Leonardo’s Dragon: Five Far-Flung Dragon Tales  
Donovan Bixley

Leonardo’s Dragon: 
Five Far-Flung Dragon Tales  
Author and illustrator: Donovan Bixley 
Upstart Press (Auckland) 2025
Picture book, paperback, 80 pages
ISBN 978 1 77694 071 4  

 

‘Come with me, Caterina. Come and meet the dragon.’

This handsome picture book is a companion to the artist-author’s equally handsome A Portrait of Leonardo. Donovan Bixley was so intrigued by the tale of Leonardo da Vinci’s pet dragon that he has written an account of it and linked it with four other dragon tales.

The connecting character in these stories is Caterina, a bright young servant girl who works with her mother in the kitchens of the Vatican’s Belvedere Palace, where Leonardo da Vinci is a guest artist. Caterina has an enquiring mind, so she is intrigued by rumours of Leonardo’s dragon. Her determination to see if the beast really exists brings her into contact with some widely-travelled dignitaries. She is told (or sometimes eavesdrops on) several dragon stories before the truth is revealed.

Giovanni of the Mirrors tries to tell Caterina his version of the Polish legend of the Wawel Dragon of Krakow, although Caterina persuades him to turn the dragon’s nemesis into a bright young girl. She stands alone against the dragon which threatens the city.

‘Its teeth were as sharp as daggers, its scales like armour and its hunger was endless.’

In her dreams, Caterina becomes a sea-going dragon – a sea serpent perhaps – which guides a double-hulled voyaging cane through a stormy crisis. (Kiwi readers will have no trouble identifying the voyagers.)

Next day, Caterina is serving at a papal banquet and overhears the Ottoman ambassador telling dragon tales. His story of ‘The Unfortunate Soldier and the Dragon’ shows how dragons may seem savage and threatening but they also respond well to fair treatment.

In the Vatican gardens, gathering herbs, Caterina literally bumps into a kindly old man. ‘It was as if someone had finally seen her, the Caterina who was sharp and inquisitive, and not just plain old Caterina the kitchen lass.’  (Readers will spot his identity quicker than Caterina does.) He tells her his own hilarious version of the story of Saint George’s encounter with the dragon (or rather Donovan Bixley’s version of Kenneth Grahame’s version).

After this, Caterina finally meets Leonardo’s dragon, the beast which has been terrifying some Vatican dignitaries. This meeting brings a perfect conclusion to her dragon quest.

Because the illustrations are by Donovan Bixley, it goes without saying that they are elegantly designed, richly-coloured and craftily detailed. He has brought to vibrant life not only the myths but also the dragons. Each dragon is depicted completely differently, matching the theme of its particular story. 

The best picture shows a Japanese flying dragon carrying an unfortunate soldier – a deeply alarmed samurai – high above the mountains.

As a bonus, Donovan Bixley has followed Leonardo’s example and included a few of his preparatory sketches. Donovan Bixley’s fans will be pleased to find that, as with all his other books, he has neatly carved (or, in this volume, embroidered) his initials into one of the pictures.

This book is a pleasure to read and a joy to look at.

 

Trevor Agnew 

22 Sep 2025 [Review 3792] 

Kiwi Corkers Bag of Books

                                         
A Cute Kete
of Kiwi Books

Kiwi Corkers
Bag of Books

Scholastic NZ

ISBN 978-1-77543-426-9

NZ$25


The Kiwi Corkers series, published by Scholastic NZ, have always been handsome hardbacks, retellings in verse of classic fairy stories with Kiwi characters and settings. Now, in a crafty pre-Christmas marketing ploy, Scholastic is offering five of the best Kiwi Corkers as small (200mm x 191mm) paperbacks which come in their own stylish cloth book-bag. At NZ$25, that’s only $5 a book, a real bargain.

The titles are:

The Ugly Hatchling (2009) by Yvonne Morrison, ill. Dave Gunson (What if a Kiwi was raised by Pukekos?)

The Frog Footie Player (2012) by Chris Gurney, ill. John Bennett (All Black fans turn up in the most unexpected places. )

The Little Blue Duck (2009) by Chris Gurney, ill. Stevie Mahardhika  (What happens when a duck gets hold of the Edmonds Cookbook?)  

The Three Cattle Dogs Gruff (2015) by Chris Gurney, ill. Myles Lawford (Is that a taniwha under the bridge?)

The Tuatara and the Skink (2009) by Yvonne Morrison, ill. Donovan Bixley (We all know how this race will turn out but Bixley’s lovingly-detailed pictures make every page a delight.)

This is a cute kete.

 

Trevor Agnew

8 October 2016

Much Ado About Shakespeare Donovan Bixley

Much Ado About Shakespeare (2016)          

The Life and Times of William Shakespeare – a Literary Picture Book
Donovan Bixley (text and ill.)
Upstart Press
Paperback, NZ$35
ISBN 978 1 927262 02 3

The drollest painting shows three Elizabethan gentlemen, splendidly breeched and shod, lounging on a bench in front of their “Members Only” University Club. Their faces are obscured by the news-sheets they are clasping. The titles they are reading range from “Tyme” to “The Sunne,” while the headlines have a familiar ring: “Who is Shakespeare? Bare-All on Bombastic Bard, Shake-Scene and Upstart Crow.” Shakespeare’s portrait not only appears in the tabloids; copies are also stuffed in a waste bin and pinned to the wall by daggers. It is an endearing and funny image of the playwright’s first brush with fame, and it is neatly matched by an apt Shakespearean quotation, “O, beware, my lord, of jealousy; it is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on.”

