The Paradise Generation  Sanna Thompson

 

The Paradise Generation (2024)
Sanna Thompson, The Paradise Generation
umop apisdn Press [Upsidedown Press] Wellington
Novel, Paperback, 346pages,
ISBN 978 1 067037 30 7

 

     
                         

‘Weren’t we glad we were the Paradise Generation, and didn’t have to live through wars or plagues or internet disintegration or rapid sea rise like the generations before us …’

The narrator, Kieran Xu (16), is a member of the Paradise Generation but he dozes through his teacher’s reminder because he is exhausted. At night he slips out to visit his comatose cousin Lucas (20) in Wellington Hospital.

‘He hasn’t spoken in four years.’

 

As this superb sf novel begins, a terrifying emergency breaks out in the hospital. Kieran is alarmed because he realises that a Gen-en (genetically engineered human) has escaped and is rampaging through the ward. Kieran’s swift response ensures that he and Lucas survive unharmed. Kieran’s parents, learning of his midnight outings, ground him so he tries to prepare for his exams, but he is also intrigued by a fellow student, Mira Sorenssen, who returns his interest.

 

Kieran’s explanation of the Gen-en is typically laconic, ‘Eighty years ago they were everywhere, but then they decided Earth would be better off without humans and tried to wipe us out. Cue the Great Plague.’ Kieran’s narration drops subtle hints about the conflicts of the past. ‘Gen-ens were the reason Mum never met her grandparents.’

The reader also gains hints of the sort of government set in place to ensure there is a future for Earth’s surviving humans – a mere 72 million. People have coded identity chips in their wrists.  A world genome database enables the Match – a check on the gene pool – for couples. Kieran and Mira fail the Match test. ‘… we have to keep the gene pool moving … If you disagree with your result, well, the re-education workcamps will sort you out …’ Kieran concentrates on Lucas’s grim position. In a few weeks a medical review will decide ‘if he is worth all these resources … You got Allocated four years to recover and prove your contribution to society. After that …’

 

So, what happened to Lucas four years earlier, when Kieran was twelve? Several brief chapters, titled Four Years Ago, are interspersed through the early part of the novel enabling the reader to understand Kieran’s determination to save Lucas. They also include tantalising hints of deeper issues involving Lucas’s technology skills.

Mira plays an important part in the dramatic events which follow and - avoiding spoilers – her interest in law and history proves vital in the exciting events that follow. Kieran’s opportunity comes when he has a student internship at the powerful Genetics Authority and is shoulder-tapped by Edmund Doncaster (112), the man whose cure had stopped the Great Plague. Keiran calls him ‘the closest New Zealand had to a national god.’ Why is Doncaster so interested in Kieran and his Category A genome? What does this mean for Kieran and Mira? And the rest of the Paradise Generation?

What follows is a lively science fiction story, packed with surprises and full of convincing characters interacting in a brilliantly constructed world of the future.

 

There is a useful and intriguing map of Pōneke Wellington, which shows the location of the various suburbs mentioned in the story. It also shows such sinister future features as Sea Flood Zones, Consolidation Lines and, beyond them, The Wilds.

 

Awards: 2025: Storylines Tessa Duder Award: Shortlisted
2025: Best Young Adult Novel Award: Winner

 

Trevor Agnew 
23 Sep 2025 [Review 3796]

 Board Books by Gavin Bishop

Mihi  Gavin Bishop

 

Mihi  Gavin Bishop (2020)
Gecko Press, Wellington NZ

Board book, 16 pages
ISBN 978 1 776573 02 8

 

Mihi is perfect.

This board book is simply the perfect book for a young New Zealander. Mihi is a Māori word that every New Zealand schoolchild (and a growing proportion of their elders) will understand. The mihi is steadily becoming a recognised feature of New Zealand life at public and private functions and occasions. It could be called an introduction or a greeting. It tells who you are and where you come from. It gives you your place in the world. 

You mention the canoe your ancestors came on, the landscape feature you are connected with, usually a mountain, the body of water, the marae, the iwi (tribal grouping) and the whanau (extended family).
The technical definition is: Mihi / mihimihi / pepeha: introducing yourself and making connections to other people and places.

All this sounds complicated but Gavin Bishop’s Mihi makes it breathtakingly simple. A baby could understand it. Mihi makes brilliant use of simple words and simple illustrations to help any parent to introduce any young child to their tūrangawaewae.
Tōku waka. [My canoe]
Tōku maunga. [My mountain]
The focus steadily closes through iwi and whanau to parents:
Tōku māmā. [My mother]
Tōku pāpā. [My father]
Until finally we reach the individual:
Ko Ahau tēnei. [This is me]

Gavin Bishop’s striking illustrations match the spare simplicity of his text. The sea that supports the symbolic canoe is a koru (fern, spiral), gently repeating its own shape. The illustration of the whanau is a cluster of relatives, with only the top half of a small person’s head visible. A small blue rabbit is firmly held up. When we reach the final picture we see the serious face of the small child, with the blue rabbit still near at hand.

This is the perfect book for parent and child to read together and then expand and elaborate, inserting details and naming the people.

Mihi is a taonga, a treasure.

Trevor Agnew
6 Jul 2020

 

Koro  Gavin Bishop

Pops  Gavin Bishop
 

Pops  Gavin Bishop (2021)
Gecko Press, Wellington NZ
Board book, 16 pages
ISBN 978 1 776574 00 1

 

Hi Pops!
This board book is a charming celebration of a small Māori girl’s day spent visiting her grandfather (koro). My day with Pops (Ka toro ki a Koro). The pictures, cleverly, show only part of what is happening, so the meeting of the two characters is shown by just a tiny hand clasped in a large one.

