NZ Young People’s Books: Best of 2012

By Trevor Agnew 

Published in Your Weekend Magazine, (The Press, Christchurch, New Zealand, Nov 2012)  

Best Books for Kiwi Youngsters: 2012

Publishing trends 2012
 

By Trevor Agnew   

2012’s most heart-warming publishing event was the return of a once famous imprint. Whitcoulls, under its new ownership, has returned to publishing with a magnificent hardback anthology of New Zealand stories and poems, Read Me Another One, Please! selected by Belynda Smith. Authors include Margaret Mahy, Roger Hall, Joy Cowley and Bill Nagelkerke. The best story is Granny Alex, by Tessa Duder, where a young woman swimmer, training for the Olympics, is encouraged by her grandmother. Satisfyingly, Tessa Duder’s beloved classic Alex (1987) is being re-issued by Whitcoulls Classics.

The darkest aspect of 2012 was undoubtedly the death of Margaret Mahy, a brilliant writer, whose high level of creative genius remains unequalled. Margaret’s unique way with language can be sampled in the new paperback edition of her collected verse, The Word Witch, which has a CD of her reading a dozen of the poems.  Meanwhile Margaret’s prolific output means that her titles continue to appear posthumously. Footsteps in the Fog is an atmospheric celebration of the senses, with a blind girl leading her siblings to safety through dense fog. Mr Whistler is a gleeful picture book about an absent-minded dancer who mislays his train ticket and has to undress on the station platform to find it (much to the joy of young readers). Both these books are illustrated by Gavin Bishop. It has been an excellent year for Bishop, whose Counting the Stars: Four Maori Myths has just appeared in paperback, while his 1999 masterpiece, The House that Jack Built, has been re-issued in a sumptuous hardback, a reminder of just how important good illustration and book design are.

 In November 2012, the German firm, Bertelsmann, owner of Random House, took over the British firm Pearson, owner of the various Penguin imprints. The promise is that Random House and Penguin will retain their distinct editorial identities. The concern, however, is that as the big firms swallow each other up, fewer books for young people will be produced. Ray Turton, editor of Magpies magazine, which reviews Australian and New Zealand books for young people, feels that over recent years “big publishers don’t know where their industry is going. They’ve been running round like hens with their heads cut off.” Turton warns that large corporations will always concentrate on mass-market books with larger print runs. “Everyone wants the next Hunger Games or Harry Potter.”

New Zealand has a proud tradition of small publishing firms producing high quality books for the young.  In its thirty years of existence, the tiny Wellington publishing firm of Mallinson Rendell produced only about seven titles a year, but the remarkable quality of publisher Anne Mallinson’s judgement was reflected in book prizes and export orders.  When Mallinson Rendel closed its doors in 2009, its titles were purchased by Penguin. Lynley Dodd’s menagerie of cats and dogs thus migrated to Puffin, which has just issued the witty Slinky Malinki, Early Bird. Yet, even though the future of Hairy Maclary and his friends is now assured, would such a long-running series have been brought into existence and nurtured without the support of a visionary like Anne Mallinson?

Longacre Press, the small Dunedin publisher co-founded by Paula Boock, was another small firm that punched above its weight. Taken over by Random House in 2009, Longacre still appears as an imprint on novels like James Norcliffe’s The Magic Flute, a fantasy that pitches modern Kiwi kids into Arcadia. Another Longacre title is Kate De Goldi’s The ACB with Honora Lee, the superbly-presented story of a girl coming to terms with her grandmother’s dementia.

The good news is that new ‘little’ publishers keep popping up.  Several well-designed picture books have come from the Duck Creek Press, a branch of David Ling Publishing, including the stylish That Dog at the Beach by Janene Cooper and Evie Kemp (a sequel to their award-winning A Dog Like That).

Another recent arrival, Dreamboat Press, is a husband and wife operation, based on Waiheke Island. Mark and Rowan Sommerset have only produced five picture books so far but have already won awards. Their latest, I Love Lemonade, has the slightly naughty flavour that young readers adore.

