One Weka Went Walking by Kate Preece and Pippa Ensor. Beautiful hardback picture book about a weka which goes for a walk on the Chatham Islands and meets some of New Zealand’s most endangered birds along the way, from the tiny black robin to the world’s rarest seabirds. Stunning illustrations and great rhyme. A gift for any age. I will have a copy with me this morning to show Francesca. 

Bedtime Blast Off!  By Mark Sommerset. Third book in the series by Mark about Little Baa Baa and Quirky Turkey – hardcover picture book with themes that kids will love. The previous books are Baa Baa Smart Sheep and I Love Lemonade.

Jason Mason and the World’s Most Powerful Itching Powder by Jason and Andrew Gunn. About Jason Mason, an average kid who is also a Secret Agent for the New Zealand government and has all sorts of wacky adventures. Great story, and very well presented with line illustrations and lots of visual tricks to make reading the book a very entertaining experience for a young reader. I believe it’s the first in a planned series of eight books. 

Waiting for the Storks by Katrina Nannestad. This is a book for older readers, 12+. It’s the third historical novel set during WW2 which she’s done and I’ve loved them all. The others are We Are Wolves and Rabbit, Soldier, Angel, Thief. This new one is about the Nazi’s Lebensborn programme where Polish children who fitted the Nazi Aryan ideal were essentially stolen and taken to Germany where they were adopted into German families with the eventual aim of improving German stock and destroying Poland. These three books are all lovely hardcovers. 

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K.Rowling, Jim Kay and Neil Packer. This is the biggest of the Harry Potter stories and therefore took a long time to illustrate – the job proved too big for Jim Kay on his own – he did the previous four illustrated versions – so Neil Packer helped out with it. It’s a big book, beautifully presented, gorgeous hardcover. 

LISTEN ABOVE