The finalists in the 2008 New Zealand Post Book Awards have been announced.

The twenty titles are:

Picture Book

• The King’s Bubbles (Ruth Paul, Scholastic NZ)
• Out of the Egg (Tina Matthews, Walker Books)
• Rats! (Gavin Bishop, Random House NZ)
• Tahi--One Lucky Kiwi (Melanie Drewery, illus by Ali Teo and John O’Reilly, Random House NZ)
• To the Harbour (Stanley Palmer, Lopdell House Gallery)

Nonfiction

• A Mini Guide to the Identification of New Zealand Land Birds (Andrew Crowe, illus by Dave Gunson, Penguin NZ)
• Reaching the Summit (Alexa Johnston with David Larsen, Penguin NZ)
• Weather Watch New Zealand (Sandra Carrod, illus by Karsten Schneider and Richard Gunther, Reed NZ)
• What is a Fish? (Feana Tu’akoi, designed by Vasanti Unka, Scholastic NZ)
• Which New Zealand Spider? (Andrew Crowe, Penguin NZ)

Junior Fiction

• Dead Dan’s Dee (Phyllis Johnston, Longacre Press)
• The Dumpster Saga (Craig Harrison, Scholastic NZ)
• The Mad Tadpole Adventure (Melanie Drewery, illus by Jenny Cooper, Scholastic NZ)
• My Story Sitting on the Fence: The Diary of Martin Daly, Christchurch 1981 (Bill Nagelkerke, Scholastic NZ)
• Snake and Lizard (Joy Cowley, illus by Gavin Bishop, Gecko Press)

Young Adult Fiction

• Salt (Maurice Gee, Penguin NZ)
• The Sea-wreck Stranger (Anna Mackenzie, Longacre Press)
• Tomorrow All Will Be Beautiful (Brigid Lowry, A&U)
• The Transformation of Minna Hargreaves (Fleur Beale, Random House NZ)
• Zillah (Penelope Todd, Longacre Press)

The finalists were selected from more than 130 children’s books published in New Zealand in 2007 and submitted for the awards.
The awards' judges convenor, Dylan Owen, said many of the characters' journeys in the 20 finalist books saw them striving against the elements in parallel with their own emotional struggle. 'There is also a compelling range of writing styles with both female and male protagonists with a wide range of geographical variances from the Mid-West to Everest.'
The winners will be announced on Wednesday 21 May.
For more details, see the awards' website at http://www.nzpostbookawards.co.nz/ 

This article from Australian Bookseller & Publisher magazine is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2008, Thorpe-Bowker

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