Good Old Rosie by Jane Maxey

The picture book Good old Rosie basically revolves around a sheep called Rosie, and comes to you right out of  the land of sheep, New Zealand. It focuses on a carefree, young girl, Jessica who lives in the country, and her relationship with her family and her pets; her favourite pet being Rosie the white sheep with the black face and legs. Rosie is evidently named after Great Aunt Rose on account of her black stockings. Then one day she finds Rosie in a predicament and wonders if she can get her out alive. The detailed black and ink illustrations are a real feature of the book. The story line itself is uncomplicated but fun. It was published by Oxford University Press in Wellington in 1980

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Jessica and Rosie

My Brown Bear Barney in Trouble by Dorothy Butler and Elizabeth Fuller

This is a beautiful story which is the sequel to My Brown Bear Barney continues the story of the friendship of a preschool girl and her beloved teddy bear. She and Barney are inseparable and each day brings a new outing and a new mishap. They spend time in the garden, time with Fred, her friend, ride climb their special tree, go shopping, visit the dentist and the library. Finally, they visit Granny. It's a busy week and the days are sprinkled with incidents with an accident prone Barney. However, come Sunday, the little girl and her constant companion are so tired they spend the day reading stories and taking a nap. They need all of their energy for the upcoming week which promises to be just as hectic as the one that is now over. The appealing, cleanly designed water colour illustrations by New Zealand illustrator, Elizabeth Anne Fuller,  add warmth to this familiar story. In fact they are what really make this text and would make text prediction attainable to most infant children.

Keri the wonderful kiwi who flew by H.R.Hopkins

Keri the Wonderful Kiwi Who Flew is a beautifully illustrated New Zealand publication of 1969, by H.R. Hopkins. It has been  written in rhyming couplet verse and is all about Mother Kiwi and Father Kiwi who produce an amazing offspring. The story begins with the hatching of Keri who was incidentally named because of the first sound he made: KK-EEE-RRRRR-IIII. On the day his parents kick him unceremoniously from the nest, they discover he has fully fledged wings, but decided that even though he is definitely "queer," they will ignore jibes he might endure from his flightless relations. Then, one day after foraging for food Keri becomes lost in the forest and has to spend night under a log. The following morning he is  rudely awakened to the barks of the super-sniffing farm dog Ranger. It's then that all hell breaks loose and Keri decides to finally use his wings, although  it seems this will result in further grief. The book is a pleasure for children and adults alike and illustrations abound throughout the book.

But Keri flew on in his wobbly course.

He was seen by some girls and a man on a horse.

The girls were out gathering mushrooms for Mum,

And they got a surprise when they saw Keri come.

The Dictionary of Wimps by Alan Grant, David McPhail and John Gadsby

A funny little wimpy dictionary from our New Zealand neighbours written by well-known television personalities (not that I have heard of any of them.) sure to delight anyone who reads widely and has an extensive knowledge of words and their origins. it is basically a field guide to wimpotence and had me laughing out loud from time to time. So if you are a wimp or think you know one, this book could quite easily appeal to your wimpy side. The ink illustrations by Chicane add greatly to the humour.  Here are a few wimpy definitions starting with the first one in the dictionary.

aardvark: a typically wimpish mammal. Dwells in burrows, only comes out at night, and lives on termites, presumably because it hasn't got the guts to come out in daytime and hunt for real food like a man. Wimps always make a beeline for the aardvark cage whenever they go to the zoo.

Further in we have the jury defined as twelve wimps unable to decide the fate of a real man.

And towards the end we have a discussion of teddy bears apparently many people keep these cuddly soft toys far into adult life. Most wimps, however, were secretly afraid of them and quite glad to get rid of them.

My favourite is probably  team:that which a wimp was never asked to be part of at school, and was only included in because the teacher said that somebody had to have him.

Call of the Selkie by Jean Bennett

Another beautifully written book out of New Zealand, this one by Jean Bennett,  deals with young boy who befriends and rescues a seal cub whom he names Selkie. Things at home are pretty traumatic for teenager  Ryan. His mum and dad are going through difficult times and he isn't coping too well with their constant quarrelling. One day in a secluded bay after escaping from  the animosity of the house which is slowing suffocating him, Ryan comes across a seal and her pup. Each day he finds a quiet  liberation  by observing these two animals go about their lives. Then his mum leaves home for an indeterminable amount of time and a unscrupulous fisherman, Kelly,  invades the bay intent on getting his hands on very marketable and rare seal skins. Ryan finds himself racing against time to save Selkie. If you enjoy Colin Thiele books, then this book would most likely be your cup of tea.

Caesar the Anzac Dog by Patricia Stroud

This beautiful and thought-provoking book by New Zealand author, Patricia Shroud, tracks the training and work done by Caesar a Red Cross rescue dog. The book tracks his farewell from New Zealand, his time on the HMNZ 43 Transport ship, to the training  camp in Egypt, and to his final destination on the battlefields of the Somme in France. The book gives great insight into the way in which animals such as horses and dogs were used in World War 1. The are beautiful, sepia  illustrations throughout the book, even one showing the dugout kennels which were like bomb shelters used to protect the dogs from enemy artillery. Other keys characters are his handler and ambulance driver, Tom,  and nurse, Kath Butcher who pampered Caesar whenever she had the opportunity. It is a very moving book which pays tribute not only to Caesar but to all other four legged helpers on the battlefields. 

They've Put Custard in My Bone by Murray Ball

Published in 1983 the humour has not dated and students will appreciate the rivalry between Dog, the pampered corgi Prince Charles, and the ever-intimidating and invincible Horse, the cats who rules the roost. Most of the regulars are there: Cooch, Wal, Pongo and Aunt Dolly. Murray Ball from New Zealand does amazing comic strips. He well-known for his Footrot Flats series. This is but one of a staggering twenty-seven. These strips are based around the life of Wal Footrot's sheep dog, called the very original name of "Dog" and also other characters both human and animal that come into their lives. The humour comes through the day to day adversity of farming life. Dog likes to think of himself as tough and intelligent but often he is soft and a bit of a coward. Wal lives on 400 acres of swamp and is unmarried, but he does have an interest in Darlene, a hairdresser. There are many other characters but a memorable one is Prince Charles, a very spoilt corgi belonging to Aunt Dolly whose life is infinitely easier than Dog's life.

Here is a clip about the making of the film Footrot Flats:

http://www.nzonscreen.com/title/the-making-of-footrot-flats-1986