For Are you hungry? (He aha māu, e moko?) we see no more than Pops’ boot and the girl’s bare feet as they move to his garden. Only when they gather some greens (he pūhā) does the reader see their faces, with Pops a grey-haired version of his tiny granddaughter. They gather an egg (he hēki), carrots (he kāroti) and other ingredients for a sandwich meal (he kai).
Then they tell stories. (he kōrero).
Night, night, Pops! (Ā! He moe!).

The minimal text gives great scope for the young reader to develop (or have developed) their own family’s features as part of the story.

Gavin Bishop’s double-page colour illustrations are bold, simple and charming, with the figures (or parts of them) shown against large blocks of colour. Compared to his granddaughter, Pops’ face is darker and more textured (by Gavin’s trademark sprinkling of salt on damp watercolour). Every picture shows the contrast between the old man and his fresh-faced granddaughter. This little board-book will inspire not only reading but story-telling in a family.

An identical Māori language edition, Koro, was also published by Gecko in 2021.

Note: The little girl also appears, with her family, in Gavin Bishop’s board-books Mihi (2020) E Hoa (2022) and Friend (2022).

Trevor Agnew, 19 July 2021

 

  

 

 

Koro  Gavin Bishop

 Koro Gavin Bishop
Gecko Press, Wellington NZ (2021) Board book, 16 pages 
ISBN 978 1 776574 01 8

E Koro! (Hi Pops!)
This board book is a charming celebration of a small Māori girl’s day spent visiting her koro (grandfather). Ka toro ki a koro. (My day with Pops.) The pictures, cleverly, show only part of what is happening, so the meeting of the two characters is shown by just a tiny hand clasped in a large one.
For He aha māu, e moko? (Are you hungry?) we see no more than Pops’ boot and the girl’s bare feet as they move to his garden. Only when they gather some pūhā (greens) does the reader see their faces, with Koro a grey-haired version of his tiny granddaughter. They gather he hēki (an egg), some kāroti (carrots) and other ingredients for kai (in this case a sandwich meal).
Then they kōrero (tell stories).
Ā! He moe! (Night, night, Pops!).

The minimal text gives great scope for the young reader to develop (or have developed) their own family’s features as part of the story.

Gavin Bishop’s double-page colour illustrations are bold, simple and charming, with the figures (or parts of them) shown against large blocks of colour. Pops’ face is darker and more textured (by Gavin’s trademark sprinkling of salt on damp watercolour). Every picture shows the contrast between the old man and his fresh-faced granddaughter. This little boardbook will inspire not only reading but story-telling in a family.

An identical English language edition, Pops, was also published by Gecko in 2021.
Note: The little girl also appears, with her family, in Gavin Bishop’s board book Mihi (2020).

Trevor Agnew
19 July 2021

 

E Hoa : Friend  Gavin Bishop  

 

E Hoa : Friend  Gavin Bishop  Gecko, Wellington NZ (2022)
Board book, 18 pages
ISBN 978 1 77657 468 1

This board-book for young readers is part of a family which includes Mihi (2020), Koro (2021) and Pops (2021). The little Māori girl who was the central figure of Mihi, and who shared a meal with her grandfather, in Koro and Pops, now returns as narrator to introduce her best friend.

Thus the Māori language edition is entitled E Hoa.
Thus the English language edition is entitled Friend.
Gavin Bishop’s cheerful cover illustration makes it clear that the friend in question is the little girl’s faithful dog.
Taku kurī pai… Taku hoa pūmau.
[This is my good dog… She is my faithful friend]
The pictures that follow use the dog to illustrate a range of emotions and feelings.
Each picture is a spring board for discussions about how the dog is feeling and why. The dog’s attitudes and expressions are very clear messages of how she is feeling. In some pictures people’s expressions help as well. For example, when the dog is being noisy (hoihoi) we can see a deep frown on Koro’s face.

The bold, simple pictures provide clear illustrations of each of the dog’s emotions and sometimes show why she is feeling that way. A worm intruding into her food-bowl makes her angry, so she barks loudly. When the little girl rebukes her, the dog is shown lying on the ground – sorry. Tummy-tickling makes the dog happy. The chance of a walk makes her excited and ready to go. Kei te kaikaha ia.
The best picture shows the dog and girl gazing into each other’s eyes – Taku hoa Pūmau. [My faithful friend].
The board book has carefully rounded corners, just right for tiny fingers and large clear illustrations just right for eyes of all sizes and ages.

Note: This boardbook, E Hoa, is also available in an English language edition as Friend (2022).

Trevor Agnew
11 July 2022

Titiro: Look Gavin Bishop

 

Titiro: Look  Gavin Bishop  
Gecko, Wellington NZ (2024)
Board book, 32 pages
ISBN 978 1 0670207 8

 

Gavin Bishop has written and illustrated a wide 
range of board books ever since There was an Old Woman tossed up in a Basket (2008). Arguably his best board books are the small wordless Tummy Time fold-out board books Look (2023) and its Māori language companion, Titiro (2023).

Now he has combined these two into a large (22cm x 22cm) paged version, Titiro: Look. This board book is an ideal size for sharing with a child seated on one’s knee. The corners are carefully rounded so that little ones can handle it freely.

 

Best of all, Gavin Bishop has also added words in Māori and English. The translation into te reo is by Darryn Joseph. Each odd-numbered page offers a different face while the even-numbered pages display objects familiar to young people. These include Teti pea/Teddy bear, Rarā/Rattle, Mokonui/Dinosaur, Ngata/Snail and Ukurere/Ukulele.

The placement is well thought-out. For example, the face of a lady wearing spectacles is opposite Mōhiti/Glasses.

The words are well-chosen to expand vocabulary in both languages. Thus Taraka/Truck introduces nui/big, wira/wheel, pango/black and whero/red as well as porotaka/round and taraiwa/drive. An elderly man’s profile offers kiwikiwi/grey, rae/forehead, tukemata/eyebrow, ihu/nose and ngutu/lips.

