I have two children under 5, so my current reading pile includes lots of picture books. Our recent faves are The Noisy Book (Gecko Press). This is the first book that really captured my now 23-month-old's attention and at more than 100 pages, it's a substantial length for a toddler.
My almost 5-year-old has, surprisingly to me, fallen in love with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. We are reading two adaptations and I am fascinated by the different ways the story has been told. The version retold by Hiawyn Oram gives the lead to Lucy, the youngest girl, whereas the book based on the movie, casts Peter, the oldest boy, as the saviour. It reminds me of a central theme of Witi's Wāhine, a play by Nanny Brunning that re-centres the wāhine in Witi's stories, who are often cast in secondary roles on screen.
At my bedside, I have the latest issue of Landfall (241), which I dip in and out of before I go to sleep. There is a really eclectic range of stories and forms, from Victor Rodger's play, Night Fill, a humorous and insightful story about race and privilege in a supermarket, to Amber Moffat's short story, Inside Play, about a single parent and an unusual form of weight loss – the imagery of which is so visceral, it makes me feel squeamish just thinking about it. In between, there are poems and essays from new and familiar voices. I love encountering the work by writers I recognise from Writers Practice workshops.
I've just finished Sarah Kanake's Sing Fox to Me (Affirm Press) set on a mountain in rural Tasmania. This Gothic-style story centres on white teenage twins, one of whom has Down syndrome, who are left with a granddad they've never met. In this isolated setting, the only other humans are an indigenous family who live on the same land. Loss, trauma and alienation circle against the backdrop of heavy bush. I am interested in how writers from the dominant culture include or exclude characters whose lives are often on the margins. Kanake approaches these issues in interesting ways and I'd love to read more reviews of this book, particularly by indigenous writers.
On my regular reading list are E-Tangata, anything in the Ātea or Books sections of The Spinoff, the work of my poetry group and the RNZ Storytime podcast.
