If you or your kids have been looking for inspiration for your next read, you will find it in the 28 amazing NZ Children's & Young Adults Book Award Finalist books that will expand your imagination and knowledge.
Browse the titles we have in the library.
Bumblebee Grumblebee by David Elliot
In this board book built on word play, each scene twists the animals' names into funny new words to share and delight in how they feel and sound. Bumblebee Grumblebee is for toddlers and adults to have fun experimenting with the way words are put together.
Lion Guards the cake by Ruth Paul
Lion is full of pride when it comes to guarding his home and when the birthday cake has been made for the next day's celebrations, he goes where he is needed most ... to guard the cake. But in the morning, the household awakes to a chaotic scene. What happened when Lion was guarding the cake?
My cat can see ghosts by Emily Joe
Sometimes my cat appears to stare, at something more than just thin air. It's recently become clear to me, she's watching something I can't see.' What on earth is causing the cat to zoom, skitter and kung-fu kick the air? Could it be a ghost?
The eights gifts of Te Wheke by Steph Matuku
Tamati and his little sister, Aria, are playing on the beach when Aria hurts herself and can't stop crying. Te Wheke, an octopus, hears her and says he can help. But he tricks Tamati by throwing him a gold coin and a shiny pearl, and while both Tamati's hands are full, he snatches Aria. To save his sister, Tamati devises a plan to give the octopus eight gifts - one for each of its arms - so that he is forced to let go of Aria to hold them all. With the last gift, though, he tricks the octopus, throwing a snare that wraps around its body, and Tamati, Aria and Mum capture Te Wheke.
The greatest haka festival on earth by Pania Tahau-Hodges
It's national kapa haka competition time again, and this Māori performing arts festival is a big event! It needs planning, tactics and dedication - and that's just for the people watching! Nan's a hardcore kapa haka follower, and she shows her mokopuna all the tricks to get the best seats, find the choicest pāua and whitebait fritters, hunt out the coolest poi and pounamu, and meet the star performers. And all along, Nan's keeping a big secret that's only revealed when the star performer does Nan's amazing signature poi move - and her group wins the competition.
Amorangi and Millie's Trip Through Time by Lauren Keenan
Amorangi and Millie lost their mum. Their only clue to her whereabouts is a carving on a tree that says, I’m in the past! Rescue me! To do this, Amorangi and Millie must travel up every branch of their family tree and collect an object from each ancestor they meet. They must then be back in the modern day before the sun sets, or they’ll all be trapped forever in the past. In their travels, the children experience aspects of events in New Zealand history, such as the invasion of Parihaka, the Great Depression, World War Two, the Musket Wars and the eruption of Mount Taranaki. They also experience changes in the town and landscape, the attitudes of people and the way people live their lives.
Spark Hunter by Sonya Wilson
Over a million hectares of wild bush-clad land and one young hunter ... Nissa Marshall knows that something is hiding deep in the forests of Fiordland National Park - she's seen their lights in the trees. But what are they, and why does no one else seem to notice them? When Nissa abandons her school camp to track down the mysterious lights, she finds herself lost in a dangerous wonderland. But she's not the only one in danger - the bush and the creatures are under threat too - and she wants to help. What can a school kid do where adults have failed, and can she find her way back? In Fiordland, the lost usually stay lost. Spark Hunter is an epic Kiwi adventure-fantasy - a story of survival in one of the world's last great wildernesses.
The Memory Thief by Leonie Agnew
Seth has been trapped behind the iron bars of the public gardens for as long as he can remember. By day he's frozen as a statue of a shepherd boy, but as soon as the sun sets he roams the park, ravenously hungry. He is a troll, and the food he seeks is human memories. Then he meets Stella. There's something so different about her - Seth doesn't want her memories. He simply wants to talk to her. But there's someone else in the garden who sees Stella as a threat...and a meal ... What is Stella trying to forget? What are the memories that Seth is piecing together? And will he ever escape the lonely garden and start truly living?