Donovan Bixley has celebrated the four centuries since William Shakespeare’s death by creating four dozen splendid colour paintings depicting stages in the Bard’s career, and matching them with appropriate quotations. Also included is a fascinating ramble through the events (known or deduced) of Shakespeare’s life. The result is a superbly entertaining and enjoyable volume, a true celebration of Shakespeare’s genius.

Bixley is a talented artist with a good eye for the quirks of fashion and furniture, as well as a wicked sense of humour. He cheerfully nods towards a range of artists, from Van Eyck to Norman Rockwell meanwhile maintaining his own distinctive style and wit. (D.B.’s initials can be found anywhere from an inn table to an embroidered sleeve.) The strongest unifying feature is Bixley’s obvious admiration for Shakespeare. Interestingly, since Bixley is an amateur actor, most of the theatrical scenes are from the point-of-view of the performer.

Intriguing, impish, tragic, moving, reflective, kind and witty, this “literary picture book” gives an exciting glimpse into the world of Shakespeare, a world that contains every aspect of human life. As we follow the playwright’s progress from fidgeting schoolboy, through reluctant horse-holder and struggling playwright to literary success and worldly fame, we can also appreciate the power of his words.

Donovan Bixley has created the picture book of the year.    

Trevor Agnew

16 May 2016

Little Bo Peep and more... book review

Little Bo Peep and more...

Book review by Trevor Agnew

Little Bo Peep and more…  (2014) Trad, ill. Donovan Bixley, Upstart Press, Auckland NZ, 32 pages, paperback  ISBN 978 1 927262 08 5   

This attractive picture book contains the text of four nursery rhymes:

Little Bo Peep

Baa, baa, Black Sheep
Mary Had a Little Lamb
Little Boy Blue

Because each of these rhymes concerns sheep, illustrator Donovan Bixley has put them into a distinctively New Zealand setting. Using the same witty double-page colour spreads he employed in The Wheels on the Bus (2010) and Old MacDonald’s Farm (2011), Bixley provides amusing animals, unusual people and intriguing details to complement the familiar rhymes.

Black Sheep’s wool becomes a rugby jersey, Bo Peep’s sheep drive tractors, Boy Blue’s horn is on the handles of his bicycle and Mary’s lamb even follows her to ballet classes. Sharp-eyed young readers will fall asleep as they count the sheep (some of whom play chess, climb mountains and fly planes) or search for the pukeko (swamp hen) and mouse concealed in each illustration. Best of all are Bixley’s special touches; look carefully at the bathtub legs, the tractor bonnet, the side of the trailer and the pedestrian crossing!

The endpapers feature thirty highly imaginative sheep activities, ranging from pianoforte to cricket. Little Bo Peep and more… is a gleeful celebration of the eternal appeal of nursery rhymes. It is also children’s book illustration at its best

 

Trevor Agnew 

16 Oct 2014  

Little Red Riding Hood: Not Quite: book review

Little Red Riding Hood: Not Quite   Yvonne Morrison   Donovan Bixley 

Little Red Riding Hood: Not Quite (2015) Yvonne Morrison, ill. Donovan Bixley, Scholastic NZ, Auckland NZ, 32 pages paperback  ISBN  978 1 77543 263 0

“Once upon a time there was a girl called Little Red Riding Hood.”

“Why was she called that?”

Those who have read the witty The Three Bears…Sort Of (2013) by the same co-conspirators, will know what to expect. New readers are in for a delightful surprise. As a parent patiently tries to tell the traditional fairy story, a sharp-witted child – here identified only as “Small Polka Dot Blue Pyjamas” – keeps asking pertinent questions.

“Don’t wolves ordinarily hunt in packs?”

“So, this wolf can talk?”

The hapless parent battles on through the cross-examination, even coping when the child points that a wolf couldn’t swallow a grandmother. And a wolf looks very different from a grandmother.

“Little Red’s a bit slow isn’t she?”

The parent battles on to what can only be described as an unexpectedly happy conclusion to a sprightly, imaginative and off-beat re-telling.

There are many delightful details in both Donovan Bixley’s illustrations and Yvonne Morrison’s text.  In a fashion magazine, we can just see that Robyn’s Hoods of High Street advertises hooded capes in both Grey Wolf and Gullible Red shades. A wall-paper pattern conceals a wolf’s head in its leafy pattern, while Granny’s oven-hinges are distinctly lupine. One page even has cheerfully retro-style pictures of Granny and the Wolf in a perfect re-creation of a Little Golden Books illustration.  Little Red Riding Hood: Not Quite is a book that improves on each reading, and enables both parent and child to laugh – though not always at the same time.

 

Trevor Agnew 

24 Feb 2015

 

Dragon Knight: Fire! book review

Dragon Knight Fire!

Book review by Trevor Agnew

Dragon Knight: Fire! (2015)   Kyle Mewburn, ill. Donovan Bixley,  Scholastic NZ, Auckland, NZ, 96 pages, paperback, ISBN   978 1 77543 259 3

This first volume in the Dragon Knight series does a skilful job of establishing the premise and the main characters of what is going to be a popular series. ‘Dragon Knight’ is also an accurate precis of Kyle Mewburn’s medieval comic saga.  Young Merek is hoping to become a knight in shining armour. The bad news for Merek (but good news for readers) is that Merek is also a shape-shifter, who spends some of his time as a dragon. In fact he has spikes in place of hair and sometimes sports a tail.

Merek duly attends knight school – yes, there are worse puns lurking in Mewburn’s prose – with his new friend Brin (who has a secret) and the malignant Percy – a junior Blackadder type.  We have lots of swords and armour jokes as Sir Bragalot, “the most famous knight in the kingdom,” trains his unruly class of would-be knights.

