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‘Aotearoa: The New Zealand Story’ named book of the year at 2018 NZ Book Awards for Children and YA

Christchurch writer and illustrator Gavin Bishop’s Aotearoa: The New Zealand Story (Penguin) has won the Margaret Mahy Book of the Year and the Elsie Locke Award for Nonfiction at this year’s New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults.

It was described by the judges as a ‘landmark title which will stand the test of time’.

‘It’s masterful in its execution—a work of art that bears repeated and thoughtful reading and viewing of its vibrant and informative illustrations, a book of enduring significance in the canon of New Zealand children’s literature. We’ve seen nothing quite like it in New Zealand children’s publishing,’ said convener of judges Jeannie Skinner.

The full list of winning titles is:

Margaret Mahy Book of the Year (NZ$7500, A$6750)

  • Aotearoa: The New Zealand Story (Gavin Bishop, Picture Puffin)

Picture Book Award (NZ$7500, A$6750)

  • I am Jellyfish (Ruth Paul, Picture Puffin)

Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction (NZ$7500, A$6750)

  • How to Bee (Bren MacDibble, A&U)

Young Adult Fiction (NZ$7500, A$6750)

  • In the Dark Spaces (Cally Black, Hardie Grant Egmont)

Elsie Locke Award for Nonfiction (NZ$7500, A$6750)

  • Aotearoa: The New Zealand Story (Gavin Bishop, Penguin)

Russell Clark Award for Illustration (NZ$7500, A$6750)

  • Giants, Trolls, Witches, Beasts (Craig Phillips, A&U)

Te Kura Pounamu Award for books written completely in te reo Māori (NZ$7500, A$6750)

  • Tu Meke Tūī! (Malcolm Clarke, illus by Hayley King, trans by Evelyn Tobin, Mary Egan Publishing).

Best First Book Award (NZ$2000, A$1800)

  • My New Zealand Story: Dawn Raid (Pauline Smith, Scholastic NZ).

The winners were announced at a ceremony in Wellington on 8 August.

For more information about the awards, click here.

 

Category: Awards Junior Local news