FICTION - NZ - NZ Mid Yrs 4-6

Paperback

Scoop and Scribe are two young reporters who search for the secret of Matariki. The boys set off in the Wicked Waka, and with the guidance of a mystical kaumatua they travel to Northland, Tauranga, Rotorua, Napier, Wanganui, Ohakea and down through the Southern Alps to Queenstown. In doing so they save the seven stars of Matariki and put them back where they belong. A lively, modern take on an ancient legend. Excellent Maori vocabulary is woven throughout the story.

Jeremy wants to win the local fishing competition. He has his heart set on the first prize of a spinning sure-catch reel and a snap-resistant rod. He has plans to go out on his friend's dad's speed boat, but then his grandad offers to take him out in his old rowboat - and his mum accepts on his behalf!A compelling story of family, with the lesson that it's not the size of the fish, it is the reason for catching the fish that counts. A section at the back of the book has information on fishing and the whaling industry in New Zealand.

Mountains of Fire is a whirlwind ride through a vivid landscape of exploding spells, magical gems and colour-coded dragons âÃÃÂ&... read more

The true story of a dog who captured the heart of a city during the Great Depression. Today a statue in Wellington celebrates his status as a much-loved local legend. Like Scotland's Greyfriar's Bobby, Paddy mourned the loss of his human, in his case a little mistress who died of pneumonia, but instead of haunting a graveyard, Paddy headed for the waterfront. There he became a favourite of the watersiders and seamen, not to mention the taxi and bus drivers of the Central City, who fed and protected him from dog rangers. He certain... read more

I row back, thinking what it means to be born a whaler. I think about explorers, and about Blackborrow who is an explorer even though he hasn't been born to it. Maybe, maybe I can be an explorer? And the way to do it is to stow away ... Eleven-year-old Thor is the lowest of the low at a subantarctic whaling station. As a whaler's boy, he spends long, hard days loading coal. He should be looking forward to being a harpooner on the whaling boats - but he really wants to be soaring high and free with the albatrosses. Until the day a g... read more

The third and concluding book in the Swashbuckler Trilogy, The Silver Swan picks up where the 'happy ending' of The Pirate's Revenge left off. The Swann Family are reunited at last - but after being a pirate captain and commanding her own ship, Lily finds living as a conventional girl again hard to take. And her father isn't helping, instead he seems determined to forget his daughter ever went to sea. As Napoleon's siege of Malta intensifies, Captain Swann receives new orders from the Admiralty and prepares to leave his family once... read more

Tom and Ben are cousins and best friends. The boys haven't seen each-other for over a year since Ben and his family had moved to Auckland - but now it's the school holidays and Tom has a special project planned. Tom's plan to build a tree fort seems perfect but a grumpy neighbour and a problem with fences seem set to spoil the holiday. Joy Allcock is also the author of the Spelling Under Scrutiny resources which are designed to help students understand the Alphabetic Principle, which is the foundation of how words work in written English.

In the spare bedroom of an old mansion perched on the side of the Wairoa River, just outside the small northland town of Dargaville, lives a terrible, ancient secret. An insidious force, guided by a cackling, tentacled shadow-creature and its mysterious Master, has imprisoned two young children within a painted mural – The Borderland – and has twisted their childhood fairytales into dark nightmares. When Rosie holidays at the old house with her family (visiting her devious Uncle Silo), she discovers the true nature of The Borderlan... read more

Jonty and Choc are best mates - one Pakeha, one Maori. The story opens with the boys on their final day of primary school, totally in tune with each other and pulling pranks on their teachers. They go to the beach and find a mysterious lump, which Choc is inexplicably drawn to. The lump causes him to have dreams of ancient times, but also seems to have an adverse affect on his personality. It makes him angry. Intermediate school starts and Jonty and Choc are put into different classes. Their friendship is threatened by social and c... read more

DoP July 2008 160pp The Rainbow Warrior was the flag ship of the Greenpeace movement, when it was sunk by agents of the French Foreign Intelligence, while anchored in Auckland harbour, on the 10th of July 1985. In this story thirteen-year-old Rowan Webb gets herself a French penpal and unwittingly becomes involved in an event that not only shocks a nation, but the whole world.Ages 10 years plus.

A collection of short stories from Kingi McKinnon; a nostalgic reflection of the life of rural Maori youth in our recent past. Includes humorous stories of sibling rivalry and first love as well as the heart-wrenching Hohepa's Goodbye and the spine-chilling Mauri of the Swamp - an evocative story of the power of a long-lost taonga. Some of these stories have been published before in School Journals or anthologies, but this is a new collection.

It is 1981 and Martin senses big trouble brewing at home. The South African rugby team has been invited to tour New Zealand. Martin's sister, Sarah, is out to stop the tour in protest against South Africa's racist apartheid system. His rugby-mad dad is equally determined that the tour should go ahead. And Mum is behaving oddly. Then a new school leads to a new friendship, and Martin is faced with a choice. He can walk away, or he can become involved in something that will end up being bigger than anybody could have predicted. Fi... read more

Everyone laughs at Davin's idea for a school project, but it's soon bigger than anyone could have imagined. This wild and crazy sequel to the award winning 2MUCH4U features worms, eels, three little pigs, chooks that are barely alive, and a dog called Wag. When Dressy finds another man, and Wag finds a car theft ring, there's so much to do that Davin can barely keep up.

When two boys are allowed to camp-out at the beach they discover they are not alone. Two men appear to be poaching, but what and how? The two boys must solve the riddle and avoid getting caught. An exciting read from the very beginning.

Following on from the success of 'Mischief and Mayhem', 'Claws & Jaws', and 'Weird & Wonderful' comes this collection of stories based around history. Writers include old favourites such as David Hill, Pauline Cartwright, Sandy Mackay and James Norcliffe as well as some exciting newcomers. As with previous anthologies, Philip Webb is the illustrator and his lively and humorous illustrations are the perfect complement to Barbara Else's fantastic selection of stories. 'The stories in here treat history in some very different ways. Wh... read more

Another fabulous anthology of 30 stories for children - once again chosen by Barbara Else and illustrated by Philip Webb. This time the theme is sport and the stories range from funny to serious, exciting, and back to funny. Each story in some way is about triumph, enjoyment, bravery or failure. Some of the pieces are about physical experiences such as going off the high dive board, dancing, doing tae kwon do or going fishing. This collection is for the sports-mad kid but it's also for any child who prefers armchairs and reading l... read more

A series of stories about the friendship between a Snake and a Lizard. WINNER OF THE JUNIOR FICTION CATEGORY NZ POST BOOK AWARDS 2008

Two very different creatures learn the give-and-take of friendship in these warm and funny stories set in the desert. Snake and Lizard are a lovable, foolish pair, always arguing, embarking on unlikely enterprises and telling one another hotly contested tales - none of which behaviour lessens their affection for one another. This book was the winner of the Junior Fiction Category, and winner of the New Zealand Post Book of the Year Award 2008.

Jack Watson has just arrived in a strange land. The wooden buildings that line the wide dirt streets are nothing like the stone and brick buildings on the narrow cobbled streets of home. And his first glimpses of this new country leave him in awe of the native men whose faces are covered with fierce tattoos. To a young English lad, emigrating with his family to New Zealand in the 1860s, life has become an adventure he could not have imagined. Follow Jack's exploits in the first two books - Jack