Merek’s mother and father are also shape-shifters – part-time dragons. In a typical Mewburn jest, Merek’s father has joined the local Fire Brigade. “How was I supposed to know a fire brigade put out fires?” grumps Dad.

The tale is full of knock-about humour and fart jokes, with Merek always a jump ahead of disaster. Even the simplest of Merek’s sneezes can start a fire, so there are plenty of conflagrations and confrontations.

Donovan Bixley’s illustrations are an integral part of the story and add significantly to the mayhem. His delightfully detailed (and often gleefully disgusting) illustrations include a handsome map of Merek’s village, a guide to the Isle Beback Castle and an introduction to the principal features of dragons.

Fans of the Dinosaur Rescue series, especially those of the male persuasion, will love the Dragon Knight series. Readers of the female persuasion will have spotted something that Merek has not – there are more female characters than one might suspect.

 

 

Trevor Agnew 

24 Feb 2015

 

The Ten Best New Zealand Children’s Picture Books of 2013

 

The Ten Best New Zealand Children’s Picture Books of 2013

By Trevor Agnew

First published in Your Weekend magazine on Saturday 30 November  2013

 Ten Best Children’s Picture Books of 2013

Chosen by Trevor Agnew

 

All picture books are paperback, unless otherwise stated. They are ordered in (very) approximate reading age. Prices are in New Zealand dollars.

 

One Little Fantail  Anne Hunter, ill. Dave Gunson,

Scholastic, $19.50 

‘Busy, quizzy kea, two mischief mates at play, skippity-hop on the mountain top, rocking around all day.’ Hunter’s chirpy verse introduces native birds and their behaviour, while Gunson provides dramatic colour illustrations.  3-6

 

Toucan Can!  Juliette MacIver, ill. Sarah Davis, Gecko Press, hb, $34.99; pb, $19.99

‘He cancans on a fruit can.’ Littlies will love sharing the whimsical word play and bouncy rhythm as Toucan dances and sings, with the amazingly colourful menagerie created in Davis’s illustrations.  3-6

 

Henry’s Map  David Elliot, Random House, $19.99 

Henry, a fastidiously tidy piglet, draws a map of the deplorably untidy farm.  The other animals are impressed until a sheep bleats, ‘But we’re not there.’ Young readers will enjoy feeling smarter than Elliot’s panicked (and very skilfully illustrated) animals. 3-6

 

Alphabet Squabble  Isaac Drought, ill. Jenny Cooper,

Scholastic, $19.50 

Not all letters are equal in Alphabet Land. Letters like A and E are popular, while the X,Y and Z families feel discriminated against. Drought’s cheerful fable follows their quest for recognition.   Cooper’s droll illustrations match this witty tale of words at war. 6-8

 

Swim  Chris Szekely, ill. Andrew Burdan,

Huia, hb, $24. [Maori language version: Tahoe, $24]

Szekely’s sumptuous re-telling of the classic Maori love story emphasises Hinemoa’s part. With ‘the grace and soul of a heron,’ she pursues her forbidden love for Tutanekai. Burdan’s lush colour illustrations give verve to a familiar romance. 6-10

 

 

The Song of the Ship Rat  Ben Brown, ill. Helen Taylor, Scholastic, $19.50

Brown’s ballad tells of ‘a sea-worn ship rat,’ whose seafaring life culminates in a poignant return to old haunts in Lyttelton Harbour. The nostalgic mood is emphasised in Taylor’s elegant watercolour illustrations. 6-10

 

Luther and the Cloud-Makers  Kyle Mewburn, ill. Sarah Nelisiwe Anderson,

Scholastic, $19.50.

When his peaceful isolated village is menaced by dense smoke clouds, Luther ventures into the outside world to find the perpetrator. He soon finds many cloud-makers but can one boy make them change?  Mewburn’s parable and Anderson’s illustrations combine to create an eco-fable. 6-10

 

Hero of the Hill  Joy Cowley, ill. Philip Webb,

Scholastic, hb, $31

Cowley’s lively verse tale honours the Fell engines which hauled trains on the steep Rimutaka Incline for 77 years. Webb’s witty colour illustrations capture the feel of life in this unique railway community.  6-10

 

The Weather Machine Donovan Bixley,

Hachette NZ, $19.99

Look, no words. Bixley’s brilliantly imaginative pictures create a world with green skies and unpredictable weather. An inventor creates a magnificent machine that lets him choose the weather. Then a spanner in the works creates delightful chaos. All ages.

 

Puffin New Zealand Children’s Treasury  Puffin NZ, $45.

This collection is a genuine treasure, with ten classic Kiwi picture books – that’s  $4.50 per book – providing an overview of New Zealand children’s illustrated stories from My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes to A Pukeko in a Ponga Tree. All ages.

 

Trevor Agnew

Christchurch, New Zealand

Bridge Books: Books that bridge the gap between Picture books and Novels

Bridge Books:  Books that bridge the gap between Picture books and Novels:

 A Lion in the Meadow  Margaret Mahy, ill Jenny Williams, Orion, 49 pages, paperback, $14.99 

Wolf and Dog  Sylvia Vanden Heede, ill Marije Tolman, Gecko, 94 pages, pb, $24.99  

Lily Gets in a Pink Pickle  Elizabeth Pulford, ill Aki Fukuoka, Scholastic, 88pages, pb, $12 

Salto-scaredypus (Dinosaur Rescue 8)  Kyle Mewburn, ill Donovan Bixley, Scholastic, 96 pages, pb, $12 

Megasaurus Mash-Up 1 (Dinosaur Rescue 1-4)  Kyle Mewburn, ill Donovan Bixley, Scholastic, 374  pages, pb, $19 

Hercules, Champion of the World  Nigel Gray, ill Heath McKenzie, Walker Books, 109 pages, pb, $14.95 

The Day My Father Became a Bush, Joke van Leeuwen, Gecko, 104 pages, paperback, $19.

