Haiku is a form of poetry that is appealing to both children and adults. Haiku are most often about moments in nature, or simple nature descriptions. It’s a Japanese form of poetry that has been adapted for English language. Originally…
Author reading: Whose Feet are These?
During lockdown Kids Restore Kepler asked if I would read one of my books aloud. Here it is – Whose Feet are These? illustrated by Fraser Williamson. This little book is now sadly out of print. If you missed out…
Conservation Inspired Poetry
The Volunteer Empty trapOne weaselResetOne rat, snap, snap, empty trapOne hedgehogNibbled baitWalking stick, lost and foundNext monthAnother round by Gillian Candler The Bird Count warm upget readylook out the windowone yellow hammerin a flock of sparrows too many to count…
The Importance of Non-Fiction Books for Children
I wish there was another name for ‘non-fiction’. It seems a shame to use a negative to define what can be such imaginative and creative works that describe our marvellous world as it is. ‘Non-fiction’ describes what they are not,…
Join the campaign for Earth – our other mother
Nature fills me with wonder, I’m in awe of its beauty and power, I share this wonder with parents and children in the books that I write. Most recently I’ve written about being Nature Heroes. I believe each of us…
More Children’s Writing About Nature
Poetry at Porirua Library I was invited to talk to children about making books – writing and illustrating – at Porirua Library this summer as part to the Imagine This! festival. With an audience of both pre-schoolers and school age…
Making Papier Mache Animals
The wonderful papier mache tūī that accompanied me to the Imagine This! Festival at Porirua Library, was a huge hit with kids and parents. They were fascinated about how little it weighed and how life-like it looked. This lovely tūī was made…
Making Native Bird Pop-Ups
Making native bird pop-up cards was a huge hit at Whitby Library last week. I’ve been taking part of the Porirua Library “Imagine This!” summer festival for children and this was the second workshop I ran. Nature pop-up cards are…
Nature Books for Teens
Looking for some book present ideas for young people? Perhaps they’ve been fans of the ‘explore and discover’ books and are now teens. Perhaps they’ve got New Zealand Nature Heroes and love to read about nature and be inspired by nature heroes.…
Kids Write About Nature
Last year I ran some writing workshops with local children for Porirua Harbour Trust. I introduced the children to the idea of writing poems that could take on the shape of what they are writing about. Here are some of…
Stay at Home Nature Travel – reading recommendations
Right now people all around the world are hunkering down, travel plans cancelled, trips and events off. Those of us lucky enough to live among nature or close to wild places can still get out and about on solitary bird…
Nature Heroes
My latest book New Zealand Nature Heroes is 80 pages of “inspiration and activities for young conservationists”. Stories of scientists and volunteers …. … are matched with activities young people can do to be nature heroes themselves. I’m developing a website www.discovernature.nz/nature-heroes/ to carry…
Book Related Activities
Running out of kids’ activities for the holidays? Thanks to illustrator Fraser Williamson, each of the “Whose?” books has a matching activity which helps extend the children’s thinking about the book concepts. Whose Beak is This? has a kākā mask to colour and…
Wellington Museum Book Reading Event
Pick up your free colouring page from “Whose Home is This?”
