in high-quality hardback. Laura Shallcrass, an experienced artist, brings her talent to life in this tale of Hare, who wants to find some quiet in our busy world. Written with those who suffer from anxiety in mind, Hare searches high and low for some peace, eventually finding it when Ruru imparts the secret of breathing and letting things go. This is a perfect book for learning about mindfulness and works well as a soothing read-aloud for all ages.

There are handy teaching notes for exploring feelings, sounds, and breathing techniques. With Shallcrass also a finalist in the illustration category, this book is useful as artistic inspiration with its incredible detailed fine-line drawings. Spotting all the little creatures hiding in the pages is a fun game in itself! Luckily, fans of Hare and Ruru will get to meet them again soon in Shallcrass’ next picture book.

Kōwhai and the Giants

Kōwhai and the Giants by Kate Parker (Mary Egan Publishing) is another superb hardback picture book. Parker comes from a successful theatre background and first conceived Kōwhai and the Giants as cut paper on lightboxes exhibited at the Arataki Visitor Centre (Waitākere Ranges) in 2016. Photographs of the intricate artworks are packaged together with Parker’s poetic story to create this book.

With strong environmental themes, the book tells the story of our land, our great trees, and the many birds who have disappeared over time due to human impact. But this is also a story of hope, urging readers to protect and plant seeds.

This book works well across the science and social studies curriculums to teach all ages about the effects of colonisation and deforestation on the environment. The back page contains tips for planting seeds as well as discussion questions to explore native New Zealand flora and fauna. The book is also a finalist in the illustration category,

The Inkberg Enigma

The Inkberg Enigma by Jonathan King (Gecko Press) is a graphic novel for ages 8 to 12 years, although we think anyone 8 to 99 years would enjoy it. With the increasing popularity of the graphic novel genre, it's awesome to see this local offering from filmmaker and comic author Jonathan King. The book is also a junior fiction finalist.

Miro and Zia put their detective skills to work in uncovering a dangerous secret. Mixing English and art skills, this is a great book to introduce graphic novels to those who are new to them and to inspire students to create their own. The story also features journaling and could be a great springboard for teaching this or other creative writing styles.

Students may want to explore their own area’s local history using museums and libraries. Who knows? They might even discover a deep dark secret.

The Midnight Adventures of Ruru and Kiwi

The Midnight Adventures of Ruru and Kiwi written by Clare Scott and illustrated by Amy Haarhoff (Penguin Random House NZ) is a rhyming Kiwi adaptation of The Owl and the Pussycat, which follows the birds’ quest for the perfect midnight feast. Amy Haarhoff won the 2019 Storylines Gavin Bishop Award for her interpretation of this charming story.

This book is a great read-aloud for primary school kids that's sure to have them joining in on the repeating lines. The story lends itself well to creative writing exercises, with its mastery of the rhyming technique and imaginative story of friendship and parties. It also contains a page of information on the native animals of the New Zealand night.

A fun starting point for further exploration of Aotearoa’s nocturnal animals, their behaviour, and habitats.

The Pōrangi Boy

The Pōrangi Boy's author, Shilo Kino, is a journalist whose exceptional writing talent is clear in this young-adult novel (published by Huia Publishers), also nominated in the young adult category.

Niko finds the courage to protest the building of a prison on tapu land, a taniwha’s home. Based on real-life events, this is an important and empowering story for any reader aged 10 years and older.

From a social studies perspective, this book is a good basis for exploring the effects of colonisation, the history of Aotearoa’s land use, and protests over the years. It’s also an opportunity to learn more about te ao Māori, in particular taniwha, and their significance. Students may wish to interview elders in their community or use their library to research any local taniwha. Students can also learn from interviews and research how they can be proactive in protecting and maintaining the land.

We eagerly await the winners!

We can’t wait to see what comes next for all the NZCYA finalists. Alas, it's too hard to pick a favourite, and we eagerly await the announcement of the winners.

Remember to check out the NZCYA activity booklet (pdf, 8.5MB) for more ideas on how to bring these books to life in the classroom and at home.

Read more

Children’s and young adult (YA) literature — explore strategies to evaluate literature and promote it to engage students in reading.

Lending service — borrow these NZCYA finalists and other great books from us.