 

Charmingly, several of the faces shown belong not to humans but to family pets such as Ngeru/Cat and Kurī/Dog. The pictures are simple and bold in their execution, with a wide range of skin tones on display. Several of the pictures use distinctively Māori objects so that Manu tukutuku/Kite is illustrated by a traditional Māori kite and Taonga/Treasure is a greenstone tiki. One of the word pairs offered for this carving is maimoa/cherish.

Titiro: Look is a taonga, a book to be cherished.

 

Trevor Agnew 

27 May 2025   [Review 3775]

 

There was a Crooked Man  Gavin Bishop

There was a Crooked Man
Gavin Bishop
Gecko Wellington NZ (2009)
Boardbook, 16 pages
ISBN 978 1 87746 724 0

 

This board book invests the old nursery rhyme There was a Crooked Man with all the charm of Gavin Bishop’s imaginative illustrations. In earlier versions the man was often shown as crippled or distorted, sometimes alarmingly so. In this version, however, he is an attractive character who is immensely tall and able to bend marvellously to keep in touch with the world below him. His legs and arms move in elegant arcs and arabesques. The result is engaging, especially as he gathers up the crooked cat and crooked mouse. 

Gavin Bishop has also given his Crooked Man some splendid clothes to match his unique anatomy. He wears long, bendy boots and top hat, while the swallow-tails of his cut-away coat seem to have a life of their own.
Each opening creates a vertical double page spread, revealing a picture over twice as tall as it is wide, ideal for the free play of the Crooked Man’s remarkable limbs.

Like its companion volume There was an old woman tossed up in a basket (2008) this book is good read-along fun. Its text is hand-written in a clear script that young readers will find easy to follow, while the rounded corners make the book comfortable to hold.

In 2010 There was a Crooked Man won the Russell Clark Award for Best Book Illustration.

 
Trevor Agnew, 2009

There was an Old Woman  Gavin Bishop

 

There was an Old Woman 
Gavin Bishop
Gecko Press, Wellington NZ (2008)
Board book, 24 pages
ISBN 978 1 877467 16 5

 

This board book presents the traditional nursery rhyme about spring cleaning, There was an old woman tossed up in a basket, with some of Gavin Bishop’s most appealing illustrations. This ‘flexiboard’ book with its rounded corners feels comfortable in the hand. Each opening is a vertical double page spread, revealing a picture over twice as tall as it is wide, ideal for the old woman’s journey that is seventeen times as high as the moon. 

The clear warm colours are restrained but attractive and each picture bursts with life: birds, storms, spring-cleaning maids, and clothes flapping on a line. The bold simple shapes of the old lady’s basket and cloak stand out against the open blue and purple of the sky, emphasising the distance she travels. Her basket is like a small spaceship with a green umbrella strapped to its side. The spiders are huge and green, many times the size of the old lady’s house, emphasising her great achievement in sweeping both moon and sky clear.

A Sendak-like small boy cheers her on throughout the book, so that it is clear who is asking the question, May I come with you?

The text is hand-written in a clear script that might be called joined-up writing, which proved easy for young readers to decipher.

Gavin Bishop says he was inspired by the 1844 edition, a seven-foot vertical unfolding panorama etched by Aliquis and published by D. Bogue in London.


A companion volume illustrated by Gavin Bishop is There was a Crooked Man (2009).

Trevor Agnew, 2008

The Gavin Bishop Treasury 
 Gavin Bishop 

The Gavin Bishop Treasury Gavin Bishop 
 Puffin/ Penguin Random House (2024) 
Hardback, Picture book collection, 256 pages 
ISBN 978 1 77695 738 5 

This splendid collection brings together five of Gavin Bishop’s original picture books and five of his retellings of classic tales. All of course are illustrated by Gavin Bishop. 

The ten books which make up this collection are all as colourful and dramatic as when they were originally published. [See reviews below]

The ten are: 

1. Mrs McGinty and the Bizarre Plant (1981) 

2. Bidibidi (1982) 

3. Mr Fox (1982) 

4. Chicken Licken (1984) 

5. A Apple Pie (1984) 

6. The Three Little Pigs (1989) 

7. Little Rabbit and the Sea (1997) 

8. Stay Awake, Bear! (2000) 

9. The Three Billy-Goats Gruff (2003) 

10. Rats! (2007) 

This collection introduces a new generation to Gavin Bishop’s inspired storytelling and pictorial genius.

Trevor Agnew 
16 October 2024 [Review 3724]

Mrs McGinty and the Bizarre Plant
Gavin Bishop

 

Mrs McGinty and the Bizarre Plant        

  

Gavin Bishop (text and ill)
Oxford University Press, 1981
Picture book 32 pages, Paperback
ISBN 978 1 86941892 2

Grumpy Mrs McGinty finds life difficult, mainly because of her sourpuss approach to life. Her situation improves marvellously when a cucumber seedling she plants in her garden becomes a giant. Soon it overshadows her house and then the suburb. The amazingly complex plant soon brings her fame and friends. 

‘She was the pride of the street.’ 

By the end of the story the plant has been taken away (by hot air balloon) to a botanical garden, but another seedling is growing in Mrs McGinty’s garden…

Gavin Bishop’s exuberant drawings include several Christchurch features, particularly the old Edmond’s Baking Powder factory with its ‘SURE TO RISE’ slogan on the roof, which may have inspired the plant’s growth. Some of the other buildings found in the Linwood area of Christchurch are immortalised in his pictures.

As always, the tiny details of Gavin Bishop’s pictures reward closer scrutiny; Bidibidi, the famous sheep, appears on Mrs McGinty’s calendar, while the neighbourhood children will amuse Maurice Sendak.

