THE GROOVE BOOK REPORT

You may have heard Johanna Emeney, senior tutor in creative writing at Massey University, on Jesse Mulligan's Afternoon radio programme on RNZ .  She's a prominent voice on the Aotearoa Poetry scene.  'Felt' is her third release. It references her rural life, where she lives on back country lifestyle block along others, including her husband and a wild menagerie of farm animals. Her third collection of poetry, 'Felt', engages with an inhabited world.  The word 'felt' moves fluidly from fabric to the senses - relationships can be 'felt', materials can be 'felt' or touched.  The home made felt goat you see on the cover suggests this is a book about textiles.  I think of the handcraft marketing site www.felt.co.nz .  I think of those old time crafts that hold all the stories captured and told whilst garments were sewn or items made.  Women in particular would sit in circles or in groups talking and creating, knitting, cross stitch, flax-maki...

First established in 1997, National Poetry Day is a one-day national poetry event extravaganza held on a Friday in late August each year. In 2021, the date for Phantom National Poetry Day is Friday 27th August. It's an event that always has something for everybody, from seasoned poets, to total newbies, to the simply-a-bit-curious! 2020's celebration turned out to be the most unique and intrepid National Poetry Day so far, with numerous in-person events supplemented by many online and socially-distanced endeavours! The magic and excitement of poetry always pervades the day, with the poetry community turning out in droves to discover New Zealand poets, share poetry, and experience the joy of the written and spoken word. Sadly, due to Lockdown most events in person and on stage are cancelled but there are still things going on.   Head to the facebook page, where you can check in and engage:  https://www.facebook.com/NZPoetryDay/ There’s no better time than lockdown to luxur...

Britain's largest reading charity The Book Trust recently published their own version of the best 100 books for children.  This book might not quite make the classics list yet but if the criteria includes memories of play and interaction between caregivers and kids then, yes, it should also be on that list.  This book is perfect to read to tamariki, with the youngsters sounding out all the monsters' roars and rarrs!   "RARR! I’m a dragon. I can roar! I can fly! I can swish my tail! And I can make fire in my mouth... RRAAAARRR! Because that’s what DRAGONS do!" The wild and imaginative play of two little girls before bedtime gets more and more rowdy, with everything from dragons to fire trucks to cupcake fairies and digger-dumper drivers and spaceships... until in comes Daddy to tuck them in and turn out the light... because that’s what DADDIES do!   Well, mine does! If one of the criteria is engagement, then this book ticks the box. The language is straigh...

It's a simple tale of egos and humility.  Heroes come about because of what they do, not what they say.  It's an age old story, created for our youngest readers and listeners. Starfish had recently made up his mind he was really a 'star' of the famous kind.  So he spent all his days stuck to the glass, craving the looks of people who passed. Starfish lives in a tank with Seahorse, Jellyfish, Clownfish and Ray.  He longs for fame and makes sure to push his aquarium companions to the back of the tank so he can be the star of the show.  Then one day, a crack in the tank threatens all of the occupants. Only Starfish can stop the water rushing out. But it's in the dark recesses of the tank.  Is Starfish willing to forego stardom to save the day?  Well the answer is obvious.  Of, course he is.  He saves the day, as expected, with some reluuctance.  But it's all worthwhile.  And, of course he emerges, the star.   No real plot twi...

Winner of Storylines' Joy Cowley Award, first time author Tania Sickling and illustrator Lael Chisholm have created a charming and simple story book for young readers and listeners, that is delightful, bright, rhyming fun, with just a little bit too much sillyness. "The thing about Grandpa, which you'd never guess from the way he talks, or his manner of dress, is he is mad for a contest.  He can't stand to lose! He has lighteningfast feet in those comfortable shoes."  so goes the introduction to this quirky story.  A competitive Grandpa challenges the kids to run up the hill to the playground, to be the first to tryout the new swings.   But Grandpa is just a little bit too big for the 'child-sized' bucket seats of the swing and he gets caught.  After much huffing and wrenching, he manages to get even further stuck.  Granma and her trusty tool kit to the rescue, to save the day and free him from the shackles of this undersized seating entrapment.  ...

Lined with shelves of second-hand books, this is retro retail at its best. Welcome to Cathleen Murphy’s little slice of Utopia- cheap books, lots of classics and Kiwi titles. A bookshop dream slow-brewed over several decades of avid book collecting and frequent visits to church book fairs.  It also comes from a need to move books on, with necessity being the mother of invention. Several years ago, the family home was being repaired after the Christchurch earthquakes.  Cathleen’s large and growing book collection was becoming an overwhelming proposition. impossible to ignore. Stocking a shop wasn't a problem.  Finding a comfortable unpretentious place in the city was difficult, especially as Christchurch was in rebuild mode. After much hunting, Cathleen finally  this cute little retro caravan on Trade Me, perfectly laid out for a shop.  Built in the 1950s by an Otago resident, the caravan had originally served as honeymoon accommodation,  towed a...