This week I visited Te Uho o te Nikau Primary School in Flatbush, Auckland during their Book Week. I had a great day reading RURU, Night Hunter and TUATARA, A living Treasure and speaking about our special native species with many enthusiastic tamariki in year 1-3 classes. Here's some photos: 

Absolutely delighted that Ruru, Night Hunter has been selected by the NZ Listener as a best book for children and young adults in 2024! There are so many incredible pukapuka in this list from both Aotearoa and overseas, including Ned Barruad's wonderful book, Tasting with Your Feet. I'm so happy to see Ruru included - thank you Ann Packer and the NZ Listener!

​It was such an honour to be a finalist in this year's Book Awards.
The day started with BooksAlive in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington, where I was thrilled to meet some of the other finalists as well as thousands of book-loving tamariki and rangatahi. Ned Barraud and I read our book Tuatara, A Living Treasure to a packed auditorium at the National Library, followed by a joint workshop: Writing and Illustrating Nature. It was the first time we'd presented together (and also the first time we'd met in real life) so it was a pretty special occasion all round!
After BooksAlive, Scholastic NZ and the Publishers Association of New Zealand (PANZ) put on drinks and nibbles at the Backbencher. I really appreciated this opportunity to meet and chat with more finalists, publishers, and others involved in the industry in a relaxed setting before the big event ... the awards ceremony at Pipitea Marae. Da dum, da dum, da dum.
As a first timer at the awards, I felt a little starstruck being in a room filled with so many of my kidlit heroes. What ensued was a warm and wonderful evening, full of joy and laughter, and a few tears – a fitting celebration of children's literature in Aotearoa. It was a fabulous event to be part of and I was so grateful to be included. It was evident that many people had put in months of hard work behind the scenes – the judges, organisers, sponsors, the NZCYA Trust, and others – what a special community we have! 
Photo by Vijay Paul (via NZ Book Awards Trust)

RURU has swooped into bookstores all over Aotearoa!

Absolutely thrilled that TUATARA has been selected as a finalist in the The New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults! There's a stellar line-up in all categories and it is such an honour to be included! Check out all the wonderful pukapuka here: New Zealand Book Awards ​

Storyline Tour team left to right: Des Hunt (Author), Alan Dingley (Te Awhi Rito Reading Ambassador), me, Kieran Rynhart (illustrator)

How did you feel when you were invited to take part in the Storylines Invercargill/Southland Story Tour?
This was my first Story Tour and I was very nervous, but there was no need to be – it was a fantastic experience! In five days, I visited fourteen schools and spoke to more than nine hundred tamariki. I learned a lot and arrived home feeling energised and much more confident about school visits. 

For those who haven’t experienced a Storylines Story Tour, can you share what a typical day on tour looks like?
Generally, each tour member has three presentations per day: two in the morning, one after lunch. Some are solo, others involve two presenters, some three or more presenters. Storylines prepare a detailed schedule which means all you need to do is concentrate on your presentation. Most schools will introduce you and make sure you have everything you need. Afterwards, we usually had an hour or two to ourselves, before finishing off the day with dinner at a local restaurant.

How did you prepare for the Tour? 
And is there anything you’d do differently next time?
Storylines provide ‘Guidelines for Presenters’ which are super helpful. Using these I planned a presentation that I could simplify for littlies and extend for seniors. I tried to make it as interactive as possible. I thought about which parts to use for shorter talks, and what to do when there is no large screen, or if the kids are nodding off after lunch. I also reviewed notes from past workshops and talked to writer friends who’d been on tour.
Next time I won’t have to do as much prep, because now I have a presentation that I’ve tried out fourteen times!​

How did the sessions run (What did you do in your sessions)?
My presentation consisted of talking with kids about tuatara and ruru using props like soft toys, reading my books, and asking and answering questions – luckily it turns out kids are fascinated by tuatara and ruru – they had heaps of questions! I tweaked my presentation as I went along based on audience reactions.

What did you learn from the Tour experience?
A lot! Before the tour started, I was a little worried my presentation wasn’t ‘whiz-bang’ enough and that kids might be bored. However, it went well, the kids were super-engaged and had way more questions than I expected. I got better at reading the audience and adapting my content and delivery to suit. Also, teachers sometimes ask you to talk about specific topics relating to the curriculum. So, I guess the most important thing I learned was to be myself, relax and to be flexible. ​

What tips would you have for others if they are invited to go on a future Story Tour?
- Bring props and visuals.
- Interact with tamariki as much as possible. 
- Kids of all ages love being read aloud to.  
- Break your presentation up into segments so you can easily add or subtract bits for different age groups and different lengths of time. (Thanks to Fifi Colston for this great tip). 
- Make sure you have some chill-out time every day to do whatever you like to do to relax.

Just LOOK at the eye-catching cover of RURU, NIGHT HUNTER - our picture book about Aotearoa New Zealand’s only surviving species of native owl!
I'm so grateful to illustrator Ned Barraud, designer Vida Kelly and the team at Scholastic NZ for bringing RURU to life. Also thank you to my agent, Frances Plumpton.
RURU will be swooping into bookstores in July!

This is the Aotearoa New Zealand stand at Bologna - doesn't it look inviting?! A peaceful alcove in amongst all the craziness. So excited to see TUATARA on display at this incredible event, alongside so many beautiful Kiwi books!