Picture Book and New Zealand Post Book of the Year: Old Hu-Hu by Kyle Mewburn, illustrated by Rachel Driscoll (Scholastic New Zealand). Te reo edition: Hu-Hu Koroheke, translated by Katerina Te Heikoko Mataira (Scholastic New Zealand)
Everyone loved Old Hu-Hu. But nobody loved him quite as much as little Hu-Hu-Tu. Old Hu-Hu is a thoughtful tale of young Hu-Hu-Tu's search for understanding of what has happened to his beloved Old Hu-Hu, who flew all the way to the moon (or so they said), then fell down dead. Sensitively written, this is a beautiful story of death and the celebration of life, with powerful, evocative illustrations by Rachel Driscoll.
Honour Award: The Word Witch by Margaret Mahy, illustrated by David Elliot and edited by Tessa Duder (HarperCollins Publishers) -An illustrated selection of the poetry of Margaret Mahy, illustrated by David Elliot. Do you know about the Word Witch? Has she cast her spell over you? She can lasso with a limerick, haunt with a haiku and wrap you tight in a rhyme, quick as lightning. Her cauldron is a dictionary, her wand a mighty pen, and she stirs her words at midnight, making tempting treats for children, to please and tease and tantalise them with imaginary treasures and delectable dreams. She weaves words into adventures, sets verses wildly dancing, makes similes sing and stamp their feet and poems purr like pussycats who've eaten all the cream. Her name is Margaret Mahy. These are her spells.
Non-fiction: E3 Call Home by Janet Hunt (Random House New Zealand) - Every year in March thousands of godwits leave New Zealand and fly almost 17,000 kilometres to Alaska, where they mate and raise new godwits, and then turn around and fly all the way back to New Zealand. This is the story of two godwits whose flight in 2007 was tracked using transmitters. Millions of people watched their progress on the internet. A male bird named E3 mysteriously turned back when he reached Papua New Guinea and then he ceased to transmit altogether. What had happened to him? A female named E7, however, showed that godwits can fly from Alaska to New Zealand - right across the Pacific - a distance of 11,200 non-stop kilometres. Packed with wonderful photos, fascinating information about godwits and other wading birds, this is an enchanting story, a brilliant book for any child. A true tale to spark the imaginations of children and adults.
Junior Fiction: The Loblolly Boy by James Norcliffe (Longacre Press) -To the boy called Red, it seems the most marvellous escape he could wish for: a gift that grants him more freedom than he ever believed possible - the chance to fly, to soar with the gulls, high over the tall brick walls that have imprisoned him for so long. But this gift comes with a terrible price - and puts him in grave danger. Is there anyone Red can trust to help him? The curious Captain Bass who has strange powers of his own? The wildly unpredictable twin sisters he is strongly drawn to? In this magical, mysterious story, Red's adventure is like a chamber of mirrors at a carnival - a dazzling and breathtaking tale.
Young Adult Fiction: Blood of the Lamb: The Crossingby Mandy Hager (Random House New Zealand) - The Crossing is the first book in a stunning new trilogy that follows the fate of Maryam and her unlikely companions - Joseph, Ruth and Lazarus. This is fast, suspenseful drama underpinned by a powerful and moving story about love and loss. The people of Onewere, a small island in the Pacific, know that they are special - chosen to survive the deadly event that consumed the Earth. Now, from the rotting cruise ship Star of the Sea, the elite control the population - manipulating old texts to set themselves up as living 'gods'. But what the people of Onewere don't know is this: the leaders will stop at nothing to meet their own blood-thirsty needs. When Maryam crosses from child to woman, she must leave everything she has ever known and make a crossing of another kind. But life inside the ship is not as she had dreamed, and she is faced with the unthinkable: obey the leaders and very likely die, or turn her back on every belief she once held dear.
Best First Book Award: The Bone Tiki by David Hair (HarperCollins Publishers) -What do you do when you meet a tohunga makutu? You run. When reality dissolves and myths and legends come alive? You run faster. And when the dead come to life and blood debts have to be paid, will you have the courage to do what must be done? Matiu Douglas has a bone tiki he stole from a tangi. His father's important new client wants it. Badly. And he has some very nasty friends. When Mat is forced to flee for his life, an unexpected meeting with a girl called Pania sets his world spinning. Suddenly he's running through the bush with a girl-clown, a dog who is way too human, and a long-dead warrior. Fearful creatures from legend are rising up around him, and Mat faces a terrifying ordeal. And there is nowhere left to hide...not even in another world.
Children's Choice Award: The Wonky Donkey by Craig Smith, illustrated by Katz Cowley (Scholastic New Zealand) - In this very funny, cumulative song, each page tells us something new about the donkey until we end up with a spunky, hanky-panky cranky stinky dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey, which will have children in fits of laughter! There is much fun to be had by listening to the song and trying to predict the new word for each clue given. Craig Smith's song, The Wonky Donkey, won an APRA Silver Scroll Award in 2008 for Best Children's Song of the Year.
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