The Listener
  • The Listener home
  • The Listener E-edition
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Health & nutrition
  • Arts & Culture
  • New Zealand
  • World
  • Consumer tech & enterprise
  • Food & drink

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • New Zealand
  • World
  • Health & nutrition
  • Consumer tech & enterprise
  • Art & culture
  • Food & drink
  • Entertainment
  • Books
  • Life

More

  • The Listener E-edition
  • The Listener on Facebook
  • The Listener on Instagram
  • The Listener on X

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / The Listener / Books

Top 10 best-selling New Zealand books this week: July 21

By Mark Broatch
New Zealand Listener·
20 Jul, 2023 08:45 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Matariki by Gavin Bishop, Pet by Catherine Chudgey and Fungi of Aotearoa by Liv Sisson. Photos / Supplied

Matariki by Gavin Bishop, Pet by Catherine Chudgey and Fungi of Aotearoa by Liv Sisson. Photos / Supplied

1. Matariki, by Gavin Bishop (Picture Puffin)

Topping the charts is Gavin Bishop’s bilingual board book for young ones that reveals the meaning behind each star in the Matariki cluster.

Matariki, by Gavin Bishop. Photo / Supplied
Matariki, by Gavin Bishop. Photo / Supplied


2. Pearl in a Whirl, by Catherine Robertson & Fifi Colston (Picture Puffin)

The true story of one cat’s wild adventures during Cyclone Gabrielle, by two of our best. Money from each copy sold goes towards the recovery effort.

Pearl in a Whirl, by Catherine Robertson, with illustrations by Fifi Colston. Photo / Supplied
Pearl in a Whirl, by Catherine Robertson, with illustrations by Fifi Colston. Photo / Supplied


3. Matariki Around the World, by Miriama Kamo & Rangi Mātāmua & Isabel Joy Te Aho-White (Scholastic)

Stories for young people from here and elsewhere about the constellation we know and celebrate as Matariki.

Matariki Around the World, by Miriama Kamo & Rangi Mātāmua, with illustrations by Isabel Joy Te Aho-White. Photo / Supplied
Matariki Around the World, by Miriama Kamo & Rangi Mātāmua, with illustrations by Isabel Joy Te Aho-White. Photo / Supplied


4. Head On, by Carl Hayman & Dylan Cleaver (HarperCollins)

Unsparingly honest memoir from a former All Black front-rower who suffers early-onset dementia, which he believes is the result of years of head-rattling collisions in the game. Read Paul Thomas’s review of the book here.

Head on by Carl Hayman. Photo / Supplied
Head on by Carl Hayman. Photo / Supplied


5. Fungi of Aotearoa, by Liv Sisson (Penguin)

Foraging our fields and forests for mushroom morsels.

Fungi of Aotearoa by Liv Sissons. Photo / Supplied
Fungi of Aotearoa by Liv Sissons. Photo / Supplied


6. Whakawhetai: Gratitude, by Hira Nathan (A&U)

A gratitude journal that will also help you build your te reo Māori.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Whakawhetai: Gratitude, by Hira Nathan. Photo / Supplied
Whakawhetai: Gratitude, by Hira Nathan. Photo / Supplied


7. My Matariki Stories: Aku Paki Matariki, by Kat Quin & Miriama Kamo & Co (Scholastic)

And yet another out for the Māori new year, this one features three bilingual stories in a nifty kete gift bag.

Discover more

Top 10 best-selling New Zealand books: July 7

07 Jul 04:00 AM
My Matariki Stories (Aku Paki Matariki)
By Kat Quin, Miriama Kamo and contributors. Photo / Supplied
My Matariki Stories (Aku Paki Matariki) By Kat Quin, Miriama Kamo and contributors. Photo / Supplied


8. This is ADHD, by Chanelle Moriah (A&U)

A practical guide to Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder for those with the condition and the people around them.

This Is ADHD, by Chanelle Moriah. Photo / Supplied
This Is ADHD, by Chanelle Moriah. Photo / Supplied

9. Pet, by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press)

A literary thriller set in a Wellington Catholic intermediate school featuring the charismatic, mysterious, Corvette-driving Mrs Price. “Utterly brilliant”, said our reviewer Kelly Ana Morey.

Pet by Catherine Chidgey. Photo / Supplied
Pet by Catherine Chidgey. Photo / Supplied

10. Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy, by Lynley Dodd (Puffin)

Sales of the classic zoom on – already at 11 million copies worldwide – this latest spike doubtlessly due to a 40th anniversary search for lookalikes for Hairy and his canine friends like Bottomley Potts and Hercules Morse.

Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy by Lynley Dodd. Photo / Supplied
Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy by Lynley Dodd. Photo / Supplied

Source Nielsen BookScan NZ – week ending July 15

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from The Listener

LISTENER
Listener weekly quiz: June 18

Listener weekly quiz: June 18

17 Jun 07:00 PM

Test your general knowledge with the Listener’s weekly quiz.

LISTENER
An empty frame? When biographers can’t get permission to use artists’ work

An empty frame? When biographers can’t get permission to use artists’ work

17 Jun 06:00 PM
LISTENER
Book of the day: Rain of Ruin: Tokyo, Horishima and the Surrender of Japan

Book of the day: Rain of Ruin: Tokyo, Horishima and the Surrender of Japan

17 Jun 06:00 PM
LISTENER
Peter Griffin: This virtual research assistant is actually useful

Peter Griffin: This virtual research assistant is actually useful

17 Jun 06:00 PM
LISTENER
Breaking the cycle: Three women on NZ’s prison system

Breaking the cycle: Three women on NZ’s prison system

17 Jun 06:00 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Contact NZ Herald
  • Help & support
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
NZ Listener
  • NZ Listener e-edition
  • Contact Listener Editorial
  • Advertising with NZ Listener
  • Manage your Listener subscription
  • Subscribe to NZ Listener digital
  • Subscribe to NZ Listener
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotion and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • NZ Listener
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP