Celebrating Aotearoa New Zealand Children’s Book Week

By Ōtepoti He Puna Auaha | Dunedin UNESCO City of Literature | Posted: Tuesday Aug 25, 2026

Ōtepoti UNESCO City of Literature was delighted to connect tamariki with Ōtepoti’s wonderful Swapna Haddow during Aotearoa New Zealand Children’s Book Week, for a morning of reading, writing and bookish fun.

Swapna visited two local schools — Andersons Bay School and Kaikorai Primary School — sharing her book The Terrible Trio, a finalist in the 2026 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. This gave tamariki the chance to meet a real, working author, hear about her experiences, and discover where she finds the ideas and inspiration for her stories. In total, 45 Year 3 tamariki at Andersons Bay School and around 100 tamariki across four Year 3–4 classes at Kaikorai Primary School took part.

Students were enthusiastic and engaged in a writing activity led by Swapna, creating their own versions of The Terrible Trio and exploring what it takes to turn an idea into a story.

Teachers appreciated hearing Swapna's message about the importance of reading to build vocabulary — an especially valuable message for young writers.

"It was such a wonderful opportunity for the children to meet a real author," they said. "It was a fantastic experience, and one the children will remember."

Swapna also sent the children away with bookmarks and superhero pencils to encourage them to keep reading new adventures — and writing their own.

Ōtepoti City of Literature was thrilled to round out the visit by donating The Terrible Trio books 1, 2 and 3 to the schools' libraries. The Star came along to capture the occasion and you can read Sam Henderson's article here: Pupils embrace love of reading during first Aotearoa NZ Children's Book Week

Aotearoa New Zealand Children's Book Week is a fantastic opportunity to bring together two things that make our city special: our young readers and our wonderful local writers. By meeting authors, hearing how stories are made, and having a go at writing themselves, children see that books aren't just something to read — they're something they can create. Judging by the ideas flying around the classrooms, Ōtepoti has plenty of brilliant young writers ready to give it a go.