50 NEW ZEALAND books kids should read by age 12

This is a follow up to the previous 50 must reads... these books are all by New Zealand authors. How many have you read???

Top three – Mahy, Cowley and Gee

Margaret Mahy, Joy Cowley and Maurice Gee are the holy trinity when it comes to NZ children’s authors. There was much bickering in the office trying to agree the best book by each author. In the end, we gave up. Our recommendation is for everyone to read ALL of their books – they’re the holy trinity for a reason!

4. The Wheels on the Bus and Old MacDonald’s Farm by Donovan Bixley

Okay, we also bent the rules and gave Donovan two books – they’re equally amazing and we have so many nieces/nephews/cousins who are obsessed with these two classics!

5. I am Not Esther; I am Rebecca; Being Magdalene by Fleur Beale

We recently surveyed our member schools, and found that this series is the most taught NZ book in schools for 2016.

6. See Ya, Simon by David Hill

7. The Bone Tiki by David Hair

8. Genesis Bernard Beckett

9. The Wednesday Wizard by Sherryl Jordan

10. The 10pm Question by Kate De Goldi

11. Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy by Lynley Dodd

12. The Runaway Settlers by Elsie Locke

13. My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes by Eve Sutton, illustrated by Lynley Dodd

14. Night Vision by Ella West

15. The Little Yellow Digger by Betty and Alan Gilderdale

16. The Wonky Donkey by Craig Smith

17. I Am Not a Worm by Scott Tulloch

18. Alex by Tessa Duder

19. Duck’s Stuck by Kyle Mewburn, illustrated by Ali Teo and John O’Reilly

20. The Kuia and the Spider by Patricia Grace

21. Oliver in the Garden by Margaret Beames

22. Mr. McGee and the Biting Flea by Pamela Allen

23. How Maui Slowed the Sun by Peter Gossage

24. Brain Jack by Brian Falkner

25. The Boring Book by Vasanti Unka

26. Changing Times: The Story of a New Zealand Town and its Newspaper by Bob Kerr

27. The Traveling Restaurant by Barbara Else

28. Baa Baa Smart Sheep by Mark and Rowan Somerset

29. Pigtails the Pirate by David Elliot

30. Why Do Dogs Sniff Bottoms? by Dawn McMillan and Bert Signal; illustrated by Ross Kinnaird

31. Grandpa’s Slippers by Joy Watson and Wendy Hodder

32. The Bantam and the Soldier by Jennifer Beck  and Robyn Belton

33. A Treasury of NZ Poems for Children edited by Paula Green & illustrated by Jenny Cooper

34. The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera

35. Purple Heart by Andrew Fiu

36. Baxter Basics: Poems for Children

37. Telesa by Lani Wendt-Young

38. Stomp by Ruth Paul

39. Marmaduke Duck and the Marmalade Jam by Juliette MacIver, Sarah Davis

40. Red Rocks by Rachael King

41. Project Huia by Des Hunt

42. The Red Poppy by David Hill, illustrated by Fifi Colston

43. Juggling with Mandarins by V.M. Jones

44. Conrad Cooper’s Last Stand by Leonie Agnew

45. Chicken Licken by Gavin Bishop

46. New Zealand Hall of Fame: 50 Remarkable Kiwis by Maria Gill

47. Mōtītī Blue and the Oil Spill by Debbie McCauley

48. Ngā Ki by Sacha Cotter and Joshua Morgan Translated by Kawata Teepa

49. Anzac Day: The New Zealand Story by Philippa Werry

50. School Journal

Long Haul #3/20

 Long Haul

Author: Jeff Kinney 

 Greg Heffley and his family go on a trip but a lot of things go wrong.  Greg and Rodrick fight all the way there and all of the way back (they don't get along at all.)  There mum is feed up with all of the fighting because she doesn't want Manny (there baby brother) to be like them. They go to the beach and the second problem was about a seagull. 
I recommend this a 6/10 it's an easy read

3/20 books done

The Last Kids On Earth

The Last Kids On Earth
Author- Max Brallier
Genre- Post Apocalyptic fiction,Science fiction

My name is jack and I live in a normal town fighting monsters and zombies. I don't know how they got here in the first place. I came up against the biggest monster there was I called him Blarg he was big strong more scary then the others. He was chasing me down the street then he got me and sniffed me but i got my bat and stabbed it in the head. Then I ran and ran and then he was gone.

