50 New Zealand books every kid should read by age 12
Last week when Stuff published 50 books every kid should read by age 12, we started talking about NZ books we loved as kids, and NZ books that the kids in our lives love.
We’ve compiled a (very subjective) list of 50 NZ books we think every kiwi kid should read before they’re 12. We’re not making any high claims of this being THE list. (What even is THE list?) This is just a selection of books we’ve been talking about in the office lately - more of a jumping off point to start a conversation about what NZ books us kiwis think are important for our kids. We’d really love to hear your thoughts! Tell us in the comments below what NZ books you think every kiwi kid should read before they are 12.
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
What do you think would be suitable for an 8yr old girl and a 2 yr old boy whose Mum reads to him?
“Falter Tom and the Waterboy” is a beautiful story by Maurice Duggan and deserves to be better remembered.
Also we New Zealanders are so parochial and virtually ignore Australian art and literature. If you don’t enjoy Norman Lindsay’s “The Magic Pudding”, well, my copy is many-times-patched.
I agree about Falter Tom. There may once have been reservations about the same-sex love aspect of it all but our society has grown up since then. Bring Back Falter Tom.
The Wild West series are one of Joy Cowley’s triumphs - a picture of one of those would have been good
I would have put in Grandma McGarvy paints the shed - Jenny Hessell - marvellous!
I’d probably add The Watercress Tuna and the Children of Champion Street (all language versions)
The real danger in giving a child a book that’s too old for them is not that they’ll be damaged in any way, but that they’ll miss out. Because they’ll either discard it (‘boring’) or rip through it without understanding what they’re reading, and never pick it up again. Don’t waste Genesis on an eleven-year old; astonish a fifteen year old with it instead.
I disagree with this lol. Totally get that there are a lot of 11 years olds out there that wouldn’t be ready for something like Genesis, in terms of content or reading level. But there are heaps that are! When I was 12, I was reading things like Lord of the Rings, Jane Eyre, and Wuthering Heights. I loved them at the time, and I still love them now. There are a lot of 11/12 year olds that Genesis would not be ‘wasted’ on.
For twelve or younger, One Boy, No Water by Lehua Parker is the beginning of a really good series.
I’d swap out 10pm Question and put in “The ACB for Honora Lee” by the fabulous Kate deGoldi, myself. Or “Clubs” - just what kids need to read to inform them about this tricky world we expect them to negotiate.
Great list but not enough Gavin Bishop for me I agree that I’d add Clubs and The ACB and Honora Lee by Kate de Goldi. I’d also add Memory by Margaret Mahy and some others that will come to mind later.
Yep, great books. But there’s a few on there I wouldn’t give a 12 year old to read, and so many other great books that you could give them instead.
Purple Heart
Amazing story
However thought more for adults?