PATU: The New Zealand Wars by Gavin Bishop (Puffin)
“Monumental” is the only way to describe this book from last year’s Margaret Mahy Book of the Year Award winner. Covering in painstaking detail the movements of people and troops in the early years of colonial settlement, it honours those who played a part, as a cenotaph might. What makes the kaumātua of New Zealand children’s literature uniquely qualified to cover this turbulent period in our history is the personal connection: his grandfather, Benjamin “Banjo” McKay, born in 1847, was one of the children of John Horton McKay and Irihāpeti Hahau, sister of the Māori King, Tawhiao. The clues that helped Bishop and his brother trace their whakapapa in 1990 were mother Doris’s middle names: Irihāpeti Hinepau. Only Gavin Bishop could have written this book.
Good Sports by Stuart Lipshaw (Puffin)
Seasoned Penguin Random House editor and cricket fanatic Lipshaw has an easy style for this historical roundup of Kiwi sporting heroes, from Anthony Wilding, the eight-time Wimbledon winner (four for doubles) who was blown up in France in 1915 and motor racing driver Sybil Lupp (born 1916), right up to snowboarder Zoi Sadowski-Synnott, MMA fighter Israel Adesanya – and one horse, Mark Todd’s Charisma. Portraits are by a range of New Zealand illustrators.
Our Game Makers by Paula George and Jo Caird and Hannah Wilkinson (OurGameMakers)
Former England captain and All Blacks videographer George, and Kiwi Caird, first woman photographer accredited to Ellis Park, set out to compile this intimate tribute when women’s rugby pioneer Kathy Flores (US) died of cancer in 2021. Profiling 52 players, administrators, activists and coaches (including one male, Laurie O’Reilly), Kiwi artist-footballer Wilkinson had graphically illustrated this self-published collection even before she scored the first goal in the Fifa Women’s World Cup. For fans of all ages.
Matt Formston: Surfing in the Dark by John Dickson and Philip Bunting (Berbay Books)
Even the cover of this beautifully produced book has Braille text, possibly a first. Pro surfer (and dad of three) Matt Formston has been blind since the age of 5. He ran, jogged and started riding real surfboards from age 11, but lost all his skills after a bout of glandular fever at 16 . Fuelled by anger, Formston rode for charity, which led to his becoming a record-breaking Paralympian cyclist, before returning to his real love, surfing.
My Aunt Honor by Gillian Torckler and Adele Jackson (Bateman)
Gillian Torckler pays homage to her great-aunt, Honora Hassett, in this tribute to the women who did more than knit socks for the enlisted men in World War II. Three Kiwi women are cameo-ed, plus Sir Keith Park, “The Defender of London”, who learnt to fly military planes only because injuries sustained at Gallipoli meant he could no longer ride a horse. Jackson captures the energy and pathos of the time in her lively illustrations. Spoiler alert: it does not end well.
Those Magnificent Voyagers of the Pacific by Rick Fisher and Andrew Crowe (Bateman)
Vaster in scope than the title suggests, this book sets advances in Pacific maritime exploration against what was happening elsewhere. From the South China Sea, on “an ocean so large that all the land on Earth will fit into it”, Polynesia’s age of exploration preceded Europe’s, ending with settlement in Rapa Nui and Aotearoa before Columbus set sail or Europeans ever came to Te Moana Nui a Kiwa.
Mangō: Sharks and Rays of Aotearoa by Ned Barraud (Te Papa Press)
These apex predators have swum the world’s waters for more than 400 million years, a timeline spanned in a four-page foldout. What makes mangō special – and distinctive from other ika or sea creatures – is explored, as well as the myths (to Māori they’re kaitiaki or guardians). There’s also their use as kai and their place in taonga ‒ from carving and moko to oil used on the body. But how best to coexist in an increasingly crowded ocean?
Ziggle! The Len Lye art activity book by Rebecca Fawkner (MUP)
Jam-packed with creative ideas and projects, this inspiring collection under the Kiwi kinetic artist’s own banner comes from a Govett-Brewster Art Gallery educator. It includes an exciting range of creative projects for kids to try.
Before Colors by Annette Bay Pimentel and Madison Safer (Abrams)
This large-format picture book introduces primary colours one by one (there are two sets, depending on whether you’re mixing light or mixing pigments) from plant, mineral and animal sources. A veritable encyclopedia of colour, with everything from the physics of light and how the eye perceives colour, to cultural variations, historical snippets and colourful characters (why did Vincent van Gogh use so much yellow?). It’s simply laid out and stunningly accessible.
Epic New Zealand Adventurers by Maria Gill and Marco Ivancic (Upstart)
Ranging from 1935 to 2016, this roundup features little known Kiwis ‒ Mark Watson and Hana Black, who cycled from Alaska to Chile, plus teen sailor Laura Dekker, runner Lisa Tamati and waka sailor Matahi Brightwell ‒ who accomplished amazing feats. If you fancy following in their footsteps, there are notes on prepping for your own adventure.
