New Zealand Book Awards for Children & Young Adults 2025 Shortlist

Well-known media personalities, bestselling authors and previous awards winners are among the extremely strong shortlist of 32 titles for the 2025 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. https://www.nzbookawards.nz/new-zealand-book-awards-for-children-and-young-adults/2025-awards/shortlist/

Updated June 18, 2025
K
Kōtui New Plymouth Libraries
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New Zealand Book Awards for Children & Young Adults 2025 Shortlist

Well-known media personalities, bestselling authors and previous awards winners are among the extremely strong shortlist of 32 titles for the 2025 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. https://www.nzbookawards.nz/new-zealand-book-awards-for-children-and-young-adults/2025-awards/shortlist/

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Beddy-bye time in the k?whai tree
MacIver, Juliette
Paper Book
"A bedtime story with a mix of the familiar bathtime to bedtime routine and a sprinkling of moonlit magic. Six taniwha, all looking at me, sing "Beddy-bye time in the bubbly-white sea. Its almost bedtime and a young child counts objects, including kerer¿±, taniwha, kea and sheep"--Publisher...
Mataali'i
Malaeulu, Dahlia.
Paper Book
"Fet¿±, the youngest sister of a unique family of matai, and her connection to her siblings becomes a guiding light for her village and a reminder of the enduring power of iga, duty and hope for the future. Mataalíi weaves a story rich in Samoan cultural values, blending early duties with ancestral...
Ten Nosy Weka
Preece, Kate.
Paper Book
Learn basic words and numbers in the Moriori and Maori languages in this gorgeous book about ten nosy weka. Watch the cheeky weka as they peck at ngarara (ngarara - insects), squeeze under a farm gate, and tease a tchuna (tuna - eel). Let's hope these curious weka can find their way back to their...
Titiro Look
Bishop, Gavin.
Paper Book
"A member of the extended family looks directly at the reader alongside a familiar toy. Labels give the Mori and English words for what we see: colours, shapes, eyes, ears, nose, hair-and there are more connections to find in every illustration pair"--Publishers website.
Brown Bird
Arthur, Jane.
Paper Book
Eleven-year-old Rebecca tries to make herself invisible so people won't call her weird. Resigned to spending the holidays by herself in a new neighbourhood while her mum works long hours at the supermarket, she meets Chester, who has come to stay for the summer. He is loud and fun and full of ideas....
Detective Beans and the Case of the Missing Hat
Chen, Li.
Paper Book
Detective Beans is available 24/7* for all your mystery solving and ice-cream taste testing needs. * Except on school days, and after bedtime. Today he's investigating the case of the missing hat. His missing hat. The clues take Beans all over Cat Town. He...
The Apprentice Witnesser
MacDibble, Bren.
Paper Book
Bastienne Scull is nearly twelve years old and lives a simple life as an apprentice to the Witnesser of Miracles in a small village mostly populated by women and girls. Basti knows that miracle-hunting is a lot like mystery-solving, and her little world is full of wonder and intrigue and unexpected...
The Raven's Eye Runaways
Mabey, Claire.
Paper Book
A gripping, beautifully-told fantasy quest set in a parallel medieval world. Three friends and a one-eyed raven find themselves up against the rulers who restrict the gifts of writing and reading to an elite few. They must go on a wild and...
The Case of the Missing Stuff
King, Rachael.
Paper Book
Violet Grumble, twelve-year-old rock star in the making, forms a band with a ragtag group of friends. Against all odds, can they win a chance to compete at BandChamps?
Bear
Lightfoot, Kiri.
Paper Book
The powerful, humorous yet sensitive story of Jasper, a talented young artist, who learns to face his anger.
Gracehopper: 2024
Hager, Mandy.
Paper Book
Eighteen-year-old Grace has struggled all her life with her place in this family and in the world. Obviously of Asian descent, she has been unable to get the truth about her parentage from her mother, a woman who is struggling with her own demons, that date back to her life in Taiwan where she...
Migration
Matuku, Steph
Paper Book