The Tomo by Mary-Ann Scott
Phil and his father's beloved heading dog, Blue, are to work on a sheep station while Phil's dad undergoes cancer treatment. The station manager, Chopper, isn't happy about having a teenager in his care and certainly not with a sheepdog that doesn't understand his signals. Things improve when Chopper's stepdaughter, Emara, arrives but then a wayward ram and a poor decision plummets both boy and dog into danger. Phil will need all his strength to get them out alive.
The Uprising: the mapmakers in Cruxcia by Eirlys Hunter
Sal, Joe, Francie and Humphrey Santander are mapmakers looking for their father, a famous explorer who disappeared on his last expedition. Their search takes them to Cruxcia, where the people are fighting to protect their land from the all-powerful Grania Trading Company. The Santanders' mapping skills may be the missing piece in the Cruxcian race to save the ancient valley - and the key to reuniting their family"
Coastwatcher by David Hill
War adventure inspired by the coastwatchers of Operation Pacific ... It's 1943, and 19-year-old radio operator Frank Benson is shipped out to an enemy-occupied island in the Solomons with two other soldiers. Their mission is to spy on the Japanese. In dense jungle they meet a Solomon Islander who says he has information that will shatter Japanese defences. But he could be working for the enemy. What if it's a trap to get them killed? No training could have prepared Frank for this decision. Their lives - and Operation Pacific - depend on his next move."
Displaced by Cristina Sanders
Eloise and her family must leave Cornwall on a treacherous sea journey to start a new life in colonial New Zealand. On the ship across, Eloise meets Lars, a Norwegian labourer travelling below decks, and their lives begin to intertwine. When her brother disappears, her father leaves and the family are left to fend for themselves in their new home, Eloise must find the strength to stand up for what she believes in and the people she loves.
Katipo Joe: Wolf's Lair by Brian Falkner
Joseph St George (Katipo Joe) has penetrated the very heart of the Nazi spiderweb, spying on Adolf Hitler and his cronies as the Second World War gains momentum and Germany begins its crucial invasion of the Soviet Union. But British Intelligence wants Hitler dead. Joe must use all his skills and put not only his own life at risk, but the lives of the people he most cares about.
Violet Black by Eileen Merriman
Violet Black and Ethan Wright are both in a coma after contracting the lethal M-fever. They have never met. But there is a far more serious reason for Ethan to find Violet: the sinister Foundation is trying to hunt them down.
Atua: Māori gods and heroes by Gavin Bishop
Before the beginning there was nothing. No sound, no air, no colour: nothing. TE KORE, NOTHING. No one knows how long this nothing lasted because there was no time. However, in this great nothing there was a sense of waiting. Something was about to happen. Meet the gods, demigods and heroes of the Māori world, and explore Aotearoa's exciting legends from the Creation to the Migration.
Donovan Bixley's draw some awesome: drawing tips & ideas for budding artists.
Donovan brings his unique style to teaching kids (and grown-ups!) to draw. In a book that spans levels of skill, Donovan takes his readers through warm-up exercises, mark making, sketchbooks, imagination exercises, inspirational shapes, drawing animals, faces, character creation, detail, copying, perspective, thumbnails, shading, shadows, composition, making an illustration, and even drawing a unicorn. Of course he does it with humour as well as skill."
How do I feel?: a dictionary of emotions for children by Rebekah Lipp
Join Aroha and her friends as they share how different emotions might feel in the body and how each emotion might be helpful. This emotions dictionary is all about helping children find the words for how they truly feel. Learning to recognise and label our emotions correctly is such an important skill for life. Giving our children this language helps to build emotional literacy. Use this book to start conversations about different emotions ... This book can be used with children from 5 years of age up to 100+ as everyone might get something from the book
Kia Kaha : a storybook of Māori who changed the world Stacey Morrison
Kia Kaha is a collection of true stories about amazing Māori who have achieved incredible things. Each of them blazed a trail in their own way, and this pukapuka was written to show that with your kura huna, your special gifts, you can make a difference too.
