Category: NZ Natural History
Who knew that the morepork, our only surviving native owl, can turn its head 270 degrees? Or that the bar-tailed godwit triples its body weight before undertaking an epic and continuous migration of 11,000 kilometres? Or that the New Zealand dabchick has an in-built buoyancy system, able to trap or deco ...Show more
Category: Essays
Five years ago, The Spinoff burst onto New Zealand's media scene with smart, screamingly funny and seriously relevant writing. Since then, it has enraged and inspired all the right people, respectably won Website of the Year at the 2019 Voyager Media Awards, and expanded into television, podcasts a ...Show more
Category: NZ Non Fiction
Shipwrecks litter the coasts and reefs of New Zealand. Disasters at sea are no longer the regular occurrence they were in the days when sea travel was the main means of coastal and international transport, yet recent wrecks like the Rena show that perils remain. Shipwrecked retells the voyages of ships ...Show more
Category: Pets
A comprehensive guide to puppy training by Mark Vette, of Pound Pups to Dog Stars fame. Mark's first book Dog Zen had just 40 pages on puppies - this book goes into full detail about all ages and stages, and how to do the right thing at the right time. Following a quick look at the role of pups within ...Show more
Category: NZ Non Fiction | Reading Level: new
The very first maps were oral maps made by early Polynesian and Maori settlers which were waypoints, described as "survey pegs of memory," lists of places in songs, chants, karakia, and stories that showed direction. Hundreds of years later, the Dutch Abel Tasman sailed here and made the first attempt a ...Show more
Category: Interior Design
An incurable collector shares her astonishing collection of vintage New Zealand art, objects and design and her classic 1960s seaside bach. For over 30 years, philanthropist and best-selling author of The Road to Castle Hill Christine Fernyhough has built an extraordinary collection of over 4000 everyda ...Show more
Category: Children Non Fiction
The incredible story of Tupaia, Tahitian priest navigator, who sailed on board the Endeavour with Captain Cook on his first voyage to Aotearoa. Follow Tupaia as he grows up in Ra'iatea, becoming a high-ranking 'arioi and master navigator. Join him as he meets up with Cook in Tahiti and sails as part of ...Show more
Category: NZ History
The New Zealand Wars were a series of conflicts that profoundly shaped the course and direction of our nations history. Fought between the Crown and various groups of Maori between 1845 and 1872, the wars touched many aspects of life in nineteenth century New Zealand, even in those regions spared actua ...Show more
Category: NZ Non Fiction
An illustrated history of protest and activism in Aotearoa New Zealand. For a small, peaceful democracy in the South Pacific, New Zealand has had its fair share of major protest issues, and over the decades New Zealanders have become adept at mobilising around causes. From protest about war & ...Show more
Category: NZ History
From the sleek futuristic McLaren M8A to the missile-shaped RA Vanguard, these are New Zealand's Historic Racing Cars in all their full-colour, tire-burning glory! Historic New Zealand Racing Cars reveals the fascinating histories of eighteen cars whose stories are intertwined with our motoring history. ...Show more
Category: NZ Fiction | Reading Level: near fine
Now combined into a major TV drama, these two connected novels by award-winning writer Charlotte Grimshaw take an unflinching look at politics and power, contemporary New Zealand society and the arid morality of the privileged. In The Night Book, doctor and party donor Simon Lampton is drawn to Roza Hal ...Show more
Category: NZ Natural History
A guide and gift book in equal measure, this treasure of a book pays homage to New Zealand's native plant species. The Meaning of Trees tells the story of plants and people in Aotearoa New Zealand. Beautifully illustrated with botanical drawings, paintings and photographs, it shows us how a globally un ...Show more