Bookshop Day Event
Come along on at 2pm 26 October 2019 to the wonderful Schrödinger’s Books in Petone and take part in some nature-themed craft for kids. I’ll be signing books and showing a sneak preview of “New Zealand Nature Heroes”, which will…
Native Trees and Plants Brought Vividly to Life
The act of identifying and naming plants changes the way we see the bush. No longer is it a tangle of different greens, a confusing mass of different shape leaves. Bark, flowers, berries, leaves, all provide clues about the trees…
Whose Home is This? Book Awards Finalist
I’m excited to announce that my book “Whose Home is This?” illustrated by Fraser Williamson is a finalist in the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults 2019. “Whose Home is This?” is a finalist for the Elsie…
Raise Your Child to Read & Write – Book Review
Raise Your Child to Read & Write: a guide for New Zealand parents from birth to seven years by Frances Adlam I’ve always believed that family members need to be involved in a child’s education, but have often encountered parents…
Summer Nature Reading – New Zealand wildlife
My summer reading in 2018/19 included these two excellent titles. The first is the field guide of reptiles and amphibians that we’ve all been waiting for! The second is my new ‘go-to’ book about New Zealand birds. Reptiles and Amphibians of…
Meet the Author – Animals of Aotearoa
Out this month, is a 112 page hardback compendium of New Zealand wildlife. Including all the favourites from the ‘explore and discover’ series and over 100 more. Animals of Aotearoa is available to pre-order now from publisher Potton & Burton,…
Writing a Nature Journal – for adults
Creating a Nature Journal is a great way to deepen your nature connection. Whether you want to record what you see on a nature walk, celebrate nature’s beauty, or keep track of what you’ve learned about nature – there’s a nature…
Create Your Own Nature Journal – for children
Creating a Nature Journal about a walk or trip is a great way to share your memories about the place you visited. You can use a bought notebook or make your own booklet (see how below). Observing nature on holiday…
New Book Out Now – Whose Home is This?
Launching this month is my new book for kiwi nature kids. “Whose Home is This?” Illustrated by Fraser Williamson and published by Potton & Burton. “Whose Home is This?” follows on from the award winning “Whose Feet are These?” and…
What I’m reading: summer 2018
“Where Song Began: Australia’s birds and how they changed the world” by Tim Low Who’d have thought a non-fiction book on birds would be a page-turner! Turns out this one is. Tim Low has a pacy style of writing, and he’s…
Writing Workshops for Children – creating powerful writing
Children are such creative thinkers. And so honest and perceptive too. That’s why I enjoy visiting primary schools and public library school holiday programmes. Best of all is spending time with them in a writing workshop. In 2017, I visited…
Nature Writing – Making Zines
Crazy about kākāpō? Curious about kauri? Amazed by animal poo? Wild about weka? If you are a nature fan, you can make a zine to share your passion. Zine is short for ‘fanzine’ – these self-published creations started out as…
3 (Updated) Top Tips on Writing Children’s Books
As a published children’s author I often get approached by writers or illustrators who have written or created a story, wanting to know about how to get it published. Sometimes it is their friends who approach me – writers and illustrators can…
Writers in Schools – book now for 2018!
Attention teachers, librarians and schools, you have until 15 December to book me through Writers in Schools for Term 1 2018! Are you: Planning a Book Week Wanting to give your year 4-8 students a non-fiction writing boost Keen to…
Nature Heroine – writer Sheila Natusch
I’ve just seen “No Ordinary Sheila“, the documentary about the wonderful and not at all ordinary Sheila Natusch. This documentary was a clever blend of recent interviews and family photos, integrated with archival films from the relevant times in her…
About Illustrating – Link to Interview with Ned Barraud
Children often ask about the illustration process for the ‘explore and discover books’. Ned Barraud the illustrator is interviewed on The Sapling about how he fits illustrating children’s books in with his day job, about the process and about some…
Reviewing ‘Keeping Your Children Safe Online’
Keeping Your Children Safe Online: a guide for New Zealand parents by John Parsons, published by Potton & Burton 2017 The moment I picked up Keeping Your Children Safe Online, I knew this book was going to be flying off…
Win a Copy of Up the River
To enter this competition go to https://www.facebook.com/GillianCandlerAuthor/ and enter before 9am Monday 18 September 2017. Note you need to have a New Zealand postal address to enter. For more on my thoughts about writing Up the River, see my last blogpost https://gilliancandler.co.nz/up-the-river-new-book-about-new-zealands-freshwater/ SaveSave…