 

Bridge Books:  Books that bridge the gap between Picture books and Novels

by Trevor Agnew

Call them bridge books. Call them chapter books, early readers or young novels. The name doesn’t matter; it is the function which is important.  These are the books where words carry young readers across the gaping chasm between picture books and novels.  These are the books that show children the power of words to entertain, enlighten and amuse. These are bridge books.

The pictures in Margaret Mahy’s A Lion in the Meadow are certainly beautiful but, right from its first publication in the School Journal in 1965, this story has demonstrated the combined power of words and imagination to create a gripping story.  A little boy is frightened to go into the meadow, because of “the big, roaring, whiskery, yellow lion” there. His mother conjures up a story of a dragon to scare the lion away. It works – because stories are powerful – but the lion then seeks refuge in the broom cupboard. All ends well, with the boy and lion friends, playing in a different, dragon-free meadow. This story may be nearly 50 years old, but its charm and wisdom make it fresh on every telling.

Sylvia Vanden Heede’s Wolf and Dog (translated from the Dutch by Bill Nagelkerke) is a witty tale of two cousins: Dog who lives in a basket and menacing Wolf who lives in a forest and is wild. Wolf mocks at Dog’s possessions (like his cap and Guard Dog sign) while secretly lusting for them. Dog is fascinated by Wolf’s rough ways and fleas. When Dog cooks him some bacon, Wolf eats it straight from the pan! This tale, full of word-play and puns, is ideal for young readers, especially those with rough friends.

Elizabeth Pulford’s Lily Gets in a Pink Pickle has a highly appropriate title because little girls adore pink, and this book has pink-edged pages and a twinkly pink cover. Lily is a trainee angel at Amelia’s Angel Academy who always has cute mishaps, which turn out well anyway. Will Frumplepuss cause trouble at the Cherub Cat Show? The tone may be twee but Pulford knows how to tell a story and Aki Fukuoka’s pictures are charming. There are five earlier volumes in the Littlest Angel series for those who get hooked.

Kyle Mewburn’s Dinosaur Rescue series has more boy readers than girl readers because of its cheerful concentration on farts, snot and dinosaur droppings.  Salto-scaredypus is the eighth in this gleefully anachronistic series, which now has 120,000 copies in print and fans from Canada to Slovenia. Arg is a bright Neanderthal lad with a Swiss army rock and a low-brow family, who hinder his high-minded efforts to save the dinosaurs from extinction. It’s all messy, slap-stick fun, and Donovan Bixley’s brilliant illustrations add a whole new dimension to the silliness with features like ‘The Dos and Don’ts of Mammoth Hunting.’ For newbies, Volumes 1 to 4 have been bundled into Megasurus Mash-up 1. These are books that make kids want to read.

 Nigel Gray tells the story of Hercules, Champion of the World in a cheerfully flip way that lures young readers deep into Greek mythology. “Hercules was one of those kids who is best at everything. (Don’t you hate them?)” is a typical comment. When Hercules lies on his funeral pyre, a friend asks if it’s a good idea to start smoking at his age. The bits in between are just as amusing but also re-spin a good yarn.

 The best writers are those who can make an unpleasant subject readable. Joke van Leeuwen’s The Day My Father Became a Bush (another Bill Nagelkerke translation) faces up to the baffling world of war. “Before my father turned into a bush, he was a pastry chef,” says Toda, who learns about military camouflage when war overtakes her country. She becomes a refugee and has to avoid irritating those who care for her. Her list of things to avoid includes “not saying ‘thank you’ enough,” and “singing songs they didn’t like.” Her identity reduced to a number, forced to learn a new language (which the reader too has to pick up), Toda reflects the experiences of the world’s refugees. Her simple childish viewpoint makes sense to the reader, as Toda describes the turmoil of war as seen by one of its victims. The down-to-earth common sense which enables Toda to be reunited with her family also makes this a warm and touching story, which emphasises the power of words. It is a perfect example of a story that builds bridges.

 Trevor Agnew

Note: This review was first published in Your Weekend Magazine, The Press, Christchurch on 15 June 2013.

 

FULL  PUBLISHING  DETAILS:

A Lion in the Meadow  Margaret Mahy, ill Jenny Williams, Orion Early Reader/ Hachette NZ, 49 pages, paperback, NZ$14.99  ISBN978-1-4440-0926-2

Wolf and Dog  Sylvia Vanden Heede, Gecko, ill Marije Tolman, 94 pages, pb, NZ$24.99   ISBN 978-1-877579-38-7 

Lily Gets in a Pink Pickle  Elizabeth Pulford, ill Aki Fukuoka, Scholastic NZ, 88 pages, pb, NZ$12  ISBN 978-1-77543-099-5

Salto-scaredypus (Dinosaur Rescue 8)  Kyle Mewburn, ill Donovan Bixley, Scholastic NZ, 96 pages, pb, NZ$12  ISBN 978-1-77543-121-3

Megasaurus Mash-Up 1 (Dinosaur Rescue 1-4)  Kyle Mewburn, ill Donovan Bixley, Scholastic NZ, 374  pages, pb, NZ$19  ISBN 978-1-77543-121-3

Hercules, Champion of the World  Nigel Gray, ill Heath McKenzie, Walker Books, 109 pages, pb, NZ$14.95  ISBN 978-1-921529-89-4

 The Day My Father Became a Bush, Joke van Leeuwen, Gecko, 104 pages, paperback, NZ$19.99  ISBN 978-1-877579-16-5  

 

 

 

Classics: New and Old Some New Zealand Children’s Picture Books

Classics: New and Old     Some New Zealand Children’s Picture Books   

Swim  Chris Szekely, ill. Andrew Burdan, HuiaPublishing, 32 pp, hb, NZ$24.                 [Maori language version: Tahoe, NZ$24]

The Three Little Pigs  Gavin Bishop, Scholastic, 32 pp, pb. NZ$19.50. 

