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The Enchanted Hour: The Miraculous Power of Reading Aloud in the Age of Distraction By Meghan Cox Gurdon The Enchanted Hour highlights the transformative social, neurological, and emotional benefits of reading aloud within families. Backed by neuroscience and behavioural research, Meghan Cox Gurdon demonstrates how shared reading can be a remedy for modern digital distractions, […]
All the time, Every time, All of us, Everywhere! The intentional transformation of a failing school By Iain Taylor Leadership is the beating heart of every successful school. The story of Iain Taylor’s journey at Manurewa Intermediate is not only a great read, it is also a beacon of optimism in an educational landscape that […]
A cat detective, a girl band, and a slice of our sporting history are some of the subjects covered in the 2025 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. Detective Beans and the Case of the Missing Hat Author and illustrator: Li Chen Publisher: Penguin Random House Australia 2024 Winner, Junior Fiction, 2025 […]
Earth Matters: Two innovative New Zealand non-fiction books encourage children and young people to reimagine our cities and explore the natural world under our noses. Ultrawild: An Audacious Plan to Rewild Every City on Earth Author and illustrator: Steve Mushin Allen and Unwin 2023 Is it possible to crush climate change and save the planet […]
A twelve-year-old girl exploring her Māori roots and an anxious eleven-year-old boy trying to save his rural school are the heroes of two top New Zealand books of junior fiction for 2024. Nine Girls Stacey Gregg (Ngati Mahuta, Ngati Pukeko, Ngati Maru Hauraki) Penguin Random House NZ Blonde, 12-year-old Titch’s world is turned upside down […]
Pat Martin and Pip Desmond review the picture books short-listed for the 2024 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. There’s a bedtime story about the beach, a search-and-find mission with a message, a girl who’s afraid of the dark, a rebellious pig and – the winner – a spirited young Māori boy’s […]
What is the force that draws people to become teachers? What drives them? What motivates them to leap out of bed each morning, eager to start another day in the classroom? Crucially, what is it that keeps them in the profession? What keeps them returning after every term holiday to begin another classroom adventure with […]
This is a remarkable story of courage and success against the odds. Teachers need to read this. They will learn from it, and many will change their approaches to children who struggle with their learning. It became clear to Whanganui born author Sarah Platt, at a very early age, that she could not read or […]
A Cautionary Tale Martin Thrupp, Springer International Publishing, 2018 Lester Flockton Professor Martin Thrupp has proven himself to be a researcher of integrity who is committed to uncompromised truth when investigating and responding to Government education policies and associated policy machinations. There are few of his ilk in our country, so he is particularly well […]
Adapted from a review by Bruce Hammonds In the 1980s a new political ideology infiltrated Anglo American countries. It was a time of dramatic change as democratic welfare states were gradually replaced by what has come to be known as the ‘Market Forces’ approach. This approach is based on small government, valuing self-interest, privatisation, competition, […]