All publishers need a point of difference to survive.  Wellington’s Gecko Press has concentrated on providing English language translations of award-winning foreign titles, both non-fiction, such as the French Small and Tall Tales of Extinct Animals, by Hélène Rajcak, and fiction, such as the hilarious Swedish illustrated story The Best Singer in the World by Ulf Nilsson.

 Huia Publishers focuses on Maori titles, and their young people’s books this year include such lively war biographies as Born to Fly (about Johnny Pohe) and Victory at Point 209 (Moana Ngarimu), both illustrated by Andrew Burdan in war-comic style.  Huia also a shrewdly reversed Gecko’s technique, by producing Te Haere ki te Rapu Pea, a Maori language version of Michael Rosen’s 1989 classic, We’re All Going on a Bear Hunt, evocatively illustrated by Helen Oxenbury.

Some publishers find that series help ensuring repeat custom. Little girls adore Elizabeth Pulford’s Littlest Angel series, where Lily Gets in a Pink Pickle is the sixth volume. Kyle Mewburn’s cheerfully anachronistic Dinosaur Rescue series reached Number 7 with Scuto-Stickysaurus. Meanwhile Chris Gurney’s up-dated fairy tale, The Frog Footy Player is the 14^th in the Kiwi Corkers series.

Some publishers give books special features to encourage buyers. Jenny Cooper’s splendid picture book, Do Your Ears Hang Low?, includes a CD of the Topp Twins performing the song (as a sequel to the same team’s 2011 version of There’s a Hole in My Bucket). Pio Terei is the vocalist on the CD which comes with Stevie Mahardika’s If You’re a Kiwi and You Know It. Several books now offer stuffed toys, like Craig Smith’s Willbee the Bumblebee. The Wonky Donkey meanwhile goes one better; as well as a stuffed toy, it now offers a miracle of paper engineering, The House that Wonky Built. Junior engineers who enjoy the classic, The Little Yellow Digger by Betty and Alan Gilderdale, can now own a trace ‘n’ race excavator toy version, which comes complete with the book. There’s even The Little Yellow Digger Activity Book.

As the publishing market-place shrinks, many frustrated, would-be writers try printing and selling their own books. Some of their efforts are dire but a few are excellent, like Brent Leslie’s self-published Jock Logan and the Sea Devil, a vivid account of a lad’s seagoing encounter with Count von Luckner.  Craig (Wonky Donkey) Smith created his own company in Queenstown to publish Kaha the Kea, illustrated by Bruce Potter. Like many other publishers, Craig feels the need to bring electronic media and the printed page together. Thus purchasers of Kaha the Kea can also enjoy an animated version on their iPad or computer.

And which of this year’s books will the young readers of 2062 be reading with pleasure?  My pick is David Hill’s best novel yet, a powerful story of dissent and its consequences, My Brother’s War.  The year’s best picture book also deals with the First World War: Glyn Harper’s handsome and moving Le Quesnoy: the story of the town that New Zealand saved, illustrated by Jenny Cooper.

Trevor Agnew

November 2012  

Book list:

The Best of 2012:

Le Quesnoy: the story of the town that New Zealand saved, Glyn Harper, ill Jenny Cooper, Scholastic, NZ$20

My Brother’s War, David Hill, Puffin, pb, NZ$19.99
 

The Top Two Dozen of 2012:

Slinky Malinki, Early Bird, Lynley Dodd, Puffin, hb, NZ$24.99

Mr Whistler, Margaret Mahy, ill Gavin Bishop, Gecko, hb, NZ$34.99

Kaha the Kea, Craig Smith, ill Bruce Potter, Craig Smith Publishing, pb, NZ$26

If You’re a Kiwi and You Know It, Stevie Mahardika, Scholastic, pb, NZ$21

The Little Yellow Digger Activity Book, Scholastic, pb, NZ$10

Do Your Ears Hang Low?, ill Jenny Cooper, Scholastic, pb, NZ$26

That Dog at the Beach, Janene Cooper, ill Evie Kemp, Duck Creek Press, hb, NZ$29.99