The Silly Goat Gruff  Scott Tulloch, Scholastic, 32 pp, pb, NZ$19.50 

Moose on the Loose  Scott Tulloch, HarperCollins NZ, 32 pp, pb, NZ$19.99

The Three Bears, Sort Of  Yvonne Morrison, ill. Donovan Bixley, Scholastic, 32 pp, pb, NZ$19.50 

The Wheels on the Bus  Donovan Bixley, Hodder Moa/ Hachette, board-book edition, NZ$14.99  

The Song of the Ship Rat  Ben Brown, Helen Taylor, Scholastic, 32 pp, pb, NZ$19.50

Luther and the Cloud-Makers  Kyle Mewburn  ill. Sarah Nelisiwe Anderson, Scholastic, 32pp, pb, NZ$19.50.

Classics: New and Old    Some New Zealand Children's picture books:    

 All good stories are told and retold.  The best become classics, enjoyed by generations of children.  Every New Zealander, for example, has heard of the famous Arawa love story of Hinemoa and Tutanekai.  The latest (and surely the most handsome) re-telling is Swim, retold by Chris Szekely (Chief Librarian of the Alexander Turnbull Library) and illustrated in sumptuous colour by Andrew Burdan. 

Interestingly Szekely uses Hinemoa’s viewpoint, emphasising the sacrifice she was making in leaving her people and the physical effort of her famous swim across Lake Rotorua to Mokoia Island.  “She swam until her arms grew heavy. She swam until her legs became lead.”  Burdan’s atmospheric illustrations add to the spirit of Hinemoa’s feat, as a symbolic kotuku (white heron) becomes her guardian.  This is a beautifully told story splendidly presented.  A Maori language version, Tahoe, is also available, translated by Scotty Morrison, who is a descendant of Tutanekai.  Modern technology meets ancient romance for both versions of this book; each carries a QR code, enabling access to an online MP3 sound-track in both English and Maori.

One of the earliest books by Christchurch’s talented artist and writer Gavin Bishop was his 1989 retelling of The Three Little Pigs. Nearly a quarter of a century later it has been redesigned and re-issued, as charming and amusing as ever. Bishop is faithful to the original tale, complete with straw, sticks and bricks, rolling butter churn and boiling soup pot. His illustrations, however, can only be described as cool-kiwi, with the wolf sporting sharp shades and a monogrammed windbreaker as he tries to outwit the pigs. The ink and watercolour pictures use a Canterbury foot-hills setting, and are rich in amusing details. The brick house has a turnip motif, while the stick dwelling is a historic Canterbury V-hut. Best of all the sharpness and clarity of Bishop’s prose is a perfect match for his illustrations. This is a book to treasure.

 As its title suggests The Silly Goat Gruff offers a variation on the well-known folk-tale.  The troll under the bridge prevents the three goat brothers, Willy, Billy and Silly from trip-trap-tripping across to greener pastures; that much is traditional. Scott Tulloch’s cheerfully bouncy verse version, however, has a surprising twist. Silly goat is not silly; his name proves to be a collection of surprises for the unfortunate troll. Tulloch’s gleefully exaggerated cartoon-like illustrations delight young readers.  (They will also enjoy Tulloch’s latest addition to his Willy series, Moose on the Loose, where Willy makes mayhem with pets real and imaginary.)    

The Three Bears, Sort Of is Yvonne Morrison’s highly imaginative retelling which older readers will relish. On one level a luckless narrator is trying to tell the familiar story. ‘Once upon a time there were three bears…’ His audience, however, has a well-stocked and enquiring mind. ‘What kind of bears? Grizzly bears? Sun Bears? Polar bears?’ The narrator then has to cope with a barrage of inconvenient facts. ‘Why is she cooking it? Wouldn’t bears just eat the oats raw? Or, better yet, go out to catch some salmon?’  The narrator extemporises brilliantly, suggesting that Baby bear is allergic to fish, and that the three bowls are different sizes so the porridge cools at different rates. Despite the inconvenient fact that bears can run at up to 50 kilometres an hour, a happy (and amusing) conclusion is reached. Donovan Bixley’s colour illustrations add a whole layer of fun to proceedings. The artist’s hands can be seen rapidly adjusting each illustration to match unexpected U-turns in the story. Sometimes hastily-clipped magazine pictures are superimposed on the paintings; there’s even a small hand adding crayoned corrections. Any child (or older reader) who has ever had doubts about Goldilocks will find constant pleasure in this book. (The talented Donovan Bixley’s Kiwi version of The Wheels on the Bus has just been released as a board book, which will give young readers something to get their teeth into.)

The Song of the Ship Rat matches Ben Brown’s bouncy verse with Helen Taylor’s exquisite artwork to bring to life a ship rat who is full of rich memories but weary of the sea. Yet the ship rat finds that the port which once welcomed him – it might be Lyttelton - is not as he remembered it. The result is a poignant classic of the future.

‘Unroll the maps to Far Away!

We’ll sail before the sun,

For I am a sea-worn ship rat, friends…

 

And I’ll sail until I’m done.’

