Pipi and Pou Adventure series Bks 7&8 The Shadow Below and The Haunted Forest. by Tim Tipene Illus. Isobel Te Aho-White. PubOne Tree House 2025.
These two short, easy to read, adventure stories featuring a kuia and tohunga grandmother called Nana and her two shapeshifting grand children Pipi and Pou are the latest in this series.
They are the next stage up from bilingual Maori/English picture books with Maori terms and vocabulary sprinkled throughout and a comprehensive glossary in the back of each book.
Each adventure is precipitated by angry gods who have conservation and pollution issues with humans and set Pipi Pou and Nana to fix the problem. Pipi can shapeshift into a giant eagle or Pouakai and Pou can change into a Taniwha.
Shadow Below has a giant stingray or whal repo surface at sea in protest at pollution that has come from Auckland and Haunted Forest has scary monster animals appearing in the forests against developments in the forest.
Will Nana Pou and Pipi be able to solve things? Exciting reading for all primary and intermediate school readers.
Grumpy Gnome by Peter Wiholm, Illus. Alejandro Segura Baron. Pub. Self published.
All children know what being grumpy is so there is an immediate connection with this superbly written and illustrated picture book.
The old gnome has good reason to be grumpy. His neighbour’s the ducks have driven him out of his mind with their endless quacking but they have a story to tell that is going to make him grumpier. The humans who now occupy the farm that Grumpy Gnome has looked after for years, are making a total pigs ear of it and gnome is going to have to rescue them albeit reluctantly given his mood.
It is a gnome’s job however to clean up in the background without humans knowing but when it is unappreciated this rankles and it rankles with Gnome. He saddles up his large pig and goes to check out the scene but if you want to know how he gets on you will have to read the book yourself. There is a unique way of putting out the fire.
Superbly illustrated by Alejandro Segura Baron who gives the book a filmic quality. Every illustration is filled with detail that children will ponder over. The Gnome is superb and the image of him riding his pig down a snow covered road is one to behold. This image is also on the cover along with the ducks who are very cheeky and proud looking.
The story is well told and begs to be read to children. A beautiful picture book to have in the home and the school library. If you miss this you will kick yourself.
Emilie Walks Te Araroa by Emilie and Victoria Bruce. Pub. Potton & Burton, 8 October 2025
This true story is moving and inspiring as 7 year old Emilie Bruce gives her account of the 138 day walk along the Te Araroa walkway from Cape Reinga in the North Island to Bluff in the South Island.
Te Araroa means the long pathway and it is 300km and is only for the fit and the keen. Emilie is both and she luckily has a mother who can take her all the way.
Emilie’s voice is loud and clear throughout and you can hear her joy, her tiredness, her wonder and her love for all that she sees and encounters as the mother and daughter make their way on this arduous journey. You find yourself with them as you read Emilie’s easy to read entries and you see things for yourself with the excellent photographs that accompany the text.
Emilie’s own drawings of what she sees lead wonder at the achievement she makes on this journey. I loved the story about the weka that stole one of Emilie’s fluffy toys
A strong conservation message throughout and a wonderful portrayal of the New Zealand landscape.
I read it in one sitting in just over an hour and have no hestitation in saying it is one of the best non fiction children’s books I have read. Truly inspiring. For primary and intermediate school readers but older children will enjoy it too.
Edge of Light Bk2: The Miracle. When Faith is Lost by A.M. Dixon. Pub. One Tree House, 2025.
This easy to read novel is part 2 of a series that looks at the type of world that may exist after global warming and climate change have taken place here in New Zealand. My review is at this site – https://bobsbooksnz.wordpress.com/?s=Edge+of+light
At the end of book 1 teenage girl Merel, the heroine of this novel and Estelle the Child Voice in the community of Littleton are sent off in a ship called The Miracle that is going to an unknown destination. Merel hopes she will find out the whereabouts of Ren her friend who was sent away earlier. On board the Miracle she meets a scientist called Hana who tells her that Littleton with it’s covers was an experiment in which the population were monitored and controlled by a centralist government who monitored bio diverse changes with the aim of repopulating less desirable parts of the planet. There is no privacy in their lives and no need for the covers.
