They are talking about you

They’re laughing at you

You’re not good enough

These are all things we’ve heard in our heads at some time, or maybe even from others. They just pop up in our heads, and we wonder where they come from.

This is the problem the young girl in this picture book from Mental health and Well being specialist Becky Overeem, is dealing with.

Many more negative thoughts are barging into her mind. She used to be able to brush them off with a Whatever, but it is becoming harder and harder and the thoughts are getting louder and louder.

Her mum notices changes in her first, and then her teacher. They try to help, but she isn’t telling them what is truly bothering her.

But this care coming from those around her finally sparks her into speaking to her mum.

I felt scared, I wasn’t sleeping, I always felt sick, and I didn’t want to do anything.

Mum talks to her daughter about her thoughts and whether she believes them, and then comes up with a possible solution.

It involves imagination, pencils, colour and crayons, and the girl can finally see that this just might work. The more she works on it, the more it seems possible.

For the first time in a long time, a had a really good sleep.

Are My Thoughts Worth Listening To? is such an important book for young listeners or readers who are dealing with negative feelings and thoughts.

This full colour picture book begins with a young girl who talks directly to the reader about the negative thoughts that are beginning to overwhelm her. She asks the reader if they feel like this too, connecting them to the girl’s plight. She explains how she used to solve the problem, but that it’s just not working anymore.

Images of the character in daily life solidify her even more – with her mum, at school, and at home with the family pet. Deciding to talk to her mum during meal preparation is another familiar connection between story and reader.

The solution is something any young listener or reader can try themselves to combat the negative thoughts following them around. It’s practical, easy and even a little fun.

Aged for 5 to 9 year olds to help manage negative self-talk, this is a companion to Is My Worry Worth Worrying About?

Author – Becky Overeem

Illustrator – Sarah Trolle

Picture Book

Find a companion book here

(2026, Little Love, Mary Egan Publishing, NZ Author, NZ Illustrator, Mental Health, Wellbeing, Negative thoughts, Negative Self Talk, Solutions, Worries, Thoughts, Perceptions)

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He even worries about his worrying because he knows his worries are not normal. There is worrying about the 1st day of school, or large animals, or noises. These worries are common. But his worries are far more frequent and long-standing worries. His worries hurt his tummy and fill his head with loud, buzzing bees.

People around him say, “Don’t worry about it.”

Or, “Wait until you’re an adult.”

But no matter what he does, he can’t stop worrying.

Worrying about stuff happening in his home and family is just making things worse. But he knows he’s loved by those around him, and has friends that like him too.

He begins to write all those names down, alongside his worries. Gradually, he discovers that he does have some control over his worries, and soon he feels more and more like his old, energetic pre-worry self.

With tips for parents and caregivers at the rear of the book, a place for young readers to write their worries down and a likeable, relatable narrator sharing his journey directly to the reader, this picture book is a great resource for all involved.

Many children are worriers like this young narrator, but with his help, they too can learn ways to dismantle their worries and get back to their pre-worry happy selves.

Beautifully illustrated in soft but full colours by Sarah Trolle.

Author Becky Overeem is passionate about mental health and education, and runs her own business developing teaching and mental health resources.

Author – Becky Overeem

Illustrator – Sarah Trolle

Age – 6+

Non-Fiction

Find a copy here

Find a companion book here

(2025, Mary Egan Publishing, Aotearoa, NZ, New Zealand, Worries, Worrying, Non-Fiction)

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The tap tap at her window at night

The creaks and cracks of the whole house too

Then there are scary shadows, and ladders, balloons and more!

Another girl named Annie Venture isn’t so scared of everyday things. In fact she revels in all the things Bea fears.

Annie scales new heights with ladders

Calmly casts shadows aside

Blows balloons without popping a sweat!

But how does she do it? wonders Bea.

This hardback picture book shows two girls who are very different. Bea Ware can’t enjoy life with her fears swamping her days and nights. Annie Venture on the other hand, looks at things around her very differently.

Fearless is clever in text and illustration. The text has excellent word play that older children will appreciate, as younger siblings or students connect with the story itself.