Another classic of the future is Luther and the Cloud-Makers, skilfully told by Kyle Mewburn and dramatically illustrated by Sarah Nelisiwe Anderson. In this ‘eco-fable,’ life in Luther’s idyllic rural settlement is threatened by black clouds of pollution. ‘They were thick and black as tar.’  Young Luther bravely goes out to seek the cloud-maker. He finds lots of them – machines, tyre-fires and factories – but the people operating them all respond to Luther’s request to stop the black clouds with the assurance that, ‘There’s plenty of room in the sky for a little smoke.’  The genius of this story and its illustrations is that although Luther feels he has failed, the reader can see more than he can. Behind Luther people are talking of filters and re-cycling. He plods home depressed but a surprise is in store for him and the world he lives in. Young readers will enjoy this splendidly-presented allegory.

 Trevor Agnew, Christchurch, New Zealand

Note: This review first appeared in Your Weekend magazine, The Press, Christchurch on 7 September 2013

 

Full Publishing Details:

Swim  Chris Szekely, ill. Andrew Burdan, Huia Publishing, 32pp, hb, $24.00  ISBN 978-1-77550-079-7   [Maori language version: Tahoe]

The Three Little Pigs  Gavin Bishop, Scholastic NZ, 32 pp, Pb. NZ$19.50.  ISBN 978-1-77543-156-5

The Silly Goat Gruff  Scott Tulloch, Scholastic NZ, 32 pages, paperback $19.50  ISBN 1-77543-105-3

Moose on the Loose  Scott Tulloch, HarperCollins NZ, 32 pages, pb, $19.99 ISBN 978-1-86950-683-4

The Three Bears Sort Of  Yvonne Morrison, ill. Donovan Bixley, Scholastic NZ, 32 pages, paperback $19.50  ISBN 1-77543-068-1

The Wheels on the Bus  Donovan Bixley, Hodder Moa/ Hachette, board-book edition, $14.99   ISBN 978-1-86971-299-0  [Hachette, 4 Whetu Pl, Mairangi Bay, Auckland]

The Song of the Ship Rat  Ben Brown, Helen Taylor, Scholastic NZ, 32 pages, paperback, $19.50 ISBN 978-1-77543-048-3

Luther and the Cloud-Makers  Kyle Mewburn  ill. Sarah Nelisiwe Anderson, Scholastic, 32pp, pb $19.50.  ISBN 978-1-77543-144-2

 

Picture Books: Beach Reading for January 2013

By Trevor Agnew

[First published in Your Weekend magazine, The Press, Christchurch] 

 

At the Beach: Explore and Discover the New Zealand Seashore   Gillian Candler, ill. Ned Barraud, Craig Potton Publishing, 2012, 32 pages, pb, $19.99

ISBN 978-1-877517-73-0

Nic’s Cookbook   Nicholas Brockelbank, Scholastic, 2012, 32 pages, pb, NZ$10

ISBN 978-1-77543-110-7

Kiwi: the Real Story  Annemarie Florian, ill. Heather Hunt, New Holland, 2012, 32 pages, hb, NZ$29.99  ISBN 978-1-86966-378-0

The Looky Book  Donovan Bixley, Hachette NZ [Hodder Moa], 2012, 24 pages, pb, NZ$19.99

ISBN 978-1-86971-272-3

The Wreck of the Diddley   Fatcat and Fishface, ill Stephen Templer, Craig Potton Publishing, 2012, 26pages, pb, inc. DVD, NZ$24

ISBN 978-1-877517-40-2

Llama Drama  Yvonne Morrison, ill. Neroli Williams, Scholastic NZ, 2012, 32 pages, pb, NZ$19.50

ISBN978-1-77543-053-7

I Love Lemonade  Mark Sommerset, ill. Rowan Sommerset, Dreamboat Books, 2012, 32 pages, hb, NZ$29.99   ISBN 978-0-9864668-6-1 

That’s Mine!  Michael Van Zeveren, Gecko Press, 2012, 32 pages, pb, NZ$19.99

ISBN 978-1-877579-28-8

Anton and the Battle  Ole Könnecke, Gecko Press, 2012, 32 pages, pb, NZ$19.99

ISBN 978-1-877579-26-4

The Old Man and the Cat  Anthony Holcroft, ill. Leah Palmer Preiss, Puffin, 2012, 32 pages, pb, NZ$19.99    ISBN 978-0-143-50464-1

 

 

New Zealand picture books offer splendid summer reading for the young. In At the Beach Gillian Candler shows considerable skill in describing the various kinds of beaches enjoyed by many of her young readers. The various creatures found along the foreshore are not only described in a brief lively way but are also shown in their natural environment. Thus mud crabs and mud snails are shown tunnelling down into mudflats, while sandhoppers are hiding under dead seaweed.  Ned Barraud’s handsome colour illustrations make this a book to take to the beach. Any beach.

Nic’s Cookbook is a gem. Nicholas Brocklebank assembled his first cookbook when he was only 8, after a shrewd teacher realised that food preparation and cooking would help develop his maths and literacy skills. Aged 9, he was the winner of TV’s Good Morning Kids’ Cook Off. At 10 he has had his first cookbook published. Beautifully photographed and skilfully designed, Nic’s Cookbook is easy to work with, providing clear lists of ingredients and equipment. Each step in the 14 recipes is numbered and several processes are shown in step-by-step photos. (One of these taught me a new technique for cutting-up onions.) Best of all, from Spanish omelette to chocolate slice, lamingtons to sushi, Nic’s personality shines through in his instructions. Step 15: “Eat!”