Farah of Untwa joins a school for training fighters, strategic thinkers and military personnel. It means she escapes her domineering mother and the tedious duties that come with being from a Ngati in the upper echelons of society. But at the school, Farah, an intuitive, is teamed up with fighter...
Dear Moko
Paper Book
Bestselling author of Aroha and respected Maori psychiatrist Dr Hinemoa Elder has written a special collection of whakataukī for tamariki mokopuna. Puanga kai rau.Puanga, the star signalling a time of the year with plenty of food.New...
Ruru, Night Hunter
Furze, Katie.
Paper Book
"Meet Ruru, a bird of the night and a silent Night Hunter! Dusk creeps. Birds peep. Ruru opens his eyes, stretches his wings, and calls ... More-pork! More-pork! Ruru, also known as a morepork, is Aotearoa New Zealands only surviving species of native owl. This book, set in an urban landscape,...
The Treaty of Waitangi: Te Tiriti o Waitangi
Calman, Ross.
Paper Book
'The story of The Treaty of Waitangi/Te Tiriti o Waitangi is one of the greatest in New Zealand history. It marks the moment British and Maori history intersected and a new nation was formed. In The Treaty of Waitangi, Ross Calman outlines the impact of the Treaty from early contact between Maori...
Poem for Ataahua
Te Ariki Campbell, Alistair.
Paper Book
"Alistair Te Ariki Campbell (1925-2009) is one of the great poets of Oceania. Poem for Ataahua is a poem Alistair wrote for his granddaughter. In this book artist Sarah Wilkins shares her vision of this poem for a new generation of children and young people"--Publisher.
You Can't Pat a Fish
Paul, Ruth.
Paper Book
A joyful rhyming Suessian romp that puts a playful twist on getting a pet. If it's wet, it isn't a pet! You can play with a puppy and snuggle a bunny, but as much as you wish, you can't pat a fish. A visit to the pet shop is just the beginning of this...
A Ari? me te Atua o te K?mara
Ihimaera, Witi
Paper Book
Koia tenei, ko te paki whakaihiihi e whai mai ana i Te Kokorangi. Noho morearea ana nga ra ki tua- kua mauheretia a Te Kokorangi e te hoariri kino, e Ruatapu, waihoki, e matemate katoa ana nga mara kumara. Me matua whai a Aria ma - tae atu ki a Kuri - i te ara uaua a Tawhaki. Me...
Kai Stars of Matariki: Tipuanuku and Tipuarangi (Maori Edition)
Kamo, Miriama.
Paper Book
"Join Sam and Te Rerehua as they prepare a Matariki feast! Its the day before Matariki and a big feast has been prepared. Eeling took place months ago and Te Rerehua and Sam are excited to give thanks to Tupunuku and Tupurangi, the stars connected to food grown in and above the ground. But one night...
Ng? kupenga a Nanny Rina
Matata-Sipu, Qiane
Paper Book
He kairaranga puhara a Nanny Rina, ka taea te raranga i nga momo kupenga katoa! Ka patai ana tana mokopuna, a Haeata te Kapua, mo nga kupenga ka rarangahia hei powhiri i te tau hou, ka tohua e Nanny me pehea te whai i nga whetu o Matariki hei arahi i tana mahi kupenga. He...
Brave Kahu and the Porangi Magpie
Burne-Field, Shelley.
Paper Book
An exciting and action-packed animal story featuring two kāhu sisters who must save their injured baby brother - before a coming flood destroys their home.
Play wild : nature craft projects for tamariki
Clare, Rachel
Paper Book
Hey! I have a message for you: Come outside! There are flowers to pick, leaves to gather, seeds to collect, moss to pat, rain to smell and earth to dig. Love Nature xx P.S. You are part of the natural world, too! Inside this book, you will discover heaps of craft projects you can make using...
The Witch of Maketu and the Bleating Lambs
Moa, Anika.
Paper Book
Aue! The Witch of Maketu is feeling grumpy and stink. The twelve juicy lambs she's kept for her winter kai are bleating all day and night. She can't get any beauty sleep! Uncle Hemi, a terrifying taniwha, helps the witch come up with a cunning and evil plan to keep those little lambs quiet. But will...
Sad Sushi
Aldridge, Anna.
Paper Book
Sad Sushi reaches out to friends when sadness threatens to overwhelm them. When the sadness returns, Sad Sushi and their friends find a wise healer, who encourages Sad Sushi to focus on glimmers of light (and on creating their own glimmers) that provide a way though the sadness.
Find this list online: https://librarian.syndetics.com/syndeticsunbound/lp/359.4407/list/5880

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