The illustrations show waves of words. For Bea, they flow with uncertainties, but for Annie they are fun to splash in and enjoy every day.

Fearless is something different in stories about fears, worries and anxiety.

Author / Illustrator – Kelly Canby

Picture Book

(2026, Freemantle Press, Feelings, Anxiety, Worries, Courage, Resilience, Growing Up)

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At the sight of something smaller, she begins to wonder…

With her imagination ignited, she enjoys her new size, but wonders again and again what it would be like to be smaller… and smaller!

From girl size to possum size, right down to hanging out with ants, she experiences the lives of creatures much smaller than herself.

As soon as you open the cover, you know something extraordinary is happening. This rhyming story will resonate with many young children, as the main character is feeling invisible, left out and small.

When she sees someone smaller, her imagination takes her and the reader on an exciting journey within gorgeous illustrations.

With a beautiful ending this hardback, full colour picture book will leave young minds full of wonder and spark their own imaginings.

Author / Illustrator – Laura Stitzel

Picture Book – Age 4-6

(2026, Walker Books Australia, Animals, Small, Self esteem, Courage, Confidence)

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After all he lives on a bank, is very stretchy and can bounce really well.

Surely it won’t be too hard to be a frog with a job?

But no… It’s not as easy as he first thought. But maybe his search is also his answer?

A tale of perseverance and determination!

Robbit the Job-Hopping Frog is simply delightful. 

Not only is the rhyme superb, the word play is clever and the message clear.

“Never give up on your dreams!”

Author – Michael Gerard Bauer

Illustrator – Katrin Dreiling

Picture Book

More tales of Determination here

(2025, Scholastic, Animals, Frog, Amphibian, Job, Career, Funny, Humour, Clever Word Play, Job Wanted, Rhyme, Determination, Perseverance, Dreams, Never give up)

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The mince pies are delicious, the mistletoe happily hanging, and the shop pets dressed for the occasion. The last customer they expect is Santa himself!

Santa has a BIG problem. All of his reindeer have the flu. Who is going to pull the sleigh?

Mr Pottifer’s Parlour of Plants isn’t just any shop. There are magical items on these shelves. But just when they fix one problem, another comes along.

It’s back to Mr P’s for some more magic. Nothing can stop Christmas!

A large format picture book in full colour and rhyme with a magical tale to tell. Sick reindeer and rascally replacements, along with a sunk sleigh and some plant magic.

This picture book has it all. It’s funny, and full of action. There’s more than one problem to solve, and it’s a tension filled time as a special shopkeeper and friends save Christmas.

Author – Rachel Morrisroe

Illustrator – Steven Lenton

Picture Book

(2025, Penguin Books NZ, Animals, Action, Adventure, Humour, Fantasy, Magic, Christmas, Reindeer, Santa, Father Christmas, Rhyme, Snowing, Problems, Magic Seeds, Solutions, Co-operation, Positivity)

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A Kids Book About Divorce helps broach the topic before it happens or while it’s happening, all in a simple easy to understand format and text.

Beginning with a note to parents, this book helps break down the parts of divorce. The author is divorced herself, and she speaks directly to the reader.

Do they have lots of questions? Ashley answers many of them in a clear, calm way.

She explains what Marriage is first, then explains what Divorce is. Feelings can be racing around and that’s OK.

Ashley is honest about divorce, and that it can not be fixed and is not the reader’s fault in any way. There will be changes ahead, but they aren’t all bad, and explains some of the positives – from everyone’s point of view.

The format of this book (as in others in this series) guides the reader through a part of life that many young and old will experience. Its limited, simple text, with colour at appropriate times, can be read as fast or as slow as required – allowing the reader and young listener to absorb the sentence on the page, and stop and ask questions.

A Kids Book About Divorce is a helpful bridge between adult and child on this often distressing, confusing concept.

Author – Ashley Simpo

Age – 5+

(2025, Divorce, Family, Fears, Feelings, Questions, Answers, Way forward, New ways of being a family, Two homes, Series, A Kids Book)

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After trying to figure out what it actually is, they try to push it out of the way. This thing won’t go. It is Jo’s No.

Dodging it doesn’t work. Climbing it doesn’t work either.

The longer Jo’s No stays in front of them, the bigger it grows. Jo’s No is going nowhere.

After a while, the No is part of Jo – Giving shelter, and safety. Or does it? Jo decides if they are going to do anything of the things they have dreamed of, they will have to take the No too.

The braver Jo gets, the smaller the No becomes – until Jo realises what the No really is….

Nothing.

This beautifully illustrated hardback picture book portrays a wee bird creature named Jo overcoming adversity gradually but with positivity and persistence. The No is a block or an obstacle that prevents Jo from doing all they dream of, just as we all have our personal No’s. 

A No may be an outside No, from people telling you that you can’t do something.

A No may come from within, insisting you aren’t good enough, strong enough, clever enough or brave enough to do something.

But No’s are essentially nothing. A word spent in anger, envy, or coming from someone else’s inner No’s.

JO and the No is a simple but clever tale about taking control, being brave, facing fears and finding your personal path.

Author – Kyle Mewburn

Illustrator – Judy Watson

Picture Book

Find a copy here

(2025, Dirt Lane Press, West Words, NZ Author, Resilience, Building Self Confidence, Breaking down Barriers, Keep Going, Something New, Something Different, Overcoming, Problem, Adversity)

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Dad left with his belongings and Nan came to stay, tidying the broken pieces away. Frankie knew it was a special vase – a gift from Dad to Mum and used in so many special events and daily life. But now it’s gone forever.

Frankie’s not sure what to do – until Nan suggests a trip. At the end of a drive together, Nan diverts Frankie’s sadness with new experiences, then finally reveals what she wants to show her.

In front of them both, large on a museum wall, is a beautiful mosaic. Frankie realises that each piece has been made of pieces like Mama’s broken vase, and many more pieces of ceramic. Frankie can see with her own eyes, that something broken can be remade into something beautiful. Different but wonderful. New and special.

An initially sad but gentle story about a family broken along with a special vase on a day a father leaves, and a mother retreats in her sadness.

A small girl struggles with the sudden change in family dynamics as it fractures into separate pieces. The use of mosaic art in an easily understandable way to show a child that broken things can be remade – giving her another perspective on her new situation.

This gorgeous hardback is illustrated with pastel shades and gentle smiles throughout. The Mosaic is a tender way to help young children navigate family changes and parental separation.

Author – Deborah Kelly

Illustrator – Nicky Johnston

Picture Book

(2024, Exilse Publishing, EK Books, Family separation, Coping with change, Ceramicist, Art, Remaking something, Repurposing, Confusion, Upset, Dad leaving, Nan, Nana, Grandmother, Love, Family, Understanding)

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But one day the Cafe is gone. Closed. With no Miss Plum in sight. Mabel wonders where Miss Plum could be?

No more Fridays seeing Miss Plum’s smile, or her wonderful coloured icing on her cakes. Fridays will never be the same.

When Mum tells Mabel, a new cafe has opened, Mabel’s not sure about it. How could it possibly be as nice as Miss Plum’s Cafe? It won’t look the same, or smell the same. It won’t be the same at all.

Finally going to look for themselves, Mabel discovers that the change isn’t so terrible after all.

Many children don’t cope very well with changes in their young lives, preferring everything to be how it always was. It might be a huge change, like living circumstances or just something small (to us) like a beloved cafe closing down to be replaced by another.

Repetition is calming and known, but change can be scary. The name of a favourite cafe changes, the interior, the food and the people inside are all going to be different, and these thoughts upset main character Mabel. To her it feels like this special place to visit each week with her mum has been taken away, with no fault of her own.

Patience from her mum and courage and resilience from Mabel soon proves that everything is going to be okay after all.

A great book to approach the topic of changes, big and small, with young children.

Author – Kaye Baillie

Illustrator – Kirrili Lonergan

Picture Book

(2024, Exisle Publishing, EK Books, Cookies, Biscuits, Baking, Copings with Changes, Resilience, Friendship, Community, Local Characters)

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A competition is coming up, and when her coach sees her successful ride in, he suggests it to her. At first Lisa thinks the Ōhope Surf Carnival is too big a deal to enter, but her mum and dad are encouraging too.

Lisa begins to train – with her coach, weights, paddling and talking to the best in the club, wahine toa Māia. Māia explains the best thing to do when training for something is to “…show up.”

But when Lisa gets a fright in the waves, she’s not keen to get back out in the water. With patience and her parent’s kind advice, Lisa ventures back into training.

Soon the day of the Carnival arrives. Is Lisa ready?

By NZ’s most successful Olympian – Dame Lisa Carrington DNZM. But Dame Lisa had to work hard to get her title and Olympic Medals. This picture book takes the reader back to where it all began.

At only eight years old, Lisa was already pretty good on her surf ski in the waves at the beach. A nudge by her surf club coach and encouragement from her parents and older brothers to enter a paddling competition kicked things off. New Zealand knows where that led her.

This is a full colour picture book, and each spread features Lisa in action and Colin the family dog. Can you spot him?

The illustrations portray Lisa’s training journey, her loss of confidence and how she finds it again. Scott Pearson’s clean, precise style is full of movement, emotion and things to look at.

Finishing with a personal note from Lisa Carrington herself, this is sure to be a hit for any young reader with a goal in mind.

Author – Lisa Carrington

Illustrator – Scott Pearson

Picture Book for all ages

(2024, Huia Publishers, Surf Club, Paddling, Olympian, Olympic Champion, NZ, New Zealand, Aotearoa, Beach, Waves, Surf Ski, Competition, Surf Carnival, Confidence knock, Training, Perseverance, Hard Work, Goal, Ōhope, Encouragement, Coach, Parents, Big Brothers, Sport)

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If only it didn’t come with so many complaints!

• No one likes Monday’s because the weekend has ended.
• They have to go to school.
• They have to go to work.

Everyone knows Monday is the pits, but Monday doesn’t know what to do about it. Until….

She gets a great idea! Why not swap places with one of the other days of the week?!

But there are no takers. Tuesday has yummy things to eat, Wednesday likes being in the middle and Friday just laughs at her. What is Monday to do?

Maybe if she changed her name? But no, everyone knew exactly where Monday was supposed to be. But one day on a Monday, Monday got some mail. It didn’t look like her normal mail…

Suddenly she could see that not everyone hates Mondays!

A bright and colourful book about overthinking other people’s perceptions of you. It’s easy for Monday to believe all the negative stuff she hears about herself, but soon she discovers that not everyone thinks the same.

Negative feelings are so much heavier than positive ones, especially when they outweigh the good stuff. This is a great way to show young children not to just think and believe that others only think badly of them. They are the perceptions and views that should be forgotten – and the positive ones be let to shine.

Confidence in identity is getting harder and harder, for younger and younger children. If only there were more books like this to help children have more belief in themselves earlier, to help build them up and strengthen their self confidence for life. This is to be proud of who they are and to value their own individuality.

Author – Kelly Lee

Illustrator – Amy Calautti

Age – 4+

(2024, EK Books, Exisle Publishing, Identity, Self Confidence, Perceptions, Positivity, Negativity, Individuality, Self Esteem, Self Acceptance, Confidence)

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Inside this tin are three small dolls. One has her own hat and matching dress, and a bag too. One holds a bird in her hands and in her hair. The last doll has long tresses, and wears a tie and pants.

When Isla is feeling down, the dolls always make her feel better. She’s been trying to achieve something but falls short each time she tries. It’s time for the flowery tin.

Isla’s mum begins to describe the person each doll represents. Three grandmothers.

Great great grandmother Sarah, who crossed an ocean for her family.

Great grandmother Phyllis helped feed hungry soldiers.

…and Isla’s grandmother – Gaga. She wanted a job that everyone told her was only for boys. But she did it anyway.

After talking to her mum, and hearing about her courageous grandmothers, Isla knew she had to tackle her challenge again. This time she remembers her inspiring grandmothers, overcoming their own obstacles.

Can Isla do it too?

Beginning with sumptuous endpapers (Exisle Books always do) The Doll Box is illustrated in full colour. These images capture young Isla’s curiosity and imagination in the early pages.

They also portray Isla’s consternation at a challenge she can’t quite complete. Other children seem to achieve it so easily, and she’s frustrated at herself. But her mama’s dolls in a flowery blue tin always help.

These dolls are true treasures within the family. Isla learns about each one, and the reader meets Isla’s grandmothers in both sepia tones for the past, and in full colour illustrations.

This is a story of strong women achieving their dreams, stepping up to huge challenges and being strong for their families. This legacy of strength lives on in Isla. Girl power at its best.

Author – Deborah Kelly

Illustrator – Joanna Bartel

Picture Book

(2024, Girl Power, Role Models, Strong women, Family, Grandparents, Generations, Grandmothers, Nana’s, Grans, Inspiring, Courage, Brave, Getting things done, Dreams)

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We are made up of a plethora of feelings and states of mind, and What Feelings do When No One’s Looking is positively adorable.

Each page shows a quirky wee monster as a feeling. Curiosity has long ears stretched up above him as he sits on top of a tall chimney after scaling a cobbled together ladder.

Anxiety lives in a small tin can in a dark corner under a wardrobe – only their eyes visible.

Patience tends a beautiful garden with a content wee smile and a watering can, and my personal favourite – Delight is a monster running with a huge smile on her face, keen to show another a newly discovered book.

Each monster perfectly captures these feelings from sad, to mad and everything in between. Each page is a joy to discover, and my own feelings were triggered by each image.

This is a book to be enjoyed by both the reader and a little one on their knee. Meeting each monster is the first step, opening a door into chats about feelings and how the monsters show them.

Loved it!

Author – Tina Oziewicz

Illustrator – Aleksandra Zajac

Picture Book

(2024, Allen & Unwin, Feelings, States of Mind, Read Aloud, Adorable Monsters, Being)

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• Grandma, Bampi and all her cousins are coming to her party
• There will be presents to open and a yummy birthday cake to eat

Everything was going to be perfect.

One day before her birthday, it begins to snow. Just a little at first, then some more and then a LOT!

How will her family come to her party if the roads are blocked?

How will the postman get through to deliver any presents?

All Bea’s anticipation becomes a huge chunk of disappointment, and then breaks into pieces.

This wasn’t how her birthday was MEANT to be.

Luckily, Bea has a big brother, her Mum and Dad right there with her on her birthday, with another version in mind. Bea’s disappointments slowly melt away and all her wrongs become right again.

Looking forward to something is fun, but can be devastating if anticipation is very high and something goes wrong.

Things beyond anyone’s control can hijack an important event or activity. Being able to pick yourself up and turn a perceived catastrophe into something positive or even wonderful, is possible. Especially with loved ones around you to help and talk you about your feelings.

Building resilience in young children will help in many situations in their busy lives, when things don’t quite go to plan.

Bea’s Bad Day is another book in the bright Big Bright Feelings series by Tom Percival.

This series is a perfect gateway into difficult situations and the feelings they can bring, helping with “mental and emotional health, positive self-image, building self-confidence and managing feelings.”

Author / Illustrator – Tom Percival

Picture Book

Age – 4+

(2024, Bloomsbury, Series, Feelings, Resilience, Disappointments, Birthday, Missing out, Expectations, Anticipation, Lookin forward to something, Broken plans, Sibling kindness, Family, Love)

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At first Pig is quite content curled up in her pen, but when she wakes there is even more rain, and the wind is blowing things over.

Her farmer comes to get her and put her inside the shed which is higher than her pen. Unfortunately it isn’t high enough! Pig decides to find a better place to wait out the storm. She swims through swirling, muddy, water, inside then outside, then inside again. She finally finds a soggy place above the water and gets a well earned rest.

Pig doesn’t know how far she has swum, but when a smiling man finds her inside a bedroom after the storm, he is very surprised indeed.

Based on a real pig that earned the name Lucky after its brave survival swimming feat during Cyclone Gabrielle in NZ 2023.

Lucky now lives with the author and her family after they found her in their flooded home. After losing so much, this small brave pig brought smiles to all, and a wonderful story to tell. Cyclone Gabrielle was one of New Zealand’s worst weather events, causing a National State of Emergency – only the 3rd ever in NZ history.

The author’s family were among many to lose everything to the flooding and she struggled to find any stories that might help her children. She is hoping that The Lucky Little Pig may do that for others if needed in the future.

Positivity is woven into Pig’s story as she talks herself through her mission to find a safe place, and then thinks of the positives before she is found. She too knows she is lucky and suits her new name.

The story of Lucky the Little Pig softens a traumatic situation for both animals and people, whilst Deborah Hinde’s gorgeous illustrations portray the event in an authentic manner.

There is a page in the rear of the book dedicated to coping mechanisms after trauma, and caring for yourself and loved ones. These can be in simple every day ways or through the professional services listed.

Author – Stacey Smith

Illustrator – Deborah Hinde

Picture Book

(2024, Aotearoa New Zealand, National State of Emergency, Storm, Cyclone, Flooding, Disaster, Animals, Pig, Positivity, Resilience, Gratitude, Surprise, Dealing with Trauma, Determination, Action, Courage, Real Life)

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There are mums, dads and children. There are children with just a mum, or a dad, or even grandparents. Sometimes a parent can be replaced with an aunt or uncle coming to stay, or sometimes families blend together.

Some families have two dads. Some have two mums. Some have uncles, aunts, cousins, grandparents, step siblings, sisters and brothers all together!

No matter how BIG the family, or how small, they are still a family. It doesn’t matter if they go out to work or work from home, or stay home to do all the jobs to be done. It doesn’t matter if families live far apart – seeing each other on a screen until they can be together again. Or if a parent leaves to live somewhere else – they are all still families.

This can be confusing when a child’s world changes, even if family members explain what is happening. Emotions can run wild through family members, but one thing stays true. Everyone’s family is different, and no matter what happens, there are members of every family who still love their children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins and siblings.

Illustrated in soft colours and with gentle expressions on the folk within its pages, Some Families Change is a wonderful way to explain to small children that change is normal and they will be okay.

It travels through the plethora of changes that can happen within families and all the different scenarios a child may be facing. It is also great for children to recognise other people’s family make-ups and see that is also okay.

The rhyming text flows beautifully and is clear on the page. I can imagine a child reading this through with a loved one at bedtime and learning the rhyme themselves as a balm for any worries before sleep.

Gorgeous.

Author – Jess Galatola

Illustrator – Jenni Barraund

Picture Book

For more books about Change in children’s lives look here

(2024, EK Books, Exisle Publishing, Families, Family, Whanau, Changes at home, Two Dads, Two Mums, Difference, Different families, Love, Belonging, Diverse families, Step brothers, Step sisters, Split families, Single Parents, Raised by grandparents, Emotions, Feelings)

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Covered in eczema, tiny Mitchell scratched and scratched, even with covers on his hands and feet. But he never stopped smiling.

As he grew, Mitchell and his parents discovered ways to soothe Mitchell’s red, itchy skin. Special creams, lukewarm baths and cotton clothes helped a lot. His cat falling in the bath – didn’t!

Sometimes Mitchell’s skin became fire-engine red and sore at the same time. His doctor was always on hand to help too. Certain things made Mitchell itch even more, like milk, eggs, washing powders and dust. But Mitchell kept smiling anyway.

The worst things for Mitchell was teasing at school, and adults saying… “Don’t scratch!” But Mitchell couldn’t help it.

The best times for Mitchell were school holidays at the beach and when he was learning and playing his guitar with his uncle. In fact, playing his guitar becomes like a super power among his peers. When he plays, he’s still smiling, and so are others around him.

Mitchell Itches – An Eczema Story follows a boy called Mitchell from birth to school days. He and his family become experts on how to calm Mitchell’s eczema and with it, his scratching.

