Beneath Our Feet Jack Hartley

Beneath Our Feet Jack Hartley Title: Beneath Our Feet. Author: Jack Hartley. Scholastic (2025) 256 pages, paperback. ISBN 978 1 77543 919 6

Christchurch, 23 February 2011. That’s a date many of us will never forget but Alfie has a double reason to remember it. Not only was that the day when he was caught up in Christchurch’s worst earthquake, but it was also the day (and the reason) that a heart became available for Alfie’s badly-needed heart transplant. The story begins as Alfie, recovering from his heart surgery, tries to resume a normal life in a disrupted Christchurch. ‘The heart was a perfect match,’ enthuses his mother, but Alfie feels challenged, ‘I hate that I’m weak now.’ Back at school, Alfie encounters the novel’s second narrator, Dani, who has the same cancer that killed her mother. Dani has just learned that her own cancer is fatal, and so she is drawing up her bucket list. Because of their heightened emotions, Alfie and Dani each spot the symptoms of sadness in the other. Their first encounter is mutually embarrassing, but the pair’s desperate need to have someone to talk to means they are soon deep in serious conversation. At this point the story takes a brilliant imaginative leap. Dani persuades Alfie to come with her into the cordoned-off central city so she can return to the spot in Latimer Square where she first learned of her late mother’s cancer. They find the area strangely quiet but a good place to talk. Later they realise that something remarkable happened when they slipped through the fence. Time stopped around them while they were inside the cordon. They experiment and find that they can move through the CBD while, beyond the barricade, people, birds and vehicles appear motionless. When they come back out, movement resumes and no time has passed. They have a world of their own inside the cordon barricade. What follows is a poignant love story. Alfie hopes that Dani can live inside the CBD cordon, ‘not feeling the pain waiting for her in the outside world.’ Dani is more realistic, ‘I’m Stage 4, Alfie, it doesn’t work like that.’ Alfie has difficulty accepting Dani’s fate, but he helps her complete her bucket list. Dani has written her wish that she wants to ‘leave my mark.’ In the few hours they share together, Alfie finds a way for her to fulfil this wish. Jack Hartley has written a brilliant novel, creating two convincing 18-year-old narrators, each with their own distinctive voice. Despite the serious problems these young adults face, it is also understandable that they behave in adolescent ways sometimes. Alfie hotwires a car to demonstrate drifting to Dani and there is a drunken teen party that is every mother’s nightmare. The parents in the novel are sympathetically shown, even as they irritate their offspring by being over-protective. The atmosphere of post-quake Canterbury is well captured with period touches, such as the army patrols and the sharing of surviving school buildings. There is also a great deal of wry humour, including a genteel looting expedition to Christchurch’s poshest shop. A street map is included to enable non-Cantabrians to follow events. Particularly enjoyable is the skilful portrayal of the touchy relationship between Dani’s father and Alfie, which makes the uplifting conclusion of this tragic romance even more moving. Jack Hartley has created a YA romantasy, a love story that is both readable and thought-provoking. For people not familiar with Christchurch’s CBD, Jack has drawn a sketch map. Be warned, there is some strong language in this novel; the nastiest words are Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma and Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. Trevor Agnew, 25 Sept 2025 (Review 3800)

Duck’s New Words Juliette MacIver Carla Martell

Duck’s New Words Juliette MacIver Carla Martell Title: Duck’s New Words. Author: Juliette MacIver. Scholastic (2025) 24 pages, Paperback. ISBN 978 1 77543 916 5

Duck’s New Words: ‘Duck’s a duck and sure of that But Duck is also quite the cat!’ Raised by a hospitable mother cat, Duck (a little yellow duckling) has a singularly feline view of life celebrated in the earlier picture books, Duck Goes Meow and How to Be a Cat. Now Juliette McIver’s clever verses stop Duck playing with balls of wool and send him off exploring the farmyard. As Duck meets new animals, he finds brand new words to try out. ‘OINK! Says Duck and Pig’s impressed.’ Horse is thrilled when Duck says, ‘Neigh!’. Duck has a linguistic problem, however, when he meets four ducks in a pond They say, ‘Quack.’ And Duck thinks, ’What on earth was that?’ What follows is hilarious as Duck fails to quack but succeeds in teaching the ducks to say words like ‘MEOW! And OINK!. Before long there is a complete foreign language school running in the farmyard. Duck, of course, has the last word. ‘Purr.’ As always, Juliette MacIver’s verse has perfect rhythms, which make it a delight to read aloud. Carla Martell’s bold, colourful illustrations include large speech balloons for the animal noises – an invitation for young readers to join in. This is a perfect book to read (or quack) aloud. Trevor Agnew, 29 Sep 2025 (Review 3804)