The Miracle heads south to a large city called Garsington which is a hell hole populated amongst others by Clones who have no will or imagination of their own and are the perfect worker for capitalist bosses who just want to make money. Merel and Estelle with the help of a ship mate Cass escape into Garsington with the aim of returning to Littleton and alerting people to what is going on
Merel meets a character called Grayzee and an old friend Albany plus the white crow Corvus but what she discovers is unexpected. Where is Ren? Will she be able to get back to Littleton? How do the authorities always know where she is? Is there hope for the planet?
This book sets up the third part called Fire which I look forward to.
Simply told with scientific concepts told in terms that are understandable to Intermediate and senior readers. the last 100 pages are gripping. If you read the first part you will not want to miss this.
Leonardo’s Dragon. Five Far-Flung Dragon Tales. Written and Illustrated by Donovan Bixley. Pub. Upstart Press 2025.
Caterina is a young girl who works in the kitchen near Leonardo da Vinci’s studio in the Vatican City and rumour has it that Leonardo has a dragon that she is determined to see.
Giovanni is servant who works for Leonardo and will neither confirm or deny the existence of a dragon but he tells Caterina that ” only one person could bring a dragon into the Vatican City‘ but “Dragons belong in fairy stories, not in the real word”.
What follows are five stories from around the globe including one akin to Maori legend, one from Poland, a third from Japan, the fourth is a takeoff of the story of St George and the dragon before St George was a saint and the last is a story of Leonardo’s dragon.
Easy to read, great read-alouds and all brilliantly illustrated in one page and double paged works of art.
I daren’t tell you any more except to say if you miss this you will kick yourself.
Donovan Bixley does have an obsession with Leonardo and wrote a biography of him titled A Portrait of Leonardo. It could all be true. read it for yourself. Long Live Dragons.
Rakau. The Ancient Forests of Aotearoa by Ned Barraud. Pub. Te Papa Press, Sept. 2025
This superb picture book sized book about the rakau (trees) of Aotearoa begins with Tane Mahuta’s decision to separate his parents Rangi and Papa and allow light to enter our great land, and ends with the legend of Rata and the Totara that teaches us to respect the trees and environment around us.
In between there is a short history of the clearance of forests by the first inhabitants using fire and the arrival of European colonists who cleared the forests to build towns and for farming.
Then begins a description of the ancient forests “shaggy trees with coats of moss and hung with lichens“. The forest giants of Kahikatea, Kauri, Rimu and Totara are described and illustrated with perfection. The use of these trees by the Maori is also described. This is followed by the smaller trees like Matai and Miro then the Tawai Ngahere or beech forest which covered much of New Zealand.
Trees such as Karaka. Nikau, Pohutukawa and Kowhai and other trees that we have close to home are also described and illustrated.
Ned Barraud’s illustrations, as always, are top class, and the information given is easy to understand. Throughout the lllustrations are creatures such as rabbits, piwakawaka (fantail), kawakawa looper caterpillar, possums and werewere-kokaho (sky-blue mushrooms and other things found in the forests, that children can find as they read.
At the end of this classy publication are a list of Maori words and their translations, plus botanical and other words used to describe the forests with their meanings.
Altogether a first class hardback publication that all school libraries should have and would make a great publication for the home.
Curly Cat. The Acrobat. By Jennifer Somervell, illus. by Zerika van Jaarsveld. Pub. Landing Lights Press, 2025
Curly Cat after surviving bullying in the previous book Curly Cat, also reviewed on this site, is walking with his mates Tabitha and Wiskerson when they pass the Pawsville Catabatics Training school. This is a place where cats learn to be acrobats and incidentally is right next door to the 9Lives Insurance Brokers and the Catastrophy Funeral Services.
Danger is very apparant but against advice Curly Cat with his fabulous tail, fancies his chances and sneaks back later that night to try catabatics for himself. If you want to know what happens you will have to read this fabulous picture book yourself.
Expertly told by Jennifer Somervell who clearly has a fondness for cats. The illustrations by Zerika van Jaarsveld not only enhance the story but tell a tale themselves.
