"I found myself standing outside Mallory's bedroom. The last door on the upstairs hallway. I'd seen those forensic crime shows on television. I know what dead people look like. In the beginning I'd imagined Mallory, pale, lying in long grass, her eyes closed. Just her face because I didn't want to see beyond it. But I couldn't do it any more. Mum kept telling me she was still alive somewhere. And one day she'd come home and we'd be a happy family again but that was one big fat stupid lie. Mum could tell it to herself but I'd stoppe... read more
Matilda Peppercorn is being watched. Weirdy women keep popping up in all sorts of unexpected places - in her garden; at her kickboxing contest; up a tree at the creepy Ruins when she's with her best friend and other half of the acrobatic Flying Matildas, Mattan Lundquist. What's more, they're not just watching ...They're testing her. But what for? What they're expecting is impossible, isn't it? Even for the marvellous Matilda Peppercorn, it's hard to believe .. Matilda Peppercorn: Manx - a fabulous new heroine from the creator of ... read more
On holiday at an isolated old house perched high on the cliffs of Young Nick's Head, friends Joe and Eddie are plunged into a deathly ghost story. First spooky noises, then scary writing, and then some horrifying experiences! What is the secret of the haunted room? What is the shadowy form that lurks out on the headland? And why do Joe and Eddie keep finding themselves this close to becoming ghosts themselves? Terrified but determined, the boys set out to crack a mystery that has remained unsolved for over 100 years ...Read it at n... read more
Tormented daily by the cousin who holds her responsible for ripping their family apart, Maori teenager Aroha has many, many other things to worry about. Though she lives in the US with her aunt and uncle, the dreams that have plagued her since her childhood in New Zealand are starting to recur more and more often. Attacked from all sides, Aroha must learn to listen to her heart to discover the truth. AROHA is the story of a journey to find love, and to accept responsibility ...at the end of the world.
When Jason Shaw is woken by cops at his front door, he knows instantly that something is wrong. The police - who are also friends of the family - confirm it. Jason's parents have been involved in a high speed crash. Everyone believes it's an accident, but then their home gets turned over as someone seems to be searching for something incriminating. When they find it, Jason finds himself in trouble, and out on his own. Could it be connected to something his detective father was investigating? With his best friend Ben, Jason has to f... read more
The Rapture has occurred, just as the Bible predicted. The faithful have risen up to Heaven. Those left behind are in a living hell. Earth burns, hell-like in its oppressive heat. Every volcano in the world has erupted, and tsunamis and earthquakes continue to devastate the planet. Clouds continually rain ash onto the scorched landscape, sparking fires all around. Plants and animals are dying. Food is scarce. The night sky is devoid of stars, and the moon - when it can be seen - is the colour of blood. The remnants of humanity figh... read more
His name isn't Furt Bent, and he isn't from Aldaheit. He's the persona that Osgood Sneddon invented for himself to rise above the mundane, and extricate himself from trouble when a moment's misunderstanding lands him on the wrong side of the law. Specifically, he falls on the wrong side of Hubbard - and that's the wrong place to be. Detective Inspector Hubbard is poisonous, profane and effective, and he doesn't let the truth get in the way of a result. Furt Bent, shaped by the folly of youth and the front yards of Australasia's nas... read more
Two books in one! Here's Harry is the story of a puppy named Harry;that captures his antics from leaving his litter to playing at the beach and sharing puppy emotions. Filled with photos of Harry in action, this is a gorgeous book that will delight young children.
Once you have finished the Here's Harry story, you can turn to the back of the book and read the next story, Here's Harry Again, that follows Harry's move to the country, meeting his new farm friends and his adventures.
New Zealand is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. Its mountains are "majestic hallelujahs", its wilderness is lush and bountiful, its rivers oscillate between violent savagery and placid serenity. New Zealand is a place to which the world comes to be inspired.
Kelly Barber had always intended to go and see it, but like so many of his countrymen he "just never got around to it". A chance meeting with a Swedish backpacker reminded him of what he was missing and with little more than a grand idea, a reluctant comp... read more
This absorbing story is set in Greytown, in the Wairarapa, in the late 1860s.
Greytown, a Small Farms Settlement, was the first inland township in New Zealand, but its beginnings were very like those elsewhere. A Better Place is a story about life in the township and on the area's small farms. A young wife from Devon, named Kate, arrives in Wellington with two children to meet their husband and father, who had sailed fom England two years previously and taken up land in Greytown. After a hazardous journey over the 'hill' she... read more
Food@Home is a journey through the new 'foodways' that are evolving in New Zealand. Author/gardner/cook Christine Dann looks at the ways in which food production, distribution, preparation and service are being brought back home to produce superior food with minimal environmental impact. Christine's journey starts with the rediscovery of home food gardening traditions of both Maori and Pakeha, and ends at the dining table where a delicious healthy feast is being served. Her route takes her to community gardens, farmers' markets, ar... read more
From humble beginnings in 1879 until the time it merged with the Waterside Workers' Union in 2003 to become the Maritime Union of New Zealand, the New Zealand Seamen's Union played an integral and essential role in this country's seafaring industry. Labour historian David Grant traverses the huge changes that have occurred in the working lives of seamen, and union practice, through these years. He portrays a union that was assertive and volatile but always steeped in never-ending struggle to win jobs for its members and to better t... read more
The University of Canterbury is the guardian of a rich and varied inheritance, which is reflected in the diverse material held by its libraries. These collections enable us to discover not only the history of Christchurch, the South Island of New Zealand's largest city, but also into the history of an emerging nation and the broader Pacific region. Thie book presents reflections on some of the distinctive and exceptional items in the University's keeping. Written by Canterbury academics and members of the wider community, it consid... read more
The Immigrant is the fascinating true story of George Tamer, a man who truly knew the meaning of hardship. Growing up in Lebanon during the early part of the 20th century, George, his family, and many of their fellow citizens endured extreme poverty and great suffering under Turkish occupation during the First World War. After the Great War he married his childhood sweetheart and, convinced there was no future for them in the land of their birth, they borrowed money for two tickets on a passenger ship and sailed to the far-off land... read more
A delightfully told and illustrated story that interweaves the story of eels migrating across the ocean from a New Zealand river near an historic bridge commemorating the soldiers who lost their lives when they also travelled thousands of miles to fight in the Great War. The story is based loosely on the life of a young boy who grew up near the river and with the eels and then lost his life on the Western Front during the First World War.
What is it about this event that inspires so many to drive their bodies to the absolute limit? Everybody wonders how far they could push themselves if they really tried, and in Conquering the Coast to Coast Kelly Barber tells the story of how he found out just where his limits really lay. Having decided that he needed some adventure in his life, Kelly trained for months to transform himself from an out-of-shape average joe into an athlete capable of taking on the race's gruelling triathlon of cycling, running and kayaking. Going fr... read more