Kiwi: the Real Story takes a genuinely fresh approach to our national bird.  Inspired by the success of the Backyard Kiwi project at Whangarei Heads, Annemarie Florian has written a marvellously onomatopoeic tribute to the kiwi. “Gorging grubber, larvae-lover, snail-scratcher, beetle-battler…” The poem (which demands to be read aloud) weaves sinuously across the top of each page, while interesting kiwi facts occupy the lower section. Heather Hunt has created vibrant and truly original portraits of the kiwi in action. The result is a handsome book that can be both skimmed through and enjoyed in detail.

Donovan Bixley is such a talented artist that he can even make a giant pink squid into an appealing character. Following the success of his Kiwi versions of Old MacDonald’s Farm and The Wheels on the Bus, he has now produced a colourful visual puzzle delight, The Looky Book. Each double-page spread has a different challenge – match the geckos, spot the errors, and so on. Bixley’s sense of humour neatly matches that of his young readers and they will adore his carefully concealed jokes and visual puns. And the pink squid.

Fatcat & Fish may not be a familiar name to adults but children know the duo as cheerful and amusing musicians. The Wreck of the Diddley presents the lyrics of one of their songs as a picture book, vividly illustrated by Stephen Templer. The Captain is spinning a yarn of shipwreck but his parrot corrects every detail. Parents who feel daunted by the task of catching the rhythm will find the free DVD gives them the tune and brings the pictures to life. A grand shared vocal item for bedtime.

Yvonne Morrison has a flair for witty verse and the text of Llama Drama rhymes as well as its title. Pam irritates her fellow llamas by over-reacting to minor crises like bees and green apples. The llamas provide a handy chorus for those reading aloud:

“Stop making a fuss. Stop making a scene.
You’re just a llama drama queen!”
Surprisingly, however, Pam turns the tables on her detractors and achieves an unexpected show business triumph, beautifully illustrated by Christchurch’s Neroli Williams.

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 they have already gained a shelf-ful of awards. Their latest title, I Love Lemonade, has the slightly naughty flavour that young readers adore. Fresh from his humiliation in Baa Baa Smart Sheep, Quirky Turkey plans revenge by offering Little Baa a glass of “fresh, delicious lemonade.”  As before, Little Baa’s verbal skills enable him to outwit the turkey, and young readers will enjoy the way Quirky suffers not one but two self-inflicted humiliations. Gleeful, mischievous fun.

Michael Van Zeverin understands the problems facing small people in a hostile world. In That’s Mine, a tiny frog finds a lost egg. No sooner has he said “That’s mine” than every animal in the jungle turns up to claim it. Soon the snake, the eagle and the lizard are competing for the egg, much to the annoyance of the elephant. Young readers will enjoy Van Zeverin’s lively cartoon illustrations and the gleeful repetition of “That’s Mine,” but they will also be delighted by the witty ending when the mystery egg finally hatches.

Boasting is at the heart of Ole Könnecke’s Anton and the Battle. “I’m stronger than you,” says Anton, to the amusement of his friend Luke. Anton lifts an imaginary boulder but Luke lifts a bigger one. The cartoon illustrations use special colours to show the imaginary objects as the two boys escalate their conflict from lifting logs through picking up pianos to brandishing bombs. “Mine’s bigger.” The unexpected arrival of a puppy changes the nature of the conflict and brings a witty conclusion. Young readers will enjoy recognising the bombastic posturing of the tiny braggarts.

The classic The Old Man and the Cat (1984) by Canterbury writer Anthony Holcroft has been re-published, with handsome colour illustrations by Leah Palmer Preiss. This poignant tale of an old man whose magic flute summons birds and other creatures to his island gains extra power from the current debate on cats. When a sly black cat steals the old man’s flute, the island is devastated. “Afterwards there were no birds left anywhere in the forest. There were no lizards and no moths.” The old man has to act. Holcroft’s pared-back text is perfectly matched by the beautiful, stylised colour pictures.

Trevor Agnew, January 2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best Books of 2011 for Younger Readers

The Margaret Mahy Treasury, Puffin/Penguin, 256 pp, hb, NZ$45

The Call of the Kokako, Maria Gill, Heather Arnold, New Holland, 36pp, hb, NZ$29.99

501 Great Kiwi Jokes ill. Donovan Bixley, Scholastic, 112 pages, pb NZ$10

Old MacDonald’s Farm ill. Donovan Bixley, Hodder Moa [Hachett], 24 pp, pb, NZ$19.99

There’s a Hole in my Bucket ill. Jenny Cooper, Scholastic, 32pp, pb, [includes Topp Twins CD] NZ$26

Mind Your Gramma! Yvonne Morrison, ill. Nikki Slade Robinson, Scholastic, 24pp, hb, NZ$21

Rahui Chris Szekely, ill Malcolm Ross, Huia, 36pp, hb, $20

Battle of the Birds, Lee Murray, Taramea Publishing, Coromandel, 155 pages, pb, NZ$19.99



The Best New Zealand children’s books of 2011

It may be heresy but even though I have been a judge of the NZ Post Children’s Book Awards, I don’t believe there is such a thing as a best book. Every reader is different and their judgement of what is best won’t agree with mine. The seven books I have selected certainly all meet high standards of writing, illustration and design. I think they are all marvellous books but the proof of ‘best’ remains in the reading.

Take The Margaret Mahy Treasury, for example. With eleven stories, and seven artists, it would take a brave reviewer to pick the best. A Lion in the Meadow came first, which makes it special and The Witch in the Cherry Tree fires the imagination. I love Jam because Margaret drew a crocodile in my daughter’s copy, while everyone who has ever worked in a library adores The Librarian and the Robbers. The Boy Who Was Followed Home has that perfect ending, and who can resist the rhythm and rumpus of A Summery Saturday Morning?
‘Bad dogs, bad dogs chase the cat,
Chase the cat, chase the cat.
One dog’s thin and the other dog’s fat
On a summery Saturday morning.’

