The Children's Bookshop

We are celebrating Cleft Awareness Week with a fabulous event on Saturday. Come and enjoy these new books, developed with input from NZ children with cleft, and with Cleft New Zealand.

When Coach’s whistle goes missing and the football team can’t practise, Ollie and his new friend, Āria, lead the search. There are clues about where the whistle might be and who took it – missing shoelaces, a dropped leaf and twig, some mud and a chewed net. It takes a while for the rest of the team to follow Ollie, who’s got great detective skills, as they find him hard to understand because of his cleft. But Āria’s used to identifying bird calls, and she encourages their teammates to really listen. Together, they learn about each other’s strengths, teamwork and acceptance, and they find the whistle in a surprising place.

This book delves into some of the feelings children with a cleft may experience and aims to open up a conversation. It includes a section with quotes from the youth advisory group about living with a cleft and information about what a cleft is and where to find support.

Huia Publishers

We’ve already had our first customer in today to buy Hot Mess, book 19 of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series.
Greg Heffley is in for a particularly awkward summer with his whole family. The pressure is building for Greg, who discovers that when you mix heaps of family, a tiny beach house, and sweltering heat, it’s a recipe for disaster. Speaking of recipes—the secret ingredients behind Gramma’s famous meatballs have been closely guarded for years. Can Greg unpack all of his family’s mysteries before their vacation is over? Or will he just stir the pot?
This sidesplittingly relatable summer story is the funniest Wimpy Kid book yet!

Visit The Children's Bookshop on Aotearoa NZ Bookshop Day - that’s today, Saturday 12 October, and you might be a lucky winner. Thanks to our publishers who have given us books.
Macmillan Publishers Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand Penguin Kids NZ HarperCollins Publishers New Zealand

🎉 Make a purchase at The Children's Bookshop on Aotearoa NZ Bookshop Day (Saturday 12 October) and go into the draw to win movie tickets for two people to see Runt. There will be 2 winners (that’s tickets for 4 people). We will draw the winners at the end of the day.

Runt is a heart-warming, funny, beautifully told story for readers (and now movie goers) of all ages.
Annie Shearer lives in the country town of Upson Downs with her best friend, an adopted stray dog called Runt. The two share a very special bond.

After years evading capture, Runt is remarkably fast and agile, perfect for herding runaway sheep. But when a greedy local landowner puts her family's home at risk, Annie directs Runt's extraordinary talents towards a different pursuit - winning the Agility Course Grand Championship at the lucrative Krumpets Dog Show in London.

However, there is a curious catch: Runt will only obey Annie's commands if nobody else is watching. With all eyes on them, Annie and Runt must beat the odds and the fastest dogs in the world to save her farm.

Runt is a heart-warming and hilarious tale of kindness, friendship, hurdles, hoops, tunnels, see-saws, being yourself and bringing out the best in others.

&unwin nz

🎉 We have ten Personal Penguins (a miniature penguin figurine) to give away on Bookshop Day (that’s Saturday 12 October) to the first ten customers who purchase any two Penguin books. The penguins are so cute!📚

🎉Be the first to find the Golden Ticket hidden in The Children's Bookshop on Saturday 12 October, and win 12 free audiobook credits to use at www.libro.fm. 📚

🎉Come and visit us tomorrow, there are many competitions and giveaways happening as we celebrate Aotearoa NZ Bookshop Day. We will post details one promotion at a time, so we don’t get confused!! We are open 9 to 4. 📚

Win tickets for 2 people to attend The Wild Robot at an Events Cinema. Make a purchase in store or online before 4pm Saturday 28 September. Buy a copy from The Wild Robot series for an extra competition entry.

Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy has come to play! Buy any 2 Hairy Maclary books in store or online and you can take your own little Hairy Maclary home.
While stock lasts.
Thanks to Penguin Kids NZ.

Go on an illuminating journey through the evolution of knowledge and communication with the debut non-fiction book by best-selling author Chris Haughton.

Discover how the ways we share and store information have shaped and changed the world in this utterly unique book. A fascinating read for both children and adults. What is it that makes technology improve rather than stay static or even fall into decline? The answer is information.

We love this Learn Through Play series - puzzles, games and board books promoting the use of simple sentences in Māori and English.

Yesterday was a very exciting day for The Children's Bookshop. Usually you can find us all in Kilbirnie, but yesterday we were spread across 3 venues selling books as well as at the shop.
We enjoyed being at Johnsonville Library where students from preschools and schools were entertained by Sacha Cotter and Josh Morgan, creators of Dazzlehands performing the story, then had the opportunity to hear from two illustrators and an author of picture book finalists, as part of the AMAZING Wellington City Libraries programme Books Alive Wellington.
At the same time we were having a blast at National Library, the main site of Books Alive Wellington, where 750 students came through to meet authors and illustrators, in lightning talks, drawing presentations, creative writing workshops, and behind the book seminars.
Customers found us in our usual Kilbirnie shop, where just one staff member was bravely holding the fort.
In the evening we all met up at Pipitea Marae, where the NZ Book Awards for Children & Young Adults 2024 ceremony was held. What a wonderful time we had celebrating the winners.

Image via New Zealand Book Awards Trust

Head to New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, find this post and add your photo of one of the magnificent books nominated for next week’s awards. Or make your own post and tag it with . Either way, be in to win a book!

It’s a bit cold and grey out there but it is warm and bright at The Children’s Bookshop. Come on down at 2 this afternoon to help Trace Moroney launch her new title, My Feel Good Book.
Local Trace Moroney is an internationally acclaimed children's author and illustrator. Her books have sold more than 10 million copies worldwide and have been translated into over 22 languages in 29 countries. Trace is extremely passionate about creating beautiful children's books with meaningful content, that show examples of creating positive thought about everyday situations and emotions our children experience.
Come and celebrate with us, enjoy fun activities and free giveaways, and hear Trace read from her new book which is about having a positive mindset, searching for and seeing the good in life.

Rimu: The Tree of Time has just arrived. The sequel to Amorangi and Millie’s Trip through Time today, and another great read.

Travelling back in time to do your homework really is a terrible idea. On the way to school, Amorangi realises he forgot to bring an old object to show his class. Luckily, he and his sister, Millie, know how to go back in time to get something. Unluckily, things go wrong as soon as they arrive in the past, when they cause their beloved rimu to be chopped down – with tragic consequences.
Then begins an adventure that takes them to some of the most dramatic moments in Aotearoa New Zealand’s history. From the Tarawera eruption to the Wahine disaster and the New Zealand Wars, Amorangi and Millie fight to restore the rimu – and save themselves. Will they be able to put things right before it's too late?

We have a fabulous range of Tintin books. AND a Snowy toy looking for a home. Buy 2 Tintin books in the shop or online and go into the draw to win Snowy. Winner will be drawn on Sunday 21 July.

David Williams’ first graphic novel, Astrochimp, is fresh out on our shelves today! Walliams’ fans will recognise the style of the artwork in Astrochimp, because his artist collaborator is Adam Stower, who has illustrated many of his books, including Robodog.

A laugh-out-loud animal space adventure.

NASA’s scientists thought Chump the chimpanzee would be the PERFECT chimp to send into space. Little did Chump know that he had been selected for a deadly-dangerous mission. If a chimp could orbit Earth, then chances were a human could too.

With Chump the chimp at the controls of a spacecraft, what could possibly go wrong? As it turned out, EVERYTHING.

Blast off with Chump, and encounter dog space pirates, evil insects, and the silliest chimpanzee who ever lived in this wildly funny space opera, fully illustrated in fantastic colour.