Why is that spider dancing?: the amazing arachnids of Aotearoa by Simon Pollard
Most of Aotearoa's amazing arachnids - which include spiders, ticks, mites and pseudoscorpions - are as unique to New Zealand as kiwi and tuatara. Some are so weird and wonderful that they could star in sci fi movies, but despite that we know very little about them. In this companion volume to Why is that lake so blue?, arachnid experts Simon Pollard and Phil Sirvid take us on an amazing journey of arachnid discovery.
Mokopuna Matatini by Pania Tahau-Hodges
It's national kapa haka competition time again, and this Māori performing arts festival is a big event! It needs planning, tactics and dedication - and that's just for the people watching! Nan's a hardcore kapa haka follower, and she shows her mokopuna all the tricks to get the best seats, find the choicest pāua and whitebait fritters, hunt out the coolest poi and pounamu, and meet the star performers. And all along, Nan's keeping a big secret that's only revealed when the star performer does Nan's amazing signature poi move - and her group wins the competition.
Moose the Pilot by Kimberly Andrews
Pilot Moose lives up high in a treehouse and has a very important job delivering goods in his bush plane through sun, snow and rain, landing in all kinds of terrain. But on this day, his adventures are even more exciting than usual - three fluffy youngsters need his help!
He Wheke Wai Mamangu Au by Stephanie Thatcher
Join good friends, Inky and Jellyfish, as they play a spirited game of tag amongst the creatures and plants of the ocean.
[In Māori]
I waho, i te moana by Yvonne Morrison
Out in the moana, underneath the sparkling sun, lived a mother sea lion and her little pup one ... A playful retelling of the much-loved traditional story, Over in the Meadow. This companion title to Morrison’s Down in the Forest features fascinating and lovable creatures from the seas that surround these islands of ours.
[In Māori]
Ki te moe Aotearoa by Donovan Bixley
An engaging story of bedtime for all the animals around New Zealand being put to bed by their parents
[In Māori]
Te hipo huna by Juliette MacIver
On a visit to Don's Safari, the students in class 2B attempt to find a missing hippopotamus.
[In Māori]
Hine and the tohunga portal by Ataria Sharman
Hine and her brother, Hōhepa, unwittingly step through a portal into an ancient realm inhabited by Māori deities, Kea bird tribes, patupaiarehe (fairy people), moa and giant eagles. This world is in turmoil as evil sorcerer Kae has built a cursed army and intends to rule this world and everything in it. He sees the opportunity to dominate the modern world as well, by kidnapping Hōhepa and using his life force to reopen the portal between the worlds. This sets Hine on a quest to learn ancient knowledge from the goddesses Hineteiwaiwa and Mahuika and her ancestors, find the medicine to revoke the curse on the warriors and gain the support of the Kea and patupaiarehe to fight Kae and rescue Hōhepa.
I am Autistic by Chanelle Moriah
An essential guide to understanding autism - for autistic people and their familes, friends and workmates. When Chanell Moriah was diagnosed with autism at 21, life finally began to make sense. Hungry for information, Chanelle looked for a simple resource that could explain what autism is and how it can impact the different areas of an autistic person's life, but found that there was little written from the perspective of someone who is autistic. So Chanelle decided to create that missing resource. Chanelle discovered just how difficult it can be for autistic adults - particularly females or those assigned female at birth - to be diagnosed or even be assessed for autism. This is partly because there is very little understanding of the different ways autism can present itself.
I am Autistic is a tool for both diagnosed and undiagnosed autistics to explain or make sense of their experiences. It also offers non-autistic people the chance to learn more about autism from someone who is autistic. I Am Autistic helps people feel less alone in their autism and brings knowledge to an often-misunderstood condition.
Explore NZBookAwards.co.nz for more information and the full long and short lists for 2022.
Find more great reading recommendations on our Books and Reading page!