Liggie Tanner, with an axe, Gave her step-mum forty whacks. When she saw what she had done . . . "Bloody" Liggie, the media labelled her. She was locked away but broke out and drowned crossing a river. So . . . was this the end of Liggie?Two years on, there's a new girl in class. Cool and closed . . . somehow like Liggie. I just had to know because I would die for her.And finding out would be murder.
2016 Award Finalist - Travel Non-Fiction - Readers' Favorite AwardsBill Bryson, author of Notes from a Small Island "Terrific"Ten years after returning from the New Zealand outback, Jon receives a mysterious manuscript in the post. Narrated by Jon's former home, the lone caravan, Squashed Possums reveals what it's like to live in the wild through four seasons, including New Zealand's coldest winter in decades.Discover how Jon finds himself reversing off the edge of a cliff, meet the Maori chef who survived 9/11, the pioneers who paved the way, and catch sight of the elusive kiwi bird. Encounter hedgehogs that fly, possums that scream, and perhaps most importantly, the lone caravan with a story to tell...Dr Jock Phillips, NZ historian and author "I thoroughly enjoyed it! What an interesting story"Giles Milton, author of White Gold and Nathaniels Nutmeg "The caravan narrator - yes, a first. May it sell in the millions"
2018 Award Winner - Best Parenting & Family - Pacific Book Review 2018 Award Winner - Bronze - Non-Fiction - Wishing Shelf Book Awards The award winning Daddy Day Care is an outrageously funny and honest guide to parenting for dads. Find out what happens when one dad stays at home during maternity leave to bring up his baby daughter. What is it like to be the only bloke in playgroup? How do you bluff your way through mum chat? How can your sidekick provide a cheap alternative to the gym? Aimed at dads (and curious mums) Daddy Day Care is illustrated with funny stick men, and offers a truly alternative look at the poo soaked chaos of full-time childcare. Daddy Day Care includes chapters on:weaning and feedinglocal playgroupsa bluffers guide to parenting bookssleeping and nappingteething and first aidDIY and jobs around the housebaby gadgetswhat to wear – for children and dadsa brief history of fatherhoodpottery cafes and ravesZen and the art of fatherhood Best served with beer – or strong coffee (for the chronically sleep-deprived parent). Reviews"Great book for new dads - an honest and funny account of what life with a baby is like" - A Mum Reviews "Very well written, so honest and funny too" - Life as Mum "This book is a great read, especially if you're a soon to be dad. Very funny and I found myself nodding along on almost every page!" - One Hull of a Dad "If you’re looking for a gift for a new parent, or even an expectant one, this book is the answer" - Parent Game blog "Truly laugh-out-loud - five sticky fingers and five stars for this valiant manual in fathering" - Readers Favorite
After two months on board a Russian container ship sailing 15,000 miles across the world, Josie finally arrives in New Zealand with her bike. Over the next nine months she cycles 10,000 kilometres all over North and South Islands while experiencing the wettest, windiest and stormiest year on record. During this time Josie was spat at, shouted at, honked at, and both run off and blown off the road. She got soaked, sunburnt, hailed on and snowed on and was alternately starved and over-fed, over-charged and under-charged. Then there was the wildlife: the possums (both dead and alive): exotic birds such as moreporks (with their eerie call) and fantails (who decided to follow); the ostriches, who liked to chase English cyclists and the harriers, who liked to dive bomb them; the more familiar but no less frustrating farm animals, who provided sheep-jams and cow-blocks to slow Josie down. In Long Cloud Ride, Josie brings New Zealand brilliantly to life. Warm, witty and acutely observed as ever, her latest adventure is sure to delight old and new fans alike.
Touching on indigenous Maori relationships with the now-extinct, flightless moa; the attitudes of Pakeha, or European, settlers toward sheep; the iconography of whales and dolphins; the problems of pest-control; and the pleasures of pet-keeping, this modern-day bestiary is a fascinating study of human–animal relations. In the book’s four parts, the authors unravel the contradictory ways New Zealanders nurture and eradicate, glorify and demonize, cherish and devour, and describe and imagine animals. The study brings together insights from New Zealand’s arts and literature, popular culture, historiography, media, and everyday life to describe and analyze their interactions with nga kararehe and nga manu, the beasts and birds of the land. In doing so, it illuminates fundamental aspects of New Zealand society: how New Zealanders understand their own identities and those of others; how they regard, inhabit and make use of the natural world; and how they think about what they buy, eat, wear, watch, and read. Rich, multifaceted, and engaging, A New Zealand Book of Beasts satisfyingly explores how culture both shapes and is shaped by the “beasts” of Aotearoa.
This book is a lifetime of real anecdotes about various pets and domestic animals in New Zealand. It contains a great deal of factual and scientific information about these animals. It contains some excellent original animal poetry. There is some sound genetics and explanation of the coat color genes in several species of animal and good practical advice on how to breed the animal you want. There is a lot of good practical information to help any small holder. Running through this book is a love of animals and a plea to treat them humanely. This book also gives insight into the way of life of New Zealanders in the countryside. Pet owners, farmers, vets and animal rights activists would all find this book interesting.
“Superb road trip novel. By turns introspective and humorous.” —Booklist (starred review) In this captivating story about loss, love, and changing your ways, National Book Award–winning author Pete Hautman imbues the classic road trip novel with clever wit and heartfelt musings about life and death. Steven Gerald Gabel—a.k.a. Stiggy—needs to get out of Minnesota. His father recently took his own life, his mother is a shell of the person she used to be, and his sort-of-girlfriend ghosted him and skipped town. What does he have left to stick around for? Armed with his mom’s credit card and a tourist map of Great River Road, Stiggy sets off in his dad’s car. The only problem is, life on his own isn’t exactly what he expected and, soon enough, he finds himself at a crossroads: keep running from his demons, or let them hitch a ride back home with him.
State Oddities takes a different kind of look at the American nation, spotlighting the fun foibles, peculiarities, and twists in each of the 50 states that are (mostly) united under the Stars and Stripes. State Oddities is a fascinating trip through the 50 states for students studying America, teachers planning classroom activities, and general readers who will enjoy an eye-opening journey through the nation's fun side. It offers a compelling look at the character of America through the individuality of 50 very distinct states that together form the USA. This book paints a picture of the broad sweep of the American story, offering a gateway to the country as it developed into one nation filled with individual states that can be remarkably different from each other, yet unified under such national symbols as the American flag and "The Star-Spangled Banner." The author of State Oddities has become known as a master of "painless history," telling America's story in a sparkling style along with the historian's eye for fascinating detail. On the book's cross-country journey, the reader will find that it differs from other works by taking a fresh look at stories we think we know.
Possums may steal your garbage…but with this book, they’ll also steal your heart! Possums are more than the ugly-cute icons of the internet. These so-called trash animals and pointy kitties are not only relatable avatars for anxious but resilient people everywhere, but nature’s secret clean-up crew. Organized around common myths that have given possums a bad reputation, this fun and offbeat book reveals the truth about possums through dozens of adorable photos, informative illustrations, and fascinating facts. Did you know that… • Possums protect people and pets from disease! A single possum can eat up to 4,000 ticks per week! • Possums excel at interspecies friendships, often sleeping in other animals’ dens. • Possums are shy creatures: when they “play dead,” they are actually fainting from anxiety! Written by wildlife rehabber and possum advocate Ally Burguieres, known for her popular Instagram account @ItsMeSesame, this accessible and giftable guide explains why possums deserve our admiration and offers tips on how we can protect and advocate for these magical marsupials.