I liked about this book was that it was interesting and cool.
What i didn't like about this book was nothing.

I would give it a 5/5

Esio Trot

Esio Trot

Author: Roald Dahl

Genre: Comedy, Adventure

This is my 3rd book review

Mr. Hoppy lived in a small flat high up in a tall concrete building. He lived on his own and he was very lonely. Now that he had retired he became even more lonely that he was before. Mr. Hoppy only had two loves in his life. The first one was the flowers that he grew on his balcony. He grew them in pots and tubs and they added a nice pop of colour to his balcony in the summer. The second love in Mr. Hoppy’s life was top secret, he was the only person who knew. It was a middle-aged lady called Mrs. Silver. She lived in the same building as Mr. Hoppy but she was on the next floor down. Mr. Hoppy loved Mrs. Silver for years but Mrs. Silver had another love in her life. It was her pet tortoise, Alfie. Mr. Hoppy was jealous of Alfie because he took all of Mrs. Silver’s attention and love but Mr. Hoppy was too shy to tell Mrs. Silver that he was deeply in love with her. One day Mrs. Silver asks Mr. Hoppy how to make Alfie grow and that gives mr hoppy an idea to win the love and attention of Mrs. Silver. He tries using a magical spell as well as a few cabbage leaves. Will that work? Will Mr. Hoppy be able to make Alfie grow big and strong in order to win the heart of Mrs. Silver? Read Roald Dahl's esio trot book to find out!

I rate this book an 8/10 because it was enjoyable but it was too short for my taste.

I liked the concept of this story and how it is about an adventure for love.

I didn’t like the length of the book because for me it was a bit too short.

I recommend this book for people who like reading books about people’s love lives and how they go through so much just to be with that special person!

The INVISIBLE Detective: Ghost Soldiers by Justin Richards

Genre: Mystery

London (Present day)

A young boy by the name of Arthur Drake is being Haunted by ghosts from his Grandfather Art’s past from 1936. He later meets a girl from school in the most bizarre places, like in the abandoned streets of London and in an abandon house where it all happened, where all the ghosts started to appear. That’s when Arthur's life got a whole lot exciting and dangerous.

London 1936

The Invisible Detective is who you go to when looking for answers, no one knows who he or she is and only four kids know. Art, Meg, Flinch, and Jonny created the Invisible Detective and together they solve mysteries. They’ve now been investigating a mysterious death that occurred near a Haunted House, where strange sightings of Soldier like Ghosts with metallic hands. The gang soon figure out that these ‘Ghost Soldiers’ aren’t made up, but experiments made on innocent people that have changed and become lethal weapons that have been trained to seek out and annihilate, and it’s only up to these four children to save London. Will they Survive and save the day, or will they perish and become one of the EXPERIMENTS………….

I liked that the Invisible Detective isn’t just one person but four kids and that there are two sides to the story (1936 and Present)

I don’t actually have any bad comments about the book.

I would rate this book a 4 out of 5 because it it such an awesome book to get into.

Extreme Adventures CROCODILE ATTACK by Justin D'ath

Genre: NON - FICTION / Adventure

In the town of Crocodile Bridge a robber has taken two kids hostage, Sam Fox and his baby cousin Nissa from Sam’s Aunties shop. A cyclone later called Cyclone Kandy has hit somewhere near the small town, and the robber leaves Crocodile Bridge with the two helpless kids thinking that someone had called the cops after hearing the cyclone siren, Sam shouts out at the robber to slow down but it was too late. They then were trapped in the river of Crocodile Bridge and were sinking slowly. The robber had been knocked out meaning that Sam and Nissa must make it out on their own to survive on the Island, but they soon find out that there not the only ones in the water. Will Sam and Nissa make it out alive, will they ever see there home town? Check in to find out...

I liked it how they finally got out of car and onto land and how they end up finding crocodiles, bigger and bigger.

What I didn’t like about the book, was that almost ⅔ of the book was about Nissa, Sam, and the robber (Nathan Mc Donald) stuck the vehicle or the fast flowing river.

Rating: 3/5