Emilie Walks Te Araroa Emilie & Victoria Bruce

Emilie Walks Te Araroa Emilie & Victoria Bruce Author:Emilie & Victoria Bruce Illustrations: Photographs by Emilie & Victoria Bruce Title: Emilie Walks Te Araroa Full title: Emilie Walks Te Araroa: A 7-year-old, a backpack and 3,000 kilometres of mud, magic and adventure through New Zealand Potton & Burton, (2025) 72 pages, paperback. ISBN 978 1 98855 073 2

This book’s subtitle tells it all: ‘A 7-year-old, a backpack and 3,000 kilometres of mud, magic and adventure through New Zealand.’ Emilie Bruce was only 7 when she and her mother started their trek on Te Araroa [The Long Pathway], the connected series of tramping tracks which run through New Zealand’s high country (and some of its low country). She also kept a written record which formed the basis of this book. ‘For six months, my mum and I lived between a little yellow tent and back country huts, carrying everything we needed on our backs.’ Emilie writes well and her account is always interesting and often amusing. When they complete the first leg of the journey, they camp at a holiday park. Emilie goes to the reception desk, ‘We’ve just finished walking Ninety Mile Beach! Do you have any ice cream?’ She describes their food and equipment, as well as the variety of experiences on their journey. Their canoe sinks on the Whanganui River, and a flood forces them to retrace their steps for ten kilometres in the Tararuas. A weka steals her Baby Kiwi doll at Queen Charlotte Sound and Victoria retrieves it. There are falls, hostile insects, river crossings, bogs, mud and more mud but Emilie enjoys the challenge and takes delight in every new experience. She builds a snowman in the Richmond Ranges, goes bug-spotting with a head torch and wears a thrift-shop tutu as her hut dress. When bad weather traps her in a hut, she reads Joy Cowley’s Snake and Lizard – an inspired choice. Some of the illustrations are Emilie’s own creation using felt pens, but most are colour photographs taken on the journey by Emilie and her mother. Victoria Bruce is an able photographer and the changes in weather (and the two trampers’ moods) are beautifully captured. The photos of the landscapes and wildlife are magnificent and perfectly placed to match Emilie’s cheerful narrative. ‘The mud is thick and glorious and we pretend we are dipping our shoes in chocolate sauce.’ Emilie Walks Te Araroa is a lively, readable account of a remarkable journey, a testament to the pleasures of hiking and a chance to share the childhood excitement of a new experience. Those who wish to know more about this mother-daughter team’s tramping adventures and their achievements for two charities, can read Victoria Bruce’s memoir, Adventures with Emilie (2023). Trevor Agnew, 29 Sep 2025 (Review 3806)

The Grumpy Mole gets a Digger John Evan Harris Minky Stapleton Author: John Evan Harris. Illustrator: Minky Stapleton. Roiall Emerald Publishers (2025) 32 pages, Paperback ISBN 978 0 47373 080 2

