Hiding in a tiny dark cave in the border triangle between Iraq, Iran and Turkey, Mustafa Darbandi is facing his fear that he may not survive. On the run because of his membership of a banned Kurdish freedom movement, he has begun an extraordinary journey. It will take him from Iraq to Turkey to Iran to Pakistan to Afghanistan and finally to New Zealand. Along the way he will be threatened by security forces, mercenaries, police, helicopters, landmines, wild wolves and even UNHCR indifference. After several years in exile he finally arrives in his new home. "In my desperation the idea crept into my mind that death was death whether I got killed or starved to death. Perhaps putting an end to my life would be preferable to being captured by mercenaries or eaten alive by wild animals..." "When I set foot on New Zealand soil, I felt born again. After I'd been uprooted from my town and village in Kurdistan, New Zealand became the bedrock of my security, offering me an opportunity to become who I am".

Bind: paperback

Publication Date: 31-07-2020

There is absolutely nothing so inspiring, worthwhile or satisfying as your last mountain biking adventure, except of course the next mountain biking adventure, regardless of how it unfolds. Mountain biking is life, the rest is detail. The 2021 New Zealand Mountain Biking Calendar by renowned mountain biker and photographer Dave Mitchell presents fabulous colour photographs capturing the essence of off-road biking in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Bind: stationery

Dimensions: 340 x 240 mm

Publication Date: 20-07-2020

Ken Gorbey is a remarkable man who for 15 years was involved with developing and realising the revolutionary cultural concept that became Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand. Then in 1999 he was headhunted by W. Michael Blumenthal to salvage the Jewish Museum Berlin, which was failing and fast becoming a national embarrassment. Led by Gorbey, a young, inexperienced staff, facing impossible deadlines, rose to the challenge and the museum, housed in Daniel Libeskind’s lightning-bolt design, opened to acclaim. As Blumenthal writes in the foreword: ‘I can no longer remember what possessed me to seriously consider actually reaching out to this fabled Kiwi as a possible answer to my increasingly serious dilemma …’ but the notion paid off and today the JMB is one of Germany’s premier cultural institutions. Te Papa to Berlin is a great story – a lively insider perspective about cultural identity and nation building, about how museums can act as healing social instruments by reconciling dark and difficult histories, and about major shifts in museum thinking and practice over time. It is also about the difference that can be made by a visionary and highly effective leader and team builder.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 280

Dimensions: 150 x 230 mm

In Crossing the Lines, Brent Coutts brings to light the previously untold history of New Zealand homosexual soldiers in World War II, drawing on the experiences of ordinary men who lived through extraordinary times. At the centre of the story are New Zealand soldiers Harold Robinson, Ralph Dyer and Douglas Morison, who shared a queer identity and love of performance. Through their roles as female impersonators in Kiwi concert parties in the Pacific and Egypt they found a place to live as gay men within the military forces, boosting the morale of personnel in the Pacific Campaign and, along the way, falling in love with some of the men they met. Crossing the Lines is a richly illustrated account that follows the men from their formative pre-war lives, through the difficult wartime years to their experiences living in a postwar London where they embraced the many new possibilities available. It is a story of strong friendships, the search for love and belonging as homosexuals within the military and civilian worlds, and the creation of the foundation of the queer community today.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 336

Dimensions: 170 x 240 mm

Publication Date: 07-08-2020

This vintage children’s classic about the power of storytelling is filled with eye-catching new reproductions of Aliki’s iconic illustrations. A boy is sitting on a rock in the jungle when a tiger approaches him. “Run!” says the tiger, “or I will eat you!” But the boy is too tired to run and in order to avoid being eaten he tells the tiger a story. What follows is a thrilling tale that will captivate young readers just as thoroughly as it captivated the hungry tiger. Kids will enjoy waiting breathlessly for every flip of the page as the boy tells his story involving a rhinoceros and a crocodile. Originally published in 1963 and out of print for many years, this book by award-winning illustrator and author Aliki features fabulous vintage style illustrations. This new edition preserves the vivid colors of the original book while introducing a new generation of young readers to a skillfully told story-within-astory with a surprising and satisfying ending.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 40