Regularly reprinted, Mrs McGinty and the Bizarre Plant is a beloved classic.

 Winner: Russell Clark Award for Illustration, 1982

Note: A digital version of Mrs McGinty and the Bizarre Plant can be seen as part of the New Zealand National Library’s contribution to the International Children’s Digital Library at:

http://www.natlib.govt.nz/en/digital/2recent_books.html

Trevor Agnew

Bidibidi  Gavin Bishop

Bidibidi  Gavin Bishop
Oxford University Press (1982)
Scholastic (2014)
Picture book, 36 pages
ISBN 978 1 77543 192 3

 

 

Gavin Bishop’s first published book is a classic of the South Island high country, the adventures of a rebellious ewe. On a ‘hot and windless day in the mountains’ Bidibidi the sheep finds she is dissatisfied with life. She leaves the flock and heads up into the hills in search of the rainbow.

As she moves through the Canterbury high country, Bidibidi meets typical creatures (a kea, a trout, a sheep-dog) who help her in her quest. Eventually she finds a bearded old man, a strangely symbolic figure, ‘dressed in clothes the colour of the hills’. This is Rainbow Jackson, who lives in the mountains and makes the rainbows with a hurdy-gurdy. Bidibidi is happy to stay with him. When he grows old, Bidibidi takes over his work. 

‘I’ll make the rainbows now,’ she says.

This is a lovely picture book, with lots of jokes and the symbolism of Rainbow Jackson to think about. The various creatures depicted all have strongly individual voices and this makes it a good story to read aloud. Already Gavin Bishop's appreciation of New Zealand architecture can be seen in his depiction of the run-down remains of a country hotel.

An identical Māori language edition was published by Scholastic in 2001. The Māori language translation is by Apirana Mahuika.

Note: Piripiri is a New Zealand native plant which grows in a mat with clinging burr seeds. This Māori name was often anglicised as Biddybiddy or Bidibidi. Biddy is a disused term for an old woman, so Bidibidi’s name is doubly evocative.

In 2014 Scholastic re-issued Bidibidi in a sumptuous large format paperback edition.
Although his Mrs McGinty and the Bizarre Plant was published in 1981, Bidibidi (1982) was actually the first book that Gavin Bishop wrote and illustrated. It was appropriate that its re-issue came just as Gavin Bishop was named an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) for services to children’s literature in the 2014 New Year’s Honours List.

Awards:
Winner: Noma Concours Prize for Children’s Picture Books (Japan) 1982
Finalist: NZ Post Children’s Book Awards: Picture Book of the Year 1983

 Trevor Agnew, 2014

Mister Fox  Gavin Bishop

Mister Fox
Gavin Bishop
Oxford University Press, 1982
Scholastic, 2001
Picture book, 32 pages
ISBN 1 86943 462 5 (English ed)
ISBN 1 86943 512 5 (Māori ed)

 

 ‘One day Mister Fox found a fat juicy bumblebee so he popped it in his bag.’

Gavin Bishop retells and illustrates an old folktale about a fox who is defeated by his own greed. He goes from house to house looking for toothsome creatures to pop into his bag.  As each creature escapes from his bag, Mister Fox, pops another in, with a pig replacing a rooster and so on. After some deliciously sinister
repetition, Mister Fox finds a very large dog in his bag. The ending is satisfyingly traditional.

The beautiful illustrations include skilfully drawn vignettes of some typical New Zealand homes and Christchurch landscapes. The details of wallpaper, fabric patterns, and plants all reward careful study. The ‘little pink woman’, for example, has a pink house with strawberry patterned wallpaper, a pink spa pool, pink carnations and–of course–a pink pig.

In 2001 a Māori language edition of this book, Ta Pokiha, was published by Scholastic, paperback, ISBN 1 86943 512 5, with Māori translation by Katerina Mataira.

Trevor Agnew

 

 

Tails of Tangleby Gardens 1 
Sue Heazlewood  Jane Smith

                                                                                                             

Tails of Tangleby Gardens 
Sue Heazlewood (2022)
Illustrator: Jane Smith
Picture book, 210 pages
Aukram Publishing, Ohoka
Hardback
ISBN 978 0 473 62580 1

 

 

Tails of Tangleby Gardens is visually stunning combination, bringing together a story book for young readers and a recipe book for young cooks. The mixture sounds odd but the proof is in the pudding; it works.

The story begins as Marmalade rabbit organises a huge birthday party for her husband, Montgomery, attended by his extended family. Food is important of course. ‘There was fairy bread, fruit skewers, muffins and a big tub of homemade strawberry ice cream.’ The party is interrupted by the arrival of a large yellow digger which destroys the warren. Marmalade and Montgomery have to find a new home. A pair of skylarks, Skye and Lark lead them to Tangleby, where they set up their new home in the playhouse, bringing in their rescued belongings, ‘lots of cooking pots, tins, aprons and recipe books.’ Two mice from Southland, Vincent and Violet (with a nod to Beatrix Potter) move into the three-story dolls’ house. Other animals join them at Tangleby, including Monica the monarch butterfly and Hemi, Fleur and Finn the tangata whenua frogs.

Each chapter presents a new challenge to be dealt with.  Two magpies bully the creatures and steal their food but an act of kindness makes them change their ways, so they become useful by dealing with the slugs damaging the garden plants. Montgomery is swept away in a flood but is rescued by Leo the next-door poodle in his helicopter. When spring arrives, so do baby rabbits and mice and skylarks. Naturally this is celebrated with a picnic on the lawn. A pair of Southland hedgehogs arrive to act as teachers (and pass on the secret of cheese rolls). 

The story culminates in an attempt by Montgomery’s unpleasant cousin to take possession of the playhouse. Can the animals retain the happy home they have created?

