These are some of the children I’ve been working with to write a Chinese story teaching children what to do in a thunderstorm. They are members of the New Zealand Multicultural Arts and Sports Center, a group dedicated to the cultural and educational development of young people from the age of three. They provide free Chinese culture events and education for anyone who’s interested. They’re awesome and can’t wait to show you the book we’re making!
Wow man! Never would I have thought that a book I wrote would be nominated for a NZ Children’s Books award. But it happened with Freestyle: the Israel Adesanya Story that Ant Sang and I made. What an honour to attend the awards event, to hang out with awesome Kiwi writers and illustrators and be…
I’m working with the team at Mahi for Ukraine to make a book of encouraging messages and pictures by Kiwi young people for the Ukrainian young people who will soon be arriving in NZ with their families, fleeing the attacks from Russia. You can read a bit more and see a Seven Sharp report about…
I was invited to attend the World Final of the Kids Lit Quiz today. Canberra Grammar (Australia) won the final. In the evening we had a dinner and I sat with one of the Australian families. The dad went to buy us a drink and I began talking with the mum. “What kinds of…
The first book in Reading Warrior’s new series Oceania Heritage is Niue, published in 2024 to mark the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Niue Constitution Act 1974. Written and illustrated by children of Niue who live in Aotearoa, Niue and other parts of the world, these are, in the children’s words, their expressions of…
Awesome time sharing stories about the power of reading with children at Te Totara Primary School. Question of the day: “What’s the downside of being a writer?” Answer: Hustling to make a steady income! “I loved your presentation, David. It is so inspiring and will connect with a lot of students. I’ve just been waylaid…
First showing of the art from a new book I’m making for kids about Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow aka “Hammer” an NRL player with the Dolphins. It’s awesome working with Saibai Island artist Tyrown Waigana who’s from the same clan as Hamiso. I’m so excited about this book not just because I get to work with Tyrown,…