The Call of the Kokako is not only 2011’s most beautiful non-fiction book for young people, it is also the most informative. Writer Maria Gill and artist Heather Arnold, who produced the award-winning Rangitoto (2009), have developed a unique style of combining appealing artwork and imaginative text. Their fresh approach has been classily supported by their publishers with a high quality hard-covered book, which captures every aspect of the Kokako. This endangered bird, with its striking blue wattles, “clinging to existence with just one claw,” is superbly presented in eye-catching colour portraits, along with its forest habitat, natural enemies, maps, Maori legend, and a ripping (true) yarn about how conservationist Geordie Murman saved ten kokako from the loggers.

Let’s be honest. The jokes in 501 Great Kiwi Jokes are not great. Instead they’re those awful gags and puns that kids adore. (‘Which months have 28 days? All of them.’) You buy this one because it helps a good cause – Cure Kids – and endure the jokes as your youngster tries them all out. Take time, however, to look at Donovan Bixley’s (donated) illustrations which are brilliant.

Donovan Bixley’s work is seen at its best in his picture book Old MacDonald’s Farm, where he has used the traditional song as a framework for a display of Kiwi culture. In one exciting day on the farm, every familiar Kiwi object from a turkey in gumboots to Buzzy Bee appears. The double page colour spreads are striking (and witty) but so is the careful detailing which allows the reader to follow each animal’s preparations for the Show, from pig’s mud-pack to the dog’s baking. (ANZAC biscuits of course.) If you look very carefully at MacDonald’s sheep trailer, you’ll see ‘DB rules’ carved on the side planks. Donovan Bixley rules indeed.

Jenny Cooper is a talented and under-appreciated illustrator, who has been creating crazy animals for years. Her pictorial version of There’s a Hole in My Bucket has an irascible duck and a passive-aggressive billygoat engaged in a never-ending duel of wits. The accompanying CD features the Topp twins, and the combination is hilarious.

A picture book that adults laugh at? A picture book about grammar? A funny book about grammar? Yvonne Martin has pulled off the hat-trick with Mind Your Gramma!, an amusing book which will make grandparents laugh as much as the grandchildren they’re reading it to. Yvonne Morrison has created some delightful moments of mutual misunderstanding between the generations, as Gramma tries to correct her granddaughter’s grammar.
‘Gramma asks me about my day, and I say, “Me and my friend played soccer.” She says, “My friend and I played soccer.” I say, “At your age?” Gramma sighs…’
Nikki Slade Robinson’s illustrations capture the warm relationship between the pair and help make this the year’s best example of good book design.

“Sometimes in the holidays, we go and stay with our relations. They live in the country. I love it there.” Chris Szekely’s Rahui begins with a richly evocative description of long summer holidays in a small coastal Maori community. “But best of all we go to the beach! I love it at the beach.” Malcolm Ross’s magnificent paintings show children playing on the sand, fishing, swimming and boating. Then the story’s mood changes. Tragedy strikes the community when a cousin, Thomas, drowns. We see the surviving children at the tangi. “A rahui was put on the beach. We couldn’t play there any more. Or fish. Or eat kina. Or swim.” When a year has passed, Thomas’s headstone is unveiled. “The rahui was over. But our love remains.” The combination of the child’s simple voice and Ross’s richly evocative paintings produce a moving acceptance of life’s joys and sadness.

Some of the most important fiction works in the world are the ‘bridge-books’, the junior novels that introduce young readers to the joys of longer fiction. Without young novels like Battle of the Birds, the future of reading is grim. Lee Murray has taken a strikingly fresh approach to an over-familiar topic. Her jaunty heroine, Annie, carried back in time by a giant eagle, finds herself in an ancient Maori society where she can speak to and understand both the birds and the people. The conflict among the birds, stirred up by the evil Haast eagle, Te Hokioi, and his fellow birds of prey, threatens the very survival of humans in Aotearoa. Annie, whose arrival has been foretold in tribal legend, now has to battle to unite the rest of the birds to resist Te Hokioi.

The appeal of this story is that nobody speaks in the high language of traditional fantasy. The birds, in particular are cheerfully conversational, “Why not join me for lunch? I’ve got some huhu grubs in.” Annie and her young Maori friends show great initiative, even inventing balloon flight, as they try to save the gentle moa and the other birds. Books as lively and exciting as Battle of the Birds reward young readers with a lifelong passion for books. And that is certainly the function of the best books.


Trevor Agnew Dec 2011



FULL PUBLISHING DETAILS:The Margaret Mahy Treasury, Puffin/Penguin, 256 pp, hb, NZ$45
ISBN 978-0-14330627-6
501 Great Kiwi Jokes ill. Donovan Bixley, Scholastic, 112 pages, pb NZ$10
ISBN 978-1-77543-035-3

Old MacDonald’s Farm ill. Donovan Bixley, Hodder Moa [Hachette NZ], 24 pp, pb, NZ$19.99
ISBN 978-1-86971-230-3

There’s a Hole in my Bucket ill. Jenny Cooper, Scholastic, 32pp, pb, NZ$26 [includes Topp Twins CD]
ISBN 978-1-77543-046-9

Mind Your Gramma! Yvonne Morrison, Nikki Slade Robinson, Scholastic, 24p, hb, NZ$21
ISBN 978-1-77543-041-4

Rahui Chris Szekely, ill Malcolm Ross, Huia, 36pp, hb, $20 ISBN 978-1-86969-470-8
[Maori language ed. ISBN 978-1-86969-471-5]

Battle of the Birds, Lee Murray, Taramea Publishing, Coromandel, 155 pages, pb, NZ$19.99
ISBN 978 0 473 18928 0