Dimensions: 275 x 245 mm

Publication Date: 06-03-2020

Take on a magical journey through the world of healing flowers in this children's book by renowned artist Olaf Hajek. Olaf Hajek's fantastical and mesmerizing art is familiar to many adults. Now young readers can enjoy his work while learning about the fascinating health benefits of flowers they encounter every day. Hajek's paintings spring to life, populated by insects, birds, fruit, and fairytales that illustrate the drama of the natural world. Accompanying each painting are engaging texts that explore various cultural and medicinal aspects of the flowers as well as their importance to artists, writers, and healers. As they learn how iris roots were used to alleviate teething pain in babies and how poppy plants led to the invention of the salt shaker, kids will also get to know a garden's worth of blooms--from wild roses to carnations and peonies to marigolds. Kids will look at flowers in a whole new light and will delight in this beautiful keepsake of botanical illustrations by a celebrated artist.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 40

Dimensions: 260 x 350 mm

Publication Date: 16-03-2020

Unravel the mysteries of time, from the Maya calendar to Einstein’s wormholes, in this fun and fact-filled exploration for young readers. In this thought provoking book, curious readers will discover all kinds of fascinating information about how and why we think about time. Chapters on mythology discuss Chronos, Janus, and the legend of the Phoenix. Others look at how different cultures perceive time—as a straight line or in circles? Young readers will learn how animals and plants tell time, how the study of longitude and latitude is related to clocks, and why an hour used to last one hundred minutes. Along the way, they’ll encounter historic time pieces such as sundials, chronometers, and Al-Jazari’s famous 12th-century elephant clock. The book also invites readers to ponder important questions about what time means to us today: can you actually save time? Can you run out of it? And is it really better to accomplish more in less time? These concepts are introduced in accessible chapters and illustrated with vibrant drawings. Absorbing and worldenlarging, this elegant book explores a challenging concept in an engaging way that encourages discussion and further learning.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 112

Dimensions: 215 x 280 mm

Publication Date: 06-03-2020

From her early rarely seen Riot Grrrl-influenced fanzines and performances to a career that has produced seminal films, fiction, sculptures, public art, and even a smartphone app, Miranda July has proven adept at articulating the poignancy and humour of the human plight while also achieving enormous acclaim along the way. This chronological retrospective includes July's performance and video projects, award- winning films, digital multimedia, and written pieces which make clear the multidimensionality of her work. The book includes photography, stills, and archival ephemera and is narrated by friends, collaborators, curators, assistants, and audience members including David Byrne, Spike Jonze, Lena Dunham, Carrie Brownstein, and Hans Ulrich Obrist, as well as July herself. This behind-the-scenes commentary reveals an intimate perspective on the process, struggles, and grit involved in forging one's own path. What emerges is just how singular her voice is-from a movie narrated by an injured cat to a performance that builds an intentional community; from sculpture that engages the public to an interfaith charity shop in a London department store. July may be impossible to categorise, but the importance of her work and her status as an essential cultural icon with wide-ranging appeal is irrefutable.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 224

Dimensions: 235 x 285 mm

Publication Date: 14-04-2020

This story about a reluctant seedling packs a powerful message about the benefits of being different. It’s early spring and below the earth’s surface seeds are just starting to sprout. One by one they stretch through the dirt and towards the sun, extending their shoots and leaves and growing tall. All except for one seedling, who isn’t quite ready. Each page of this gentle but powerfully evocative book demonstrates how some of us are different. As most of the seeds transform into strong flowers, they block out the sun from the one left behind. But the little seedling persists, twisting and turning until, with the help of bird and insect friends, it finds its own place to grow and blossom. In the end, this little seed turns into a flower that’s just as beautiful and healthy as all the others. Hailed by Publishers Weekly as “delicate, complex, extravagant, beautiful and strong,” Teckentrup’s inviting and softly colored illustrations provide the perfect backdrop for this moving tale about being unique while subtly teaching kids about the life cycle of plants. This book was produced climate neutral.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 40

Dimensions: 230 x 300 mm

Publication Date: 06-03-2020

This book offers a glimpse into the culture of paper art and its mysterious creation, by introducing paper art from different aspects- from the invention of paper to various kinds of paper art across the world, the main techniques and tools of paper art creation, and the commonly used types of paper in the field. In addition, it mainly showcases contemporary paper art works that have highly integrated craftsmanship with creativity. It also breaks down the creation process of each work and discusses important subjects such as the application of paper art with paper artists and designers.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 256

Dimensions: 215 x 280 mm

Publication Date: 01-04-2020