The Grumpy Mole gets a Digger. ‘The mole had his friends come to afternoon tea, fairies and butterflies, beetle and bee.’ The main character of The Grumpy Mole (2024) is now the ‘once grumpy mole’ which is why he is cheerfully hosting afternoon tea for the fairies, mice, elves, butterflies and beetles who are his forest neighbours. Mole’s underground home proves too small for the crowd and some fairy folk have to sit on the bed to eat their cake, Out shopping later, Mole is amazed to see a big yellow digger for sale. He saves up in his piggy bank and then rushes to buy the digger. Brushing aside the sales-squirrel’s offer of driving lessons, Mole sets off home in the digger, ‘Driving a digger. How hard can it be?’ Of course, the short-sighted Mole is soon in trouble with his digger, much to the alarm of the fleeing forest folk. ‘Stop! Please – don’t dig any more!’ they shout. The chaos which follows Mole’s attempt to enlarge his burrow is very amusing, as his tiny friends scatter from around the rapidly growing hole. Then a beetle is trapped and Mole finds that his old reliable claws are more trustworthy than his digger. ‘What a wonder to watch as his claws dug the clay. The fairies cried out with a “Hip Hip Hooray!”’ The text is well set out and readable, especially the Mole’s cry of ’GROOAAR!’ Minky Stapleton has not only provided the colour illustrations but she has also designed the book. The resulting fantasy forest world is beautifully realised. A mouse wears a fair-isle pullover and spectacles, beetles have backpacks and the centipede can carry two cakes in his four hands. Tiny details are always fascinating, so sharp-eyed young readers will spot the portrait of Mole’s mother on his wall, not to mention the fob watch in his waistcoat pocket. When Mole first lays eyes on the big yellow digger, his pupils become heart symbols. The Grumpy Mole gets a Digger is one to read (and sometimes SHOUT) aloud. Trevor Agnew, 20 October 2025. (Review 3810)

Pukapuka Vasanti Unka

Pukapuka Vasanti Unka

Pukapuka Author-Illustrator: Vasanti Unka. Māori text is by Justin Kereama. Beatnik (2025) 28 pages, hardback. ISBN 978 1 0670368 6 7 Puka means books and pukapuka means lots of books. This bilingual picture book, Pukapuka, follows some children as they explore a good place for books – their library. The collages on Pukapuka’s endpapers neatly sum up this book, displaying all the joys of libraries in pictures and words: ‘Mīharo Amazing.’ ‘Pātaka Kōrero. Library. Storehouse of Stories. Information storehouse.’ Vasanti Unka is the author, illustrator and designer of Pukapuka, and she begins her story with the children declaring, ‘Kai te haere tatou ki to tatou wahi makau it te rā nei! We’re going to our favourite place today!’ What follows is an enchanting vision of everything that a modern library has to offer a young reader. (Old ones too.) ‘Eharai i te mea he whare noa, hou ma kia kitea nga mea a roto!’ ‘It’s not just a building, come see what’s inside!’ The illustrations, done in Vasanti Unka’s distinctive style, mix pictures, symbols and cut-up pages to create a kaleidoscope of reading and readers. People seeking information are holding books that erupt butterflies, ideas, plants, architectural plans and more butterflies. Lots of butterflies. In the world of fiction and picture books, the children are surrounded by evocative images: dragons, dinosaurs, distant lands, unicorns, maps, mermaids, spaceships, pirates and taniwha. Tiny books can be spotted on shelves, call-outs for such reader favourites as Dazzle Hands, Maui, The Whale Rider and I Am the Universe. Some familiar characters are glimpsed including Red Riding Hood, a lion from a meadow and that small dog from Donaldson’s Dairy. Reminders of the work of Peter Gossage Donovan Bixley and Gavin Bishop flit among the images. Sharp-eyed young readers will enjoy every corner of each page. Best of all every page shows people reading or being read to. These delightful little cameos each depict the joys of reading, magnificently. A tattooed tough guy is revealed to be deep in a romantic novel. An Indian shopkeeper is using a Māori dictionary to practice saying, ‘Kia ora. Mōrena,’ to her customers. A fishmonger dips into Moby Dick. A boy leans how to knit while a girl reads up on football. Every one of them needs the library to develop their interest. And the library has a welcome for them all. The little boy who asked, ‘Eee, he aha te whare pukapuka? What’s a library?’ at the beginning of this book, has blossomed among the books and book-people, so he leaves clutching a library membership card and, of course, a book. Trevor Agnew, 1 Oct 2025 (Review 3807)

Taniwha Gavin Bishop

Taniwha Gavin Bishop Author-Illustrator: Gavin Bishop Penguin (2025) 66 pages, Hardback ISBN 978 1 77695 744 6

‘Some taniwha are monstrous creatures and can’t be trusted. Others are kaitiaki who do their best to protect people and the land and sea.’ Gavin Bishop has spent his lifetime writing and illustrating books that open up Māori life, beliefs, history and legends to young readers. His latest creation looks at the world of the powerful supernatural creatures known to the Māori as taniwha. In Taniwha (2025) he has assembled a monstrous regiment of over two dozen taniwha from land, sea and river, and recounts their exploits, with imaginative and dramatic colour illustrations, in this hefty hardback. Taniwha can be protectors and guardians but they can also be violent enemies, especially if they are not treated with due respect. The quality of Gavin Bishop’s art work is such that the fact that he is also a talented writer gets overlooked. These retellings are fresh and vivid. The descriptions of some taniwha are magnificently chilling. Of the Rangitikei monster, Tūtaeporoporo, Gavin Bishop writes,‘… he grew large as a whale, sprouted bat-like wings, a lizard’s tail and his head was like a featherless bird’s head with a mouth like shark’s teeth.’ The cover illustration shows this taniwha swallowing an entire canoe full of warriors in one mouthful. There is something gruesomely adorable about Bishop’s scraperboard illustrations of the taniwha Hotupuku’s exploits. ‘Some of the toa were trampled. Others were swallowed whole.’ After his defeat of this war party, the triumphant taniwha is shown with the skulls of his victims swinging from his belt. When Hotupuku is finally defeated and disembowelled, there is a double-page illustration of the contents of his stomach spilling out: bones, weapons, garments, heads and hands. Rather than being material for a nightmare this is a reminder that monsters can be overcome. ‘After they had buried the bodies, the warriors feasted on the flesh of the taniwha.’ This stunningly beautiful book, designed by Vida and Luke Kelly, also has a glossary, a useful reading list and a stunning map which locates each taniwha from Rakiura to Mangōnui. Gavin Bishop points out that taniwha still play a role in New Zealand’s life and law, and he even offers advice on how to placate them. ‘Usually, taniwha behave well if they are respected. Some will even kindly warn you if something unpleasant is about to happen.’ Above all Taniwha introduces young readers to some famous and infamous taniwha of Māori tradition and sets each into their geographic location. Taniwha is a taonga. Trevor Agnew, 3 Oct 2025 (Review 3809)

My Dog Ate the Bathroom Justin Christopher Raymond McGrath

My Dog Ate the Bathroom

My Dog Ate the Bathroom Author: Justin Christopher Illustrator: Raymond McGrath Scholastic (2025) 32 pages, paperback ISBN 978 1 77543 905 9 ‘My name is Ella and this is my naughty dog, Mr Nut. And when I say naughty, I mean really naughty!’ Ella’s story begins quietly with her dog chewing Dad’s slipper but Mr Nut goes one step further and the fun begins. ‘Firstly Mr Nut ate Dad’s slippers…’ begins a catalogue of canine crimes that grow exponentially more incredible. After eating the TV remote, dolls and books, Mr Nut starts eating the bathroom. This might sound impossible but Justin Christopher’s skilfully pared-back story-telling technique makes it completely plausible. ‘Mr Nut ate the sink, and the shower and the cupboard.’ What could be simpler? Of course, Mr Nut grows bigger with each snack so, while the family are reacting to life without a bathroom, Mr Nut is busy eating the garage. What follows is logically developed and witty, with an ending which young readers will thoroughly enjoy. Raymond McGrath’s colour illustrations deftly capture the whimsical mood of this tall tale and make it momentarily plausible and permanently hilarious. Mr Nut is portrayed as a lively set of linked globular shapes, which perfectly capture the essence of excited doggy behaviour. (Think of a cross between a blue dachshund and a striped labrador.) Raymond McGrath makes brilliant use of colours and shapes to create a semi-abstract world which is immediately recognisable. When Mr Nut shows Mum how to wash her hair without a bathroom, his slurpy tongue takes up an entire page, totally engulfing a tiny Mum. A nice New Zealand touch is that when the dog eats Ella’s favourite action figure, we can see that it is Xena, warrior princess, being swallowed. My Dog Ate the Bathroom is a cheerful tall tale, gracefully told and skilfully illustrated. It is, not surprisingly, also a delight to read aloud. Trevor Agnew 5 Nov 2025 (3812)