Te Haere ki te Rapu Pea, Michael Rosen, ill Helen Oxenbury, Huia Publishers, pb, NZ$20

 I Love Lemonade, Mark & Rowan Sommerset, Dreamboat Press, hb, NZ$29.99

The House that Wonky Built, ill Katz Cowley, Scholastic, hb, NZ$29

The Best Singer in the World, Ulf Nilsson, ill Eva Eriksson, Gecko, hb, NZ$34.99; pb, NZ$19.99

The Littlest Angel 6: Lily Gets in a Pink Pickle, Elizabth Pulford, Scholastic pb, NZ$12

Dinosaur Rescue 7: Scuto-Stickysaurus, Kyle Mewburn, Scholastic, pb, NZ$12

The Frog Footy Player, Chris Gurney, ill John Bennett, Scholastic, hb, NZ$18.50

Footsteps Through the Fog, Margaret Mahy, ill Gavin Bishop, Puffin, pb, NZ$20

Small and Tall Tales of Extinct Animals, Hélène Rajcak & Damien Laverdunt, Gecko, hb, NZ$37

The Word Witch, Margaret Mahy, ill. David Elliot, HarperCollins, pb, NZ$40

Read Me Another One, Please! selected by Belynda Smith & Dorothy Dudek Vinicombe, Whitcoulls, hb, NZ$29.99

Born to Fly, Julian Arahanga, ill Andrew Burdan, Huia, pb, NZ$25

Victory at Point 209, Kawata Teepa, ill Andrew Burdan, Huia, pb, NZ$25

Jock Logan and the Sea Devil, Brent Leslie, Brent Leslie Books, pb, NZ$20

The ACB with Honora Lee, Kate De Goldi, Longacre [Random House], hb, $34.99

Alex, Tessa Duder, Whitcoulls Classic, pb, NZ$19.99

The Magic Flute, James Norcliffe, Longacre [Random House], pb, NZ$19.99

Spring 2012 New Zealand Picture Books

By Trevor Agnew

Mister Whistler  Margaret Mahy, ill. Gavin Bishop, Gecko, 32 pp, hb, NZ$34.99

ISBN 978-1-877467-91-2

The Word Witch  Margaret Mahy, ed Tessa Duder, ill. David Elliot, HarperCollins, 168 pp, pb, NZ$39.99  ISBN 978-1-77554-001-4

The Man from the Land of Fandango  Margaret Mahy, ill. Polly Dunbar, Frances Lincoln, 28pp, hb, NZ$29.99  ISBN 978-1-84780-220-0 

 

Mangu & Ma  Megan Bowers-Vette, HarperCollins, 18pp, board book, NZ$14.99

ISBN 978-1-86950-995-8

ABC, Colours, Counting, Little Fronds: books for kiwi babies  Matthew Williamson, ill. Fraser Williamson, Puffin NZ, 20pp, board books, NZ$12.99

ISBN 978-0-143-50555-6
ISBN 978-0-143-50554-9
ISBN 978-0-143-50556-3

Kiwi Play With Me: A Kiwi Count-Along Book  Helen Taylor, Puffin, 32pp, pb, NZ$19.99

ISBN 978-0-143-5049-5

 

Kaha the Kea  Craig Smith, ill. Bruce Potter, Craig Smith Publishing [PO Box 330, Queenstown 9348], 32 pages, pb, NZ$26.    ISBN 978-0-473-21350-3

Slinky Malinki, Early Bird  Lynley Dodd, Puffin, 32 pages, hb, NZ$24.99

ISBN 978-0-149350546-4

The Frog Footy Player  Chris Gurney, ill. John Bennett, Scholastic, 24pp

hb, NZ$18.50, ISBN 978-1-77543-057-5

The Three Little Pigs  Roger Hall, ill. Errol McLeary, Scholastic, 48 pages, pb, NZ$19.50

