Book Reviews

Rush! Rush is a rhyming poem with beautiful imagery and full of fun. It can be read with one child and is also perfect for

Te Whare is suitable as an educational picture book for toddlers as well as being useful as an early reader for children of school age.    Written in te reo Maori, Te Whare introduces vocabulary for furnishings within a home such […]

Number counting books can bore young active children who need a good story to hold their attention. But a new New Zealand made book, Ko Kiwi Ma, is surprisingly engaging. As well as helping children with counting (1 to 10) […]

In “Men who teach young children: An International Perspective” author Dr David Brody provides a penetrating look at the lives and personal beliefs of male early childhood and kindergarten teachers. He also reviews the cultural values and conditions that have […]

Delicate and moving the tale of Pedro the piglet, his mummy Rosie and the farmer’s little girl is told in a wonderful new children’s picture book by Carlie Mascelle from the Bay of Plenty (NZ). I’m not sure I will […]

“Suffer the Little Children” might seem a depressing title but you will find this first book by Wainuiomata teacher David Smith to be a most absorbing read. It is part autobiographical and part political/social commentary on the state of early childhood […]

Progressing Play: Practicalities, Intentions and Possibilities in Emerging Co-constructed Curriculum by Leanne Hunter and Lisa J Sonter. The long title reflects the breadth of insight and guidance provided. The cover is not glossy and eye-catching probably because it’s a practical […]

Teaching Early Years Mathematics, Science and ICT by Geoff Hilton Annette Hilton, Shelley Dole and Chris Campbell. Teachers, here is a helpful book jam-packed with ideas for teaching early years mathematics, science and ICT to children aged about 4 to […]

Ideas for Play: Literacy by Emma Smoldon and Megan Howell. Ideas for Play: Literacy is a fresh NZ book written for families at home, parent educators in playcentres, and early childhood teachers. All elements from the text, graphics and design, […]

Young Children Becoming Curriculum: Deleuze, Te Whāriki and Curricular Understandings by Marg Sellers. In Young Children Becoming Curriculum, a book published within an international series on “contesting early childhood” author Marg Sellers makes her debut as an educational philosopher. She […]

Insights from the Playgroup Movement: Equality and Autonomy in a Voluntary Organisation by Ann Henderson (Editor). The past histories of early childhood services are often written up in a way that make for good bed time reading if you want […]

Learning from Sure Start: Working with Young Children & their Families by Jo Weinberger et al (Eds). Here is an extraordinary text.  It is a critical and insightful examination by insiders and outsiders from an inter-disciplinary perspective of one early […]

Critical Issues in ECE by Nicola Yelland (Editor). Typically an edited book is a loose collection of chapters written by various authors around a theme or topic, agreeing on and promoting to the reader a particular position. Yelland has instead […]

What is Research? Methodological Practices and New Approaches by Jeanette Rhedding-Jones. What is Research? Articulating a clear-cut answer to this question that everyone will agree on is just not possible. As Jeanette Rhedding-Jones shows in her splendidly plain-spoken book by […]

The NZ Early Childhood Literacy Handbook by Judy Hamer & Paul Adams. Hamer and Adams have skilfully weaved the latest research and theory with the current political and social context to present proposals for best literacy practices and a huge […]

“A City Possessed”: The Christchurch Civic Creche Case by Lynley Hood. No other case of child abuse in New Zealand’s history has held public attention so strongly and for so long as the Christchurch Civic Creche case. While charges against […]

Beyond Quality in Early Childhood Education & Care Postmodern Perspectives by Gunilla Dahlberg, Peter Moss & Alan Pence. This review was first published in the NZJES journal, 34(2), 1999,  pp. 368 – 369. Reviewed by Dr Sarah Alexander.  Beyond Quality […]