Up the River – new book about New Zealand’s freshwater
Up the River: explore and discover New Zealand’s rivers, lakes and wetlands is the latest addition to the ‘explore and discover’ books, following on from books about the seashore, ocean, garden, and forest habitats. Up the River is the sixth…
FAQs About Writing ‘From Moa to Dinosaurs’
Recently I was interviewed by The Sapling about From Moa to Dinosaurs, a finalist in the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults To read the full interview with me and with the other non-fiction finalists click here.…
Free Downloadable Forest Birds ID Card
With the first print-run of “In the Bush: explore and discover New Zealand’s native forests” came a detachable forest bird ID card in the inside back cover. This card won’t be included in subsequent print-runs. Instead it’s available to download…
Finalist in Book Awards 2017
I’m delighted to announce that “From Moa to Dinosaurs: explore and discover ancient New Zealand” is a finalist in the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults 2017. Here’s the link to the complete list of finalist books and…
The State of Children’s Non-Fiction in New Zealand
Follow this link to read an article I’ve written on the state of children’s non-fiction. I argue that there must be a better name for these splendid books than ‘non-fiction’ and that we need more good quality non-fiction titles for…
Make a Gecko with Sticky Feet
Did you know that geckos have ‘sticky’ feet? They can even walk upside down on ceilings or up a pane of glass! Children at Porirua, Cannons Creek and Whitby Libraries had a go at making their own geckos with sticky…
Author interview – Porirua Library
Here’s an interview I gave to Bee Trudgeon of Porirua Library, ahead of the school holiday sessions I’ll be running next week Wednesday 19 April. I love her questions, especially the one about what animal I’d like to be if…
School Holiday Event – Read Around the World and about New Zealand too
I’m looking forward to being the special guest at the Porirua Library’s school holiday event. On April 19 I’ll be visiting 3 of the branches to read from my books and have some fun making crafts. I’ll be sharing “Whose…
Keeping up to date: From Moa to Dinosaurs
Keeping up to date with scientific discoveries about New Zealand’s origins can be a bit hit and miss. Think about what you remember from school or nature documentaries you’ve seen. Like me, you might have had the idea that our…
Speaking for Science: clearing confusion around controversial topics
Shaun Hendy in his compelling Silencing Science (BWB texts) argues that “New Zealanders can’t be complacent. I believe that there are rifts between our scientists, our politicians and the public that put members of our society at risk.” His readable short text…
NZ Bookshop Day Event – meet the author
Come along to Marsden Books in Karori and meet author and illustrator of the Explore and Discover series, take part in the nature quiz and win prizes When: 3pm, 29 October 2016 Where: Marsden Books, 159 Karori Road, Karori What…
Storylines Family Days – book fun for families
I recently took part in the Storylines Family Days in Dunedin and Christchurch. A special feature of the days is the number of pre-schoolers who come along and it was great to see them having a go at the activities,…
Book Launch Invitation
Blog readers and their friends and families are welcome to the launch of my latest book – From Moa to Dinosaurs: explore and discover ancient New Zealand. This new book is part of the award-winning explore and discover series, illustrated by Ned…
Publishing books for children – 3 tips for would-be authors
As a published children’s author I often get approached by authors or illustrators who have written or created a story, wanting to know about how to get it published. Sometimes it is their friends who approach me – authors and illustrators can…
Joining Bloglovin
Bloggers like to read other people’s blogs and I’ve been looking for a good way to bring all the blogs I like to read together into one place. I’ve tried various Apps and been frustrated by them, and also used…
“Whose Beak is This? finalist for Elsie Locke Award
I’ve always been a huge fan of Elsie Locke, so it’s such an honour to be named a finalist for the Elsie Locke Award for non-fiction in the NZ Children’s Book Awards for 2016. (The NZ Children’s Book Awards and…
Sea Week Resources
It’s Sea Week, a time for schools, parents and public to turn their attention to the treasures of the sea. Unlike a trip to the beach or the bush, it’s hard to show children what lives under the sea, although there…
Top Outdoor books from my Bookshelf
Being an active outdoor’s person and enjoying books might seem an odd mix to some. But for many people some of the pleasure of getting outdoors is in planning trips and learning more about the places they’re going to or…