There are colour illustrations on every page, the work of Jane Smith, a Mapua artist and designer, who has succeeded brilliantly in creating the various animals, dressing them appropriately and fitting them together in scale. The best picture shows Montgomery and Hemi exchanging a hongi; the rabbit and the frog are formally dressed, complete with bowler hat and cufflinks but both have carefully removed their spectacles so they can press noses. 

Each chapter is, of course, interspersed with the recipes for the meals and picnics the animals were enjoying so much a few pages earlier. The recipes are graded from ‘Very easy’ to ‘Some skill required.’

Neil Smith’s fine photos of the food have been carefully adapted so that the animals painted by Jane Smith also appear in them. The various animals can be seen cutting up sausage rolls and cakes, squeezing lime juice on to rainbow fruit salad, or simply enjoying the first bite of various dishes.

Sue Heazlewood also deserves an artistic credit for the appearance of the various dishes, with the golden spoon going to Chapter 2’s Vegetable Owl and Dips.  

Note: Volumes 2 and 3 followed the success of Tails of Tangleby Gardens.

 

Trevor Agnew, 7 Nov 2022 [Review 3513]

Tails of Tangleby Gardens 2 
Sue Heazlewood Jane Smith

                                                                                             

Tails of Tangleby Gardens 2
Sue Heazlewood (2023)
Illustrator: Jane Smith
Auckram Publishing, Ohoka
Illustrated story,
Picture book, 173 pages
Hardback
ISBN 978 047368 096 1           

 

This combined illustrated story and recipe book for young readers is a sequel to Tails of Tangleby Gardens (2022). Like its predecessor it is set in Tangleby, a large Canterbury garden, which has acquired a community of creatures whose main interest in life is eating. And cooking. And sharing food.

Marmalade and Montgomery Rabbit are the leaders of a group of animals who have taken informal possession of the playhouse in Tangleby Gardens. The story begins just before Christmas, so all the young animals are busy making decorations or helping rescue Molly the cat from up the tree. Eight Christmas recipes follow, offering everything from Gingerbread Playdough (‘very easy’) to Chocolate Santa Boots (‘some skill required’).

As the story develops, more characters appear, including the ducks, Yoyo and Peking, whose car broke down. Peking’s clumsiness often triggers events in an amusing way. There are also regular minor excitements such as rescuing Henrietta Hedgehog when she falls down the well or helping Basil out of the rose bush when he crashes his new bicycle.

The animals have great fun, going on trips to the seaside (Kaikoura), taking a camping holiday and even fly south to attend a grand ball at Larnach’s Castle.

There are some challenging moments. Rats kidnap baby mice, Tommy and Poppy, who are duly rescued. Then there is the dreaded return of Montgomery’s annoying cousin, Wilson and his wife, Lady May, who plan to take over the playhouse for themselves. Of course, all ends well, usually with a celebratory feast. And appropriate recipes.

Sue Heazlewood’s simple narrative style works well and ties the recipes neatly into the story.

Her child-chef-friendly recipes are accompanied by Neil Smith’s handsome colour photos of each dish. As in volume 1, illustrator Jane Smith’s colour paintings of the animals are charming and attractive by themselves. Even cuter, however, is the way that she has introduced the various animals into her husband’s food photographs.  Thus, we see Yoyo sampling her Nutella Crunch while a Kaikoura seagull is caught in the act of stealing a Chip-Coated Fish.

This handsomely-produced book is an eye-catching, mouth-watering experience.

 The Facebook address is www.facebook.com/Tangleby.

 

Trevor Agnew, 14 September 2023 [Review 3590]

 

 Tails of Tangleby Gardens 3   
Sue Heazlewood   Jane Smith        

 

Tails of Tangleby Gardens 3                   
Sue Heazlewood   Ill. Jane Smith

Tails of Tangleby Gardens 3  
Sue Heazlewood   
Illustrator: Jane Smith
Aukram Publishing, Ohoka (2024)
Illustrated story, Recipe book
Hardback, 170 pages
ISBN 978 0 47372 315 6

 

Spot the food in this story:

‘Marmalade had made her delicious paprika chicken and a scrumptious apple crumble for dessert.’ Before the story goes much further, the young readers encounter a picture of Marmalade the rabbit preparing the chicken dish and Violet the mouse pouring custard over a generous helping of crumble. Recipes are included. Suddenly a mealtime crisis erupts when naughty Basil the bunny has a tantrum and runs out into the snow. A search party of animals has to be formed to rescue him. Saved from drowning in an icy pool, Basil is reinvigorated by a mugful of Chinese chicken and corn soup (with recipe). And that’s only Chapter One.

 

This charming combination of storytelling and cooking has now reached its third instalment. Tails of Tangleby Gardens 3 once again mixes an illustrated animal fantasy with a recipe book. The result is a thoroughly enjoyable adventure involving talking rabbits, frogs, dogs, cats mice and hedgehogs, with a food bonus. The playhouse (cubbyhouse to Australian readers) at Tangleby Gardens has developed from being a home for a pair of refugee rabbits, Marmalade and Montgomery, and has become a bustling multi-species sanctuary for a wide range of homeless creatures. And they all enjoy good food.

The animals face the challenge of winter with aplomb, using Leo the poodle’s balloon to fly in nourishing meals to some hungry local mice. With warmer weather, the whole Tangleby family of animals goes on a camping holiday to Foxton Beach, where the little blue penguins, Mr and Mrs Winterbottom, have made a new home. This jaunt enables the animals to enjoy a road trip in their camper-van as well as some amusing adventures and misadventures at the beach. Peking Duck’s big feet do cause mishaps such as falling into the chocolate cake, but they also prove useful in rescuing Basil and Belle from the perils of surf and wind.

