Available in bookshops nationwide.
Most children love stories about dinosaurs and this book is no exception. This particular book is slightly different in that it goes back to cave man time where animal skins (and not much else) were worn as clothes. Yikes, fancy that!
These skins, though, were not nice and soft and free of vermin, oh no these ones had ticks and fleas and other revolting things like maggots that crawled all over the wearer of the garments.
A little boy called Arg is cold, but not just cold, actually just about freezing. Arg is different than other cave people. He has a lot less hair and is always cold. When cave people get really cold they wear furs – fresh ones from a mastodon. I had to google to find out what a mastodon was – similar to a woolly mammoth, but not the same – but they may have roamed the earth together, according to my source.
Arg has one coat made out of a skin of a sabre-tooth tiger. It was not as warm as mastodon fur but at least this one didn’t have maggots crawling all over it… His sister Hng is not very nice to her brother – most aren’t, but she is meaner than most. She won’t let her poor hairless brother get closer to the fire so poor old Arg is frozen – so cold he thinks his brain may freeze.
Arg keeps Krrk-Krrk, his pet dinosaur, under his coat – but dinosaurs are cold-blooded which makes Arg even colder. Poor Arg!! To make matter worse Krrk-Krrk chucks up a wonderful geyser of vomit which explodes from under Arg’s coat. Being so cold, the vomit freezes.
This is a great story which I know our 3-year-old granddaughter is going to love. Her love of toilet humour and dinosaurs is well known in the family. They eventually grow out of this sort of humour – which to my mind is a bit of a shame!
Reviewed by Christine Frayling
Dinosaur Trouble: The Runaway Coat
by Kyle Mewburn, illustrated by Donovan Bixley
Published by Scholastic NZ
ISBN 9781775433682
If you are trying to get girls or boys interested in reading and they just won’t budge, then have a go at these. Short, punchy and full of gross references like farts, dinosaur poos and eating vomit this series is about as kid-friendly as it comes. Better still the plots are mind numbing and dumb and completely without morals, scruples or any hint of a message of any kind.
The Great Egg Stink: This one is more of the same. Arg our smart wonder kid discovers his breakfast when mum brings home a dinosaur egg. His food is too cute to eat. But saving his new friend gets mega-messy! And so we get to meet Krrk-Krrk, a cute and loveable microceratops, who has all the charm and manners of a new puppy. Arg has to hide the critter from his family so he won’t get eaten. But that’s not an easy task. Sticking him down his top the lil’ dino farts, wees and even eats vomit – eeeew! Cool, eh? Not exactly the way to stay inconspicuous. You’ll have to read the book to find out how Arg gets away with it.
Fifi Colston
With her latest picture book, Yak and Gnu (Walker Books), being her 12th picture book in 5 years, Juliette MacIver and her flawless rhyming verse have become one of the perennials of the NZ book world. Her first book, Marmaduke Duck and the Marmalade Jam (Scholastic NZ), is the boys’ favourite; my personal favourite from her backlist is Toucan Can (Gecko Press). Most of her books are illustrated by the equally wonderful Sarah Davis.
Catherine Foreman
Ruth’s latest is the third in a group of dinosaur books, What’s the Time, Dinosaur? (Scholastic NZ) Not only are Ruth’s illustrations delightful, she can even rhyme! Our family favourites are Stomp! (board book just released), Two Little Pirates , and The King’s Bubbles (all Scholastic NZ).
Kyle Mewburn has collaborated with Donovan Bixley for both of his recent junior fiction series’, Dinosaur Rescue (8 books, Scholastic NZ), and Dragon Knight. Begun early in 2015, this series is already 4 books strong. Both of these series are full of silly laughs for lovers of Captain Underpants and Diary of a Wimpy Kid, with a bit of Horrible Histories for good measure. He also has a 24-title-strong picture book list too: Duck’s Stuck (Scholastic NZ) and No Room for a Mouse (Scholastic Aus) are family favourites.
Des Hunt
‘Bloodtree Chronicles’ author Elizabeth Pulford is an incredibly diverse writer, writing for every age range. Her Scholastic fairy series Lily was published worldwide, and her most recent picture book Finding Monkey Moon (Candlewick Press) is being feted all over the globe. Junior Fiction series ‘Bloodtree Chronicles’, beginning with Sanspell, is perfect for the magic-loving kids in your life.
Scholastic has a current book series commemorating New Zealanders’ wartime adventures. This began last year, with 1914: Riding into War, by Susan Brocker (another great underrated writer), then 1915: Wounds of War, by Diana Menefy (you guessed it, another). It will go for another three years, and is good reading for kids who enjoy Michael Morpurgo and other war-focussed writers.
Ned and Gillian have paired up on four books about New Zealand nature so far, and each of them have been extraordinarily good. In the Bush is the latest from this pair, but there is also On the Beach, In the Garden, and Under the Ocean. All are published by Potton& Burton. So, no matter where you are going this summer, there is a book in this range for you. Another kiwi author who writes and illustrates in the same area is 
Maria Gill
My Brother’s War and The Deadly Sky (Penguin NZ) are just the most recent in a very long list of books for young adults that the wonderful David Hill has produced. He has recently branched into picture book writing, with Red Poppy and First to the Top (Penguin, 2015). In his YA list, his sensitive portrayal of awkward teendom, and his wit, is what sets him apart from others.
Anna Mackenzie 
Recon Team Angel (Walker Books) is the most recent series from Falkner, and it is a must-read for lovers of the ‘Cherub’ series. He began his writing career with junior fiction, incorporating the Warriors (The Flea Thing) and Coca Cola (The Real Thing); then moved into future-tech YA, with Brain Jack and The Tomorrow Code. He is a master of fast-paced action-packed adventure fiction.
We have just finished a fabulous four-week tour around our authors inspirations, aims and achievements with their Children’s Choice finalist books. Now it is time for you to help your kids to 
(‘can we go on the train yet?’) and a muttered It’s-not-light-yet-go-back-to-sleep, Esme and I moved around the house with a quiet determination NOT to miss the Children’s Room Story-time Train to Port Chalmers this morning. As we arrived at one-of-the-most-photographed-railway-stations-in-the-world (who measures that, and how? But yes, it is gorgeous), passengers were treated to trainside performances of song and dance from Kat Anna Fiddle and furry costumed characters. As both the crowd and anticipation grew, this risky but rewarding event got under way with a call of ‘all aboard!’ and a collective squeal from the under 7’s. Children over this age smiled lots. As did parents, it must be noted. As one myself, it was just so nice to have an event for younger folk – an acknowledgement that writers and readers are of all ages, not just us older bookish types.
Museums are hives of story, both real and imagined. Things in museums all have something different to communicate, and these 22 authors have created new stories surrounding some intriguing objects from Te Papa Museum.
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