ISBN 978-1-77543-095-7

 Born to Fly    Julian Arahanga, ill. Andrew Burdan, Huia, 40pp, Pb, NZ$25

ISBN 978-1-77550-004-9

Victory at Point 209  Kawata Teepa, ill. Andrew Burdan, Huia, 40pp, pb, NZ$25

ISBN 978-1-77550-005-6
 

New Zealand Picture Books for the Young of All Ages

By Trevor Agnew

 In the year Margaret Mahy was born (1936), only four books for young readers were published in New Zealand.  During her lifetime she saw a marvellous blossoming of locally-produced children’s books, much of it due to her inspiration and effort. In the literal sense Margaret Mahy died this year (2012) but, for her readers, she will be alive whenever one of her books is read. Meanwhile, because of the mechanics of publishing, new books by Margaret Mahy will continue to arrive for some time.

Margaret Mahy saw the proofs of Mr Whistler before she died, and they were also on display at her memorial service, where her family insisted that Gavin Bishop do a “product placement” for the forthcoming book. Having a picture book promoted during a funeral was a magnificently Mahyan moment, relished by all present.  

Mr Whistler is the story of a young man with such music in his soul that he dances in his sleep and dances as he dresses in the morning. He also dances while he waits for his train but then he finds he has mislaid his ticket. Young eyes will soon spot the missing ticket but Mr Whistler removes his clothes, item by item, searching for it. “Suddenly people were clapping and cheering. ‘What dancing!’ they cried. ‘What energy! What grace!’” Mr Whistler has more misadventures with his ticket before the train leaves but, thanks to his skilful dancing, all ends well.

Gavin Bishop’s watercolour illustrations add an extra dimension to the story. He has recreated the railways (and men’s fashions) of the early 1950s with loving attention to detail. Mr Whistler’s graceful dance movements reflect the music that twines across every page. The last picture has a bonus for sharp-eyed readers.

The nicest thing ever to happen in Ashburton was the display of David Elliot’s brilliant paintings for The Word Witch, the collection of Margaret Mahy’s poems, edited by Tessa Duder, which has just been re-issued in paperback. This new edition contains a beautifully recorded CD of Margaret reading such favourites as Bubble Trouble and Down the Back of the Chair. Both of these poems have been published as picture books in their own right, illustrated by Polly Dunbar There are plenty more in this rich collection which may yet appear as books.

In fact, The Man from the Land of Fandango is just such a picture book, setting Margaret Mahy’s bouncy words to Polly Dunbar’s equally lively pictures. “Oh whenever they dance in Fandango, the bears and the bison join in, and baboons on bassoons make a musical sound.”  Artists can add a great deal to the stories they illustrate and Polly Dunbar has provided a marvellous framing device for this book. Two children draw their own picture of Mr Fandango, who then comes to life with his light-bulb body, rosy cheeks and stick-like feet. He is a child’s illustration who is free to dance on ceilings and walls, then bounce with kangaroos. The result is a gleeful celebration of the magic of Margaret Mahy’s verse.

Picture books are for all ages to enjoy.  Mangu & Ma [black & white] is a collection of sharply-contrasted black-and-white photos by Megan Bowers-Vette. This ‘first-focus’ board-book, intended for little babies as they develop their focussing skills, has sharp images of familiar objects: buttons, clothes pegs, balls, shells, flowers and, of course, a baby.

A trilogy of board books for slightly older Kiwis to get their teeth into has been written by Matthew Williamson and illustrated by his brother, Fraser Williamson, (known to children for his book and School Journal illustrations and to adults for his milk advertisements). Counting matches numbers with New Zealand birds, from ‘one midnight morepork’ to ‘ten prancing Pukeko.’ ABC provides 26 examples of familiar Kiwi objects including ‘L is for Lolly’ to ‘Q is for quadbike.’ (My favourite is ‘F is for fish. This one is chocolate.’) Colours also uses local examples, so flax is green, pohutukawa is red, paua is purple and you know what is black. Fraser Williamson’s artwork is a delight, and the board books are durable enough to survive heavy use.

Canterbury author and artist Helen Taylor has created a magnificent cumulative story in Kiwi Play With Me. Little kiwi seeks friends to play with and he is soon joined by one kea, two bats, three frogs and so on up to ten snails. Each creature is beautifully delineated and coloured. The concluding picture with all 56 playmates present is a joyous celebration of our wildlife.