The attractive colour illustrations on almost every page are by Jane Smith, who has created a full array of well-dressed animals. Her husband Neil Smith’s tasty food photographs have also been populated by animals, so Violet mouse is shown decorating her Jelly Slice with pansies.

 

A great deal of thought has gone into the organisation of this book. There is a double-page pictorial identification guide to the cast of characters, to remind readers that Louie is a cat, Hemi is a frog and Basil and Belle are rabbits. The recipes have two indexes. One offers the usual alphabetical order, while the second has them listed in page and chapter order. The recipes themselves are well set out with clear instructions and ability levels that range from one strawberry (‘Very easy’) to three strawberries (‘Some skill required’). Each recipe has its own QR code, so that there is no need to take this handsome book into the food preparation area.

There is a two-page reference guide to liquid and weight measures, oven temperatures for cooking different meats and a list of alternative names for various ingredients.

Tails of Tangleby Gardens 3 is an ideal gift for fond grandparents to hand out. 

 

Trevor Agnew 
2 Dec 2024    [Review 3732]

 

 

Duffy and the Bullies   Jeff Szusterman  Ant Sang

 

Duffy and the Bullies                     
Jeff Szusterman, 
Illustrator: Ant Sang
Oratia (2024)
Picture book, 
Illustrated story, Graphic novel
Paperback, 88 pages
ISBN: 978 2 99 004256 0
 

This graphic novel, written by Jeff Szusterman and illustrated in colour by Ant Sang, was developed from an original play for schools, ‘Duffy and the Cloak Bay Bully’ by Lauren Jackson. The central character is Duffy (a popular New Zealand mascot for reading) who enjoys books and rugby.

Readers will be intrigued to find that Duffy sometimes addresses them directly, spotting that they have changed pages or commenting on events in the story. He also reads a book (The Hallowe’en Hassler by I.C. Spooks about ghostly bullying) at Halloween) and extracts from it appear among the illustrations.

Jeff Szusterman’s story is, of course, told entirely in speech balloons, so he has made good use of young people’s slang, idioms and abbreviations.  

Duffy discovers that Marama is being bullied. A girl is tripping her, calling her names and stealing her lunch. Duffy interrupts his reading to ask about what to do, so advice about bullying is offered by some of the characters.

Duffy’s Dad rejects the code of silence, ‘It’s not narking when you tell someone who cares about you.’ Duffy’s mother adds a rider, ‘But Marama is going to have to be the one to talk about it, eh?’

At school, Duffy sees that Marama is being teased with an embarrassing phone video clip and bullied during their lunchtime touch rugby game. He persuades Coach Mike to include Marama in their 10-a-side social match where her kicking skills bring victory.

Duffy also tries a little book therapy.  Marama, aided by ideas from the book, stands up to Ashlee.  Ironically, when Marama lends the book to Ashlee, it leads to an epiphany for her. Ashlee is enjoying the horror tale when she realises, ‘OMG! I’m the Paul in this story. I’m the bully!’

Another thread in the story involves Ashlee’s cousin, H.G., who is being shamed by his father into using his size and rough tactics in rugby games.  The concluding section of the book is a rugby final, where various forms of bullying are identified and dealt with – among parents on the sidelines as well as players on the field.

Ant Sang’s colour illustrations are masterly. He manages to make every one of his large cast of characters instantly identifiable. Even his picture of a skeleton is appealing. A skilled comic illustrator, Ant Sang also uses close-ups and a range of perspectives to keep his pages visually exciting and dramatic. The most impressive page shows two rugby teams performing their haka.

The result is a slightly didactic but thoroughly enjoyable comic book, which will also be a good conversation starter.

 

Trevor Agnew 

10 July 2024  [Review 3678]

 

 

 

Nanny Mihi’s Harvest: Te Hauhake a Nanny Mihi       
Melanie Drewery  Suzanne Simpson

 

Nanny Mihi’s Harvest:
Te Hauhake a Nanny Mihi     

Melanie Drewery,
Ill. Suzanne Simpson
Oratia Books (2024)
Picture book, Paperback,
32 pages
ISBN: 978 1 99 004257 7   

 

‘What are we going to grow?’ ‘A feast.’

‘He aha ngā kai ka whakatupuria?’ ‘He hākari’

This picture book is a bilingual account of a year in the life of the ever-busy Nanny Mihi, this time concentrating on her vegetable garden. The text, written in English and Māori on facing pages, follows the seasons.

In Spring Nanny’s two mokopuna (who are the joint narrators) come to stay for the school holidays. Nanny soon has them digging her gardens, planting out seeds and labelling them. The weeds go to the hens, with Nanny reminding her helpers, ‘Katia te keti! Shut the gate.’

Each season finds the grandchildren helping Nanny with different tasks in her gardens. In summer they are bringing in the surplus vegetables and preserving them. Autumn see them storing the potatoes and kumara. Seeds are gathered and labelled.

Winter brings disaster. The grandchildren forget to shut the gate and the hens raid the garden. The mokopuna are mortified but Nanny is amused. She shows them how the carrots have only lost their tops and there are plenty of carefully preserved vegetables stored away earlier in the year.

Just as Nanny Mihi predicted, they have a feast.

‘A year-long feast and we grew it all ourselves.’

‘He hakāri o te tau,ka mutu, nā tatou anō i whakatupua.’

Once again Melanie Drewery has used a simple plot and Nanny Mihi’s enthusiasm and experience to introduce young readers to an important aspect of Māori life and custom. The writer’s clear prose style, makes the Nanny Mihi stories easily accessible to younger readers.

 The cheerfully stylised colour illustrations by Suzanne Simpson are bright and amusing, especially when the hens gather.

The te reo Māori translation is by Kanapu Rangitauira.

