Children's Staff Picks - December 2025

Life can be tough in your last year of primary school. Tests to take, preparing for the change to high school. Nate is ready for it all, knowing his best friend PS is at his side-- they've been inseparable since Nursery. But when they are put in two different classes and PS finds a new friend in Turner, the school bully, Nate's world turns upside-down. As he struggles to make sense of this and forge new friendships, he's dealt another blow when his youngest brother, Dylan is rushed into hospital. His new teacher, Mr Joshua, sees a spark inside of Nate that's lit by his love of reading and writing and shows him how to use this to process what's going on. But with so much working against him, and anger rising inside him, will this be enough?

It's almost a year since Nissa Marshall was found alive after miraculously surviving a month lost in the vast, dense, isolated bush of Fiordland ... When the mysterious forest creatures come for Nissa again, she discovers that Fiordland is under threat. What are the sparks so afraid of? What is the secret they're so desperate to protect? And why do they think a thirteen-year-old kid can save them all?

Nina Peanut makes amazing videos - so why is it that only her Nan and best friend Brian watch them? Surely everyone should be interested in her serious and not-stupid videos about potatoes with faces? Nina dreams about being as popular as class queen bee Megan Dunne, who films not amazing at all content of her pampered dog, Princess Trixie Bell. So when Nina's stinky cat, Les, wanders into one of Megan's videos by accident and goes viral, Nina and Les are suddenly internet famous! But is overnight stardom as wonderful as Nina always dreamed it would be?

Ewyn blows Grandma a kiss that brings smiles, laughter and dancing! But a rich man wants the kiss all to himself - and he'll do anything to get it!

Starting with a tiny seed and ending with our planet, which looks like a seed in the universe, this novelty picture book simply explains how all life on earth is connected. With a simple rhythm, children will enjoy exploring the die-cut on each page.

A proper bulldog raised in a poodle family and a tough poodle raised in a bulldog family meet one day in the park.

Woof! says Dog. Moo! says Cow. Cluck! says Hen, and Duck goes... meow. A little yellow duckling is amongst animal friends who are all sure of the sounds they make: hiss, neigh, moo, cheep, cluck and oink. But when Duck goes 'meow', the other animals say no, that is wrong, try again... then Duck's mama arrives, and boy, do they get a surprise!

This timeless story follows three children - Josef, Isabel and Mahmoud - who live in different parts of the world in different decades. All three kids must endure harrowing journeys as their homelands are ravaged by violence and destruction. All face unimaginable dangers. But there is always the hope of tomorrow. And although Josef, Isabel and Mahmoud are separated by continents and decades, shocking connections will tie their stories together in the end.

Did you know that there are turtles who can track the Earth's magnetic fields? That some fish use electricity to talk to each other? Or that giant squids evolved their enormous eyeballs to look out for whales? The world is so much BIGGER and more "immense" than we humans experience it. We can only see so many colors, we can only feel so many sensations, and there are some senses we can't access at all. Exploring the amazing ways animals perceive the world is an excellent way to help understand the world itself.

"Let me tell you a secret: skateboarding is magic. I don't mean you have to be a magician to do it. In fact, anyone can skateboard. I'm going to show you exactly how I do it, why I do it and what I love most about it." Learn how Sky Brown, the youngest person to win a medal in skateboarding at the Olympics, fell in love with the sport. Then, she'll share how to skateboard - from flip tricks and grab tricks to air tricks and slide tricks - and offers insider tips and sage advice for young fans around the world.