Kaha the Kea is a story told in verse (and in song in an attached CD) by Craig Smith (of Wonky Donkey fame) about his youthful encounters with an audacious kea at Arthur’s Pass. Kaha mauls Dad’s Holden Torana and steals Mum’s earrings. Can nothing stop the cheeky kea? Bruce Potter’s splendid colour illustrations provide a very funny kea-stopping conclusion. As well as the CD, there’s also a link to Craig’s kea conservation message on YouTube and an interactive e-book for your iPad.

Another New Zealand creature famed for his impudence is Lynley Dodd’s famous prima donna puss. In Slinky Maliki, Early Bird, the self-centred feline makes an early morning visit to every member of the household. ‘He purred in their ears and he pounced on their toes.’ Lynley Dodd’s witty verse is as skilful as her colour paintings of the grumbling family being roused. The conclusion is irresistibly funny: ‘Slinky Malinki went straight back to bed.’ 

Scholastic’s Kiwi Corkers series of ten poetic parodies of well-known fairy stories is the best picture book value around. The eleventh in the series is by talented wordsmith Chris Gurney who, in The Frog Footy Player, has created a Kiwi version of the classic The Frog Prince.  When Kiri kicks her beloved autographed football into the creek, guess who rescues it in return for a promise of chocolate fish and chance to watch TV? The moral is sound, Chris Gurney’s verses are bouncy and John Bennett’s illustrations capture the fun of the tale.

Roger Hall provides a valuable service with his version of The Three Little Pigs. Not only does he provide an updated story (Mother Pig tosses her three lazy sons out so she can go on a world cruise) but there is a bonus play-script, complete with props list and poster. Errol McLeary’s cartoons look delicious and the wolf, a smooth ‘meal estate agent,’ has all the best lines.

Finally Huia Publishers are offering two picture books ideal for boys who think they don’t like reading let alone picture books. Call them graphic novels, call them manga, call them comics; it doesn’t matter. Get those lads a copy of Julian Arahanga’s Born to Fly and Kawata Teepa’s Victory at Point 209 and even if they’re illiterate they’ll learn how to read just to find out what’s going on in these illustrated biographies of war heroes, Squadron Leader Porokoru ‘John’ Pohe and Lieutenant Moana Ngarimu. Andrew Burdan has illustrated both books in the style of the old Commando Comics (currently being reprinted) complete with speech balloons, well-researched uniforms and equipment, dramatic sound effects (Vrowwwl!, Boooom! Ratatatatatat!) and lively action.
Born to Fly details Pohe’s inspirational career as a bomber pilot and one of the 77 involved in the ‘Great Escape’ from Stalag Luft III.  Born to Fly tells how Ngarimu won his posthumous VC in the North African desert. Both men died too young, and these books will help bring them alive for a new generation of New Zealanders. 

That’s fourteen New Zealand titles selected from the picture books alone. Margaret Mahy would have been proud.

 

Trevor Agnew

Spring 2012

 

 First published in Your Weekend Magazine, The Press, Christchurch, New Zealand

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hairy Maclary is 25 Years Old

Hairy Maclary is 25
By Trevor Agnew

“It is impossible to read the Hairy Maclary books without laughing,” said Ann Mallinson of Mallinson Rendel, “Lynley Dodd always makes me laugh.”
The scene was the Children’s Bookshop in Christchurch on Thursday 15th May 2008 and the event was the launching of the 25th Anniversary edition of Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy.

Margaret Mahy admired the stack of glittering new books, each with its CD of the Hairy Maclary song. “What wonderful books they are. With picture books there’s a difference between a picture book that that goes along with the text and the true picture book where the text and the pictures are an essential part of one another. With the Hairy Maclary books you can’t imagine the text without the pictures.”

“I couldn’t help but be enchanted by the sequence as the various dogs are introduced. ‘Bottomley Potts all covered in spots’.” Margaret then recited some lines from memory. ‘Schnitzel von Krumm with a very large tum.’ She mentioned the detail of Lynley Dodd’s pictures, and the way that each dog had an appropriate house and gate. “Bottomley Potts’ gate is very elegant. They’re part of the charm of the story, the connection with the story. They’re part of the connection that children have had with Hairy Maclary over the years.”


“These books have been with us for 25 years; they’ve become part of what we’ve said and read to our children and grandchildren,” said Margaret Mahy. “There’s been an interweaving. I can’t help feeling there’s something wonderful going on there – asindeed there is. Lynley’s books, and the association between the text and pictures, have become part of the reading and writing of our children. That’s history, the history of story, and it’s wonderful.”

Ann Mallinson presented Margaret Mahy with a copy for her youngest grandson, so Margaret gave it its 25th anniversary reading. “Any of us can join in with this because we know it so well. It’s a magical book.” Margaret read the appropriate lines, then waited. The crowd packed around the shelves of the Children’s Bookshop took their cue, and chanted, “Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy.”

“You see,” said Margaret triumphantly, “We all know it!”

“This is a special occasion for me,” said Lynley Dodd, “but it is far more special to have Margaret Mahy here. You have no idea what kudos I get when I go around schools, and the children ask if I know Margaret Mahy. I say yes and they’re so impressed.”

Lynley told how her husband Tony had asked, “Do you think it’s time to have Hairy Maclary tumble over the Reichenbach Falls in a final fatal duel with Scarface Claw?” Lynley felt that Hairy would end up hanging from a branch anyway.

Lynley explained that there had been no particular expectation when the book was first published in 1983. After a while Ann had told her, “I think we might need a second.” “Now 25 years have gone and there have been 18 books,” said Lynley. “It’s been an exciting ride and we’ve had to hold on to his tail very tight.”

She described how there are now yachts, CDs, puzzles, games, horses and a theatre group named after Hairy Maclary. He’s even on the best-stealer list. A Bay of plenty shoplifter had been so determined in her theft of Hairy Maclary titles that some booksellers had to keep them under the counter.

She described the frustration of early attempts at creating a soft toy. Rejected prototypyes resembled a bear and an axolotl. “It was naked and white,” recalled Lynley with repugnance. She knew that the final soft toy was a success when a Melbourne boy asked her, “Did you kill and stuff that dog yourself?”

Lynley told how Ann gave a publisher in an unnamed Asian country permission to produce a local edition. Early faxes showed the pictures looking a little odd, so Ann enquired further. The publisher explained, “With our market, we thought it would be nicer to turn him into a mongoose.”

“Never a dull moment with Hairy Maclary,” concluded Lynley.

The 25th edition has letters from children to Lynley on the endpapers:
“I like Scarface Claw because he looks angry.”
“Your book Scattercat was excellent. I would give it ten out of ten…It taught me how to fight my brother.”

Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy Lynley Dodd, Mallinson Rendel, Wellington NZ, 36 pages, hardback, NZ $30. ISBN 978-1-877423-17-8 Includes CD of the Hairy Maclary song by Jackie Clarke.
Winner: NZ Picture Book of the Year, 1984
Commended: Russell Clark Award for Book IllustrationPlatinum bestseller.
Over one million copies sold worldwide.

Zachary Quack Minimonster

Zachary Quack Minimonster Lynley Dodd, Puffin, 2006, 32 pages, paperback, NZ$14.95
ISBN 0-141-50039-5


With Christmas approaching, books make ideal presents. At the moment there is a particularly fine range of New Zealand children’s picture books, for all ages. Lynley Dodd’s name is always a guarantee of lively verbal fun matched with delightful pictures. Zachary Quack Minimonster follows the impetuous duckling in pursuit of a dragonfly. When Zachary becomes entangled in leaves, petunia flowers and paint, he is transformed into an alarming monster. With its witty verses, this is a wonderful book to share. Young readers will also enjoy studying the pictures and spotting Hairy Maclary and his friends among those fleeing from the monster.

Trevor Agnew

This review appeared in The Press, Christchurch, on 27 January 2007