 

Trevor Agnew 

15 June 2024  [Review 3674]

 

 

Island Toes: Tamatama’i Vae o Motu 
Christin Lozano   Mariko Merritt

 

Island Toes: Tamatama’i Vae o Motu 
Christin Lozano, Ill. Mariko Merritt
Oratia Books (2024)
Picture book, Paperback, 32 pages
ISBN: 978 1 99 004245 4

 

‘My toes, your toes.’

‘O o’u tamatama’i vae, o ou’tamatama’i vae.’

Whose toes? This bi-lingual picture book was published in Hawaii in 2015. It was originally presented in Hawaiian and US English. It has now crossed the Pacific Ocean to become a Samoan – New Zealand English picture book.

Island Toes: Tamatama’i Vae o Motu begins with an array of toes.

‘Flipper toes, jandal toes.

Tamatama’I vae sulu, tamatamaivae e se’e.’

The text and pictures match up my toes, your toes and clean toes, stinky toes, before introducing ‘I can’t touch the floor yet toes’ belonging to a small girl in a big chair. The variety of footwear, skin colour and nail decoration is amazing. ‘Bare toes, painted toes.’ There are also thought-provoking examples, such as ‘wheelchair toes,’ which will be good conversation-starters. Animals get in with a dolphin declaring, ‘Dolphins do not have toes.’

Then the focus moves to family and the reader has an array of relatives’ toes to study.

‘Baby toes, grandma toes.’ Even doggy toes are included. The final question is ‘Who has ten toes?’

All this, of course, is also presented in Samoan as well as English, so reading can be done in whichever language is appropriate.

The original creators of this picture book, writer Christin Lozano and artist Mariko Merritt, both live in Honolulu. This Samoan language edition features a Samoan translation by Suzie-Jo Rasmussen an Auckland bi-lingual specialist teacher.

There is an illustrated Glossary [Fa’asoloaiga o ‘upu] for those wanting to clarify just what ‘toes on the nose’ refers to. (Clue: surfing.) Two pages have also been set aside for readers to add their own footprints or toeprints.

Island Toes: Tamatama’i Vae o Motu will be read with pleasure all across the motu.

 

Trevor Agnew 

15 July 2024  [Review 3673]

 

 

The Ever-Standing Tree: Te Rākau Tū Tonu  
Tim Tipene   Ani Huia Ligaliga

 

The Ever-Standing Tree: Te Rākau Tū Tonu 

Tim Tipene,
Illustrator: Ani Huia Ligaliga
Oratia Books (2024)
Picture book, Illustrated story
Paperback, 32 pages
ISBN 978 1 99004 260 7

 

This picture book is a modern re-telling of a favourite Māori legend (usually known as ‘Rata and the Tōtara Tree.’) It is told in two languages: English and Māori.

In Tim Tipene’s modern-day version, two children are watching their Dad who is improving his backyard’s view by cutting down a large tree. As Dad swings the axe, his son, Waima, argues that the tree is the view. ‘Koia kē te tirohanga.’

Ignoring the birds that are perched in the tree’s upper branches, Dad fells the tree, planning to cut it up next day. The trunk lies across the lawn. Pani is moved.

‘Āue, that’s sad,’ murmured Pani. ‘Auē, te pōuri,’ te kōmuhu a Pani.

During the night there is the flapping of wings and the scurrying of small feet.

Next morning Dad is amazed to find the tree is standing upright, unharmed. Pani reminds her father of the legend of Rata who cut down a tōtara tree, only to have the birds and insects, the forest guardians [Te Tini o te Hakuturi] pick up every scrap of wood and set the tree up again.

Dad’s response is a chainsaw, and the tree falls again.

Waima is looking at a spider in the tree and says, ‘Maybe we should leave this rākau alone.’

‘Ākuni pea me waiho tatou i tenei rākau.’

 

During the night, there is once again the flapping of wings and the scurrying of small feet.

Once again, the tree is restored by morning. Once again, Dad demolishes it with his chainsaw. Once again, the tree is restored. Next morning the children are amazed to see their father standing with his arms around the tree’s trunk. What will happen next?

 

Tim Tipene has offered a slightly different conclusion from the Māori legend, but one that is more in line with the times. This is a well-told story, with a lovely ending.

The Māori translation was provided by Kanapu Rangitauira.

The illustrator, Huia Ligaliga, has provided realistic double-page colour illustrations of the little family and the big tree. She has also depicted the various insects and birds mentioned in the story. Each creature is identified in both languages, at the bottom of the appropriate page.

The result is a handsome retelling of a familiar legend, with a timeless message for modern society.

 

Trevor Agnew 

23 August 2024  [Review 3696]

 

There’s a Crab in my Castle! He Pāpaka kei taku Pā!

 There’s a Crab in my Castle! 
He Pāpaka kei taku Pā!
Dawn McMillan,
Illustrator: Nikki Slade Robinson
Oratia Books (2024)
Picture book, Paperback,
32 pages
ISBN 978 1 99 00 4263 8

 

‘There’s a Crab in my Castle!’

‘He Pāpaka kei taku Pā!’

This funny bi-lingual picture book has both English and Māori text on the same page. Dawn McMillan uses verse to tell the story of a day at the beach seen – and this is important - through the eyes of an imaginative young girl. The girl builds a sandcastle and tells a story about each creature she sees on the sand or in the water. The crab is a king in the sandcastle while the flat sea biscuit is pretending to be the castle carpet. She sees busy sandhoppers cleaning the great hall. Her imagination paints vivid pictures:

‘Hermit crabs are climbing up the castle walls.’

‘Ko ngā kāunga e piki kē ana i nga pātū e te pā.’

The shellfish are enjoying a rock concert in the rock pool. The starfish is the star of course, while everyone likes the singing of the rock lobster.

The kina (sea urchin) surprises everyone by dancing on the kelp.

