Mia & Leo Go Wild was voted number 14 in the Whitcoulls Top 50 Kids’ Books!
A big thank you to everyone who voted. Thanks to your support, this means that Whitcoulls will be consistently stocking and promoting my book across the country. Only 18 New Zealand books made it on to the list.
From Moa to Dinosaurs
I had a fantastic time tramping the Paparoa Great Walk in May. Afterwards I took time to visit Karamea, where I toured the Oparara Arches and Honeycomb Hill Caves. I was eager to see the caves, as I knew the bones found here led to important discoveries archaeologists made about moa and other extinct wildlife. I wrote about these findings in From Moa to Dinosaurs, which I always recommend that children share with the parents!
Science has moved on in leaps and bounds in recent years, so few parents and grandparents will be familiar with the latest research into our ancient past. To find out more about what I learned in the process of writing From Moa to Dinosaurs read this blogpost. And to read about how we created the book, including imagining what the animals from the ancient past looked like, here’s another blogpost.
Writers in Schools Programme
This year, three local schools invited me to join in their Book Week celebrations through the Writers in Schools programme. I enjoyed reading to the children, quizzing them about nature and sharing ‘behind the scenes’ publishing stories with them.
If your local school isn’t part of Read NZ’s Writers in Schools, do encourage them to join. For a small membership fee they can usually get one free writer or illustrator visit a year. It’s funded by donations so, you will be pleased to know, writers and illustrators get paid for their time.
My latest Instagram favourites were also taken in Karamea. The iconic “walking tree” which won Tree of the Year 2024, and my first Aurora Australis sighting. If someone had shown me the walking tree image I would have said it was photo-shopped or AI generated! But no - this is the real thing, a photo taken with my phone from the side of the road. Its form is down to the fact that it is a Northern rātā, which would have started in as an epiphyte in the crown of another large tree. Read more about how Northern rātā grows in my blog.
There’s so much to see on the forest floor if you keep your eyes open.
our iconic blue mushroom or werewere kōkako seen on the Paparoa Great Walk
hot lips or forest pretty mouth fungi discovered in beech forest on the Whakanui track in Wainuiomata, my observation was selected by iNaturalist as “observation of the day” and shared around the world - what an honour!
Mecodema simplex, a beautiful flightless beetle, found by my tramping buddies on the Kaitoke Ridge Track in Upper Hutt
Nature treasure hunts
Spring is a great time to get children outdoors and nature treasure hunts are always motivating.
Click here for a downloadable Bush Nature Hunt list which is designed to work in the New Zealand bush.
A treasure hunt suitable for a garden or park is described on my blog - Nature’s Symmetry flower hunt.
West Coast Walking: a naturalist’s guide by Kerry-Jayne Wilson
In keeping with the West Coast theme to this newsletter is this lovely guide. I bought it at the DOC Punakaiki visitor centre and have read it from cover to cover. The first section provides an excellent description of the West Coast environment - geology, plants, animals and so on. The second follows the West Coast from North to South, describing what natural wonders and ecosystems can be seen in specific parts of the West Coast. The author has inspired me to return and spend more time exploring the coast. As the book is now 10 years old, some of the information about tracks and walks need to be checked to ensure they are still open.
New Zealand’s Rivers: an environmental history by Catherine Knight
I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand how rivers shape the land, how people have shaped rivers and what this means for our future in New Zealand. Although published in 2016, the book addresses issues that are very current, for example, I read about the impact of toxic waste from old mining on the Ōnhinemuri River, just as arsenic was turning this very river orange in August 2024. Politicians, local councillors and other decision-makers would do well to read and learn from this book.
https://www.catherineknight.nz/new-book-new-zealand-s-rivers
Celia Seagull and the Plastic Sea by Nicole Miller, illustrated by Lily Uivel
Here’s a children’s book that was such a huge hit with my four-year old grand-daughter it had to be read every night again and again! The rhymes are a bit contrived at times but the lively pace of the story carries the reader through. The author gets top marks for including a mermaid (always a hit), for highlighting values of caring for and helping others and drawing attention to plastic waste in the ocean. The book was a good introduction to discussing what happens when we throw things away. I’m looking forward to taking my grand-daughter on a beach clean-up when she next visits, so that she can see this issue for herself.
https://nicolemiller.co.nz/products/celia-seagull-and-the-plastic-sea
No posts
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.