This story not only shows all these tricks and tips they learn to help Mitchell, but how Mitchell feels when others comment or call him names. Both children and adults can harm eczema sufferers with their words. Normal things around the home or at school trigger Mitchell’s eczema and this story also allows young readers to understand it, and in turn take away the fear and misconceptions of seeing itchy, flaky skin.

Mitchell is a normal boy who loves soccer, his family, and playing the guitar, and with his persistence, finally shows those around him that he is more than just his eczema.

Author – Kristin Kelly

Illustrator – Amelia Jones

Picture Book

Find Teacher’s Notes here

(2024, Exisle Publishing, Skin Condition, Eczema, Misunderstandings, Misconceptions, Bullying, Name Calling, Guitar, Confidence, Distraction, Courage, Triggers, Stresses, Resilience, Self-Care, Symptoms)

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When she invites Duck to join them he replies as expected…

Meow!

The first lesson is how to wash. Those tricky places behind the ears are the first place they learn about. The kitten’s follow Mama Cat’s instructions. And so does Duck.

Climbing is next. Kittens use their claws. Duck doesn’t have claws, but he doesn’t give it a second thought. He has his own way of climbing.

Stalking. Waiting. Pouncing are next on the list. Landing isn’t quite Duck’s thing, but maybe he just needs more practice.

Eating is certainly not a problem and Duck aces that. He loves his Cat lessons.

But then others begin to laugh…

Duck’s confidence is a little shaken. Maybe he is too different?

Mama Cat is not far away, ready to smooth Duck’s feathers and fears.

A follow up story to the award winning book – Duck Goes Meow.

This time Duck is not just sounding like a cat, but learning the finer points of being one.

A perfect rhyming, reading-on-knee picture book to share, whilst also touching on self confidence.

Author – Juliette MacIver

Illustrator – Carla Martell

Picture Book

Find more reviews of Juliette MacIver books here

(2024, Scholastic NZ, Animals, Duck, Cats, NZ Author, New Zealand Illustrator, Aotearoa, Mothering, Teaching, Learning new skills, Humour, Cute, Self Confidence, Bullies, Be Yourself, Series, Fitting In, Resilience, Self-Esteem, Identity)

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Born in 1941 in Chester England, she came with her family to New Zealand when she was very young. At nine she moved from Christchurch to New Plymouth  where she was a gifted student.

She soon raced ahead of her peers, wanting more and more advanced books on physics, with a growing interest in astronomy. Questions filled her mind about the universe. How old is it? How many stars are there? What is the Milky Way?

Her studies of physics and mathematics and music took her through school and a degree. Love was part of her life too, and she married and moved to the US, still keen to continue her studies and research.

Her time in the US was busy with her studies, children and married life. But her true passion was always the cosmos and how it worked. Despite those who disagreed with her theories, “Beatrice became known as the leading expert on the evolution of galaxies.”

“You can do anything if you put your mind to it” – Beatrice Hill Tinsley

This talented team has done it again – bringing an exceptional New Zealander to the fore and sharing their life with young kiwis.

This time is it a gifted woman scientist whose work and research on the cosmos has been heralded around the world. It wasn’t an easy road for Beatrice by any means, but Maria Gill & Alistair Hughes have portrayed Hill Tinsley’s short but extraordinary life beautifully in another narrative non-fiction picture book.

The established style of this duo allows young readers to learn about topics and people through story and illustration, capturing important milestones and discoveries throughout the book. 

As always there are extra facts in the rear of this picture book:

• A list of buildings, streets, laboratories and prizes named after Beatrice Hill Tinsley
• A time-line of her life
• A glossary of terms used throughout the story.

Perfect for a class study of famous New Zealanders who achieved incredible things to benefit us all.

Author – Maria Gill

Illustrator – Alistair Hughes

Narrative Non-Fiction / Picture Book

Age – 6+

Find more Narrative Non-Fiction by Maria Gill & Alistair Hughes here

(2024, Upstart Press, New Zealand Author, New Zealand Illustrator, Aotearoa, Cosmos, Universe, Space, Science, Female Scientist, Stars, Galaxies, Astronomy, Challenges, Determination, Studies, Physics, Mathematics, Stars, Outstanding New Zealanders, Historical)

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