‘Kina’s dancing to the beat.

Ko kani a Kina ki te taki.’

As the tide comes in, the party comes to an end and the girl is called home for tea, but as the water washes his castle away, the crab makes a demand for a new one in the morning.

She promises to make ‘a castle fit for a king! He pā e tika ana mō te Kīingi!’

Nikki Slade Robinson’s charming colour illustrations really capture the mix of reality and fantasy which is the basis of this story. The girl’s lively imagination is reflcted in these lively pictures of sandhoppers with brooms, and a lobster clutching a microphone. The splendid endpapers show the joys of a day at the beach.

The Māori translation is by Stephanie Huriana Fong.

A couple of fact pages – Tidal Tidbits – provide brief profiles of each of the sea creatures featured in the story from limpets to stingrays. For those of nervous disposition the crab holds up a placard, ‘Nobody gets eaten in this book! Kāore tētahi e kainga i tēnei pukapuka.’

 

Trevor Agnew

23 October 2024  [Review 3721]

 

 

 

What’s in a Name? He aha tō te Ingoa?

What’s in a Name? 
He aha tō te Ingoa?
Renisa Viraj Maki,  
Illustrator: Isabel Te Aho-White
Oratia Books (2024)
Picture book, Paperback, 
32 pages
ISBN: 978 1 99 004263 8

 

‘It was a special year for Priyanka and her classmates. They were about to graduate and move to a new school.’

‘He tau whakahirahira tēnei ki Priyanka mi ōna hoa ako. Kua tata puta ō rātou ihu, ka ihaere aiki kura kē.’

In this picture book Renisa Viraj Maki has used a school class as a microcosm of society, showing how one person can bring about change in people’s attitudes and actions. The story is told in both English and Māori on the same page.

Priyanka, a student leader, will be handing out graduation certificates at the end-of-year ceremony. She has a concern and tells her friend Arihia, ‘I’m worried about saying the names correctly.’ ‘E māharahara ana au ki taku whakahua tika i ngā ingoa.’  

She reads through the list and notes the names she is not sure how to pronounce. Back at school, she asks each of them how she should pronounce their name. The students are Xinze Zhou, Somachandra Swarnadhipathi, Sean Petersen and Tausa’afia Vainu’upo Fepuleai.

Each one is pleased that Priyanka wants to say their name correctly.

As she works with each one to get the sounds and rhythm of their name flowing smoothly, Priyanka compares the process to learning the words of a song or the steps of a dance. She practices and listens to her voice recorded as a phone message, until she gets every name right.

The graduation evening is a success for everyone and the principal praises Priyanka for respecting each student’s mana by saying everyone’s name so well. 

The conclusion is a happy one with the smiling students reinforcing the story’s message about why names are important:

‘Each and every name was chosen with love.’

‘Heoi, katoa katoa ngā ingoa i tapaina ki te aroha.’

The graceful colour illustrations are by Isabel Te Aho-White and they give a vivid picture of the work Priyanka put into researching and learning to say the names. The result is a charming introduction to contemporary school life. There is even a birds-eye map of the whole school, showing Priyanka’s route as she contacts each child.

This is a well-written and attractively designed book, with a heart-felt message.

The Māori translation is by Hona Black.

 

Trevor Agnew 

23 October 2024  [Review 3720]

 

My Dad’s Runaway Bum!  Dawn McMillan Ross Kinnaird  

 

My Dad’s Runaway Bum! 
Dawn McMillan, ill. Ross Kinnaird
Oratia Books (2024)
Picture book, Paperback, 32 pages
ISBN 978 1 99 004254 6

 

‘An explosion! A blast! Something’s happening and it’s happening fast!’

This picture book is a sequel to I Need a New Bum! (2012), I’ve Broken My Bum! (2019), My Bum is So Noisy! (2021), My Bum is So Cheeky! (2022), My Bum is So Chrismassy! (2022), My Bum is So Spooky (2023) and My Bum’s on the Run! (2023).

By now the pattern is well established.

Our hero, the ‘boy in red pants,’ is disturbed to find that his father’s consumption of such dangerous foodstuff as cabbage and peas has caused a disaster. ‘Dad’s bum has blown off!’ Not only that, it has also run away. In bouncy rhymes, the errant buttocks escape down the street, with father and son in pursuit.

‘Past joggers in tights. Past bikers with lights.’

Several minor catastrophes and a major police pursuit later, there is a surprise solution to the problem. A difficult day ends with a son’s final warning to his father, one which may well be echoed by some readers.

Ross Kinnaird’s lively illustrations are brilliantly colourful and surprisingly tactful. The rogue bum remains discreetly clad in yellow boxer shorts throughout its independent existence. The family dog, familiar from previous adventures, has managed to insert himself into almost every picture, including a spell as a K9 officer in the police patrol.

 

Trevor Agnew 

 25 January 2024  [Review 3612]

I Need a New Bum! Activity Book  
Betsy Ochester, Dawn McMillan, Ross Kinnaird

 

I Need a New Bum! Activity Book   

Betsy Ochester and Dawn McMillan
Illustrator: Ross Kinnaird
Oratia Books (2024)
Activity book, Paperback, 48 pages
ISBN: 978 1 99 004246  

 

‘I woke up this morning

looking for puzzles to do.

I craved mazes and codes,

and word searches, too.’

This puzzle book is a companion volume to the Dawn McMillan’s picture book series about the boy who needed a new bum. This un-named lad (with his dog) acts as a guide through a range of brain-teasers, word games, art challenges, crosswords, code-crackers and mazes, all with buttocks-related themes. And flatulence-related themes too of course. There are puns and frog jokes and even designs for door-hanger signs.

As always, the boy’s dog, known as Dog, is in attendance throughout.

 

Trevor Agnew 

21 October 2024  [Review 3722]