This will be very popular with children and even adults and at the back of the book there is an explanation of how cats fall and land using a “righting reflex” and additional stories about Jules Leotard -“That daring young man on the flying trapeze” and Terry Cavaretta a young trapeze artist who started at the age of 5years.
Don’t miss this it will melt your heart.
The Storyteller. Tales of Life and Music by Dave Grohl. Pub. Simon & Schuster, 2021.
I gave this rock ‘n roll autobiography to my son because he was a big fan of Nirvana and I thought it would shed some light on the band Nirvana, on the person of Kurt Cobain and on the music of Nirvana and why it took the world by storm in the late 80’s and early 90’s. I was disappointed. It did very little of this but what it did do was tell of the life of good guy Dave Grohl who has etched his life in the Rock’n Roll hall of fame deservedly so.
This book is about Grohl, all the people he met, all the bands he played in, all the tours, some of the music, bits of his family life especially his daughters and what it was like living the rock’n roll life, the drugs etc.
In spite of the disappointment over my expectations I did like the man and acknowledge that he has told an interesting tale but not the tale I wanted to hear. He talks mainly about himself and doesn’t have a bad word to say about anyone. I wanted some more about Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain and found that Courtney wasn’t even mentioned and Grohl’s time in Nirvana was rarely mentioned.
Grohl strated with punk band Scream graduated to Nirvana moved on to Foo Fighters and his later bands. He was obsessed with Led Zepplin esp John Bonham and John Paul Jones, became friends with Paul McCartney, Tom Petty and Joan Jett. He graduated from drummer to guitarist and singer and reassuringly was happiest as a family man and father to his daughters.
Worth a read for rock ‘n roll fans.
The last Journey by Stacey Gregg. Pub. Simon & Schuster 2 July 2025
Pusskin, Daisy, Toffee, Freddie Coco and Monster are all cul de sac cats somewhere in London. They have a good life with their owners mostly and display all the characteristics of cats as we know and love them.
Pusskin was one of four cats born to a breeder mother and was the last one sold. his mother always told him he was something special and would be a great leader. Read the book and see if this comes true.
Then there is a change of government to one that is hostile to cats and blames them for the disappearance of birds and the subsequent rise in the insect population. The govt forms a sinister agency called the Curiosity and it’s job is to kill the cats. But is Curiosity going to kill these cats?
After speaking to a psychic cat called Cleopatra Pusskin organises the other cats to leave the cul de sac and go to a sanctuary called Cat Island somewhere in the south. The journey is dangerous and enlightening at the same time. On the road they become acquainted with a streetwise cat called Pixie who leads them to Paddington Station for a train to the coast. They all get into the 1st class section and evoke the phrase are Cats on a Train worse than Snakes on a Plane.
While on the train a ruckus occurs the media are involved, selfies are taken and the whole issue of cats being killed enters the fray. What will happen?
Will the cats get on the Island of Cats? Does it even exist? What will the cats who live there do? is there a solution to the cat killing government? Linking this cat story with the Ancient Egyptians who worshiped cats and with the eco system as a whole is a spot of genius.
Terrific writing by Stacey Gregg who has swapped horses for cats with just as much insight. Cat lovers will adore this story as I did. If you miss this you will kick yourself.
The Incredible Insects of Aotearoa by Simon Pollard and Phil Sirvid. Pub. Te Papa Press, 2025
This superb publication in a picture book sized volume is the most accessible publication on NZ insects that I have seen. The information for everybody but very useful for school children is easily understood and the photographs of each insect in its environment, are high quality.
It opens as you would expect with NZ;s most famous insect , the Bluff weta sunning itself on a rock, and finishes with the elephant weevil(called Frank), showing how it got it’s common name.
New Zealand is thought to have around 20,000 species of insect with 90% of them being found nowhere else on Earth.
The book starts with a look at insect life cycles, then an insect body with all its features, then all the different orders of insects including beetles, bees and wasps, fleas and flies, butterflies and moths etc. The different environments and their insects are then covered plus reference to introduced species such as the honeybee.
Did you know that the wetapunga, particularly a female full of eggs, can weigh 71 grams which is close to the weight of a sparrow or a small mouse.
This publication is full of interesting facts and would be an essential purchase for school libraries. The best non fiction book I have read this year.
Create Readers at NLNZ
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