A Short History of Children's Book Week in NZ by Frances Plumpton

I was somewhat surprised when Read NZ Te Pou Muramura announced the first ever Aotearoa NZ Children’s Book Week 15 – 21 August 2026, for as a former children’s librarian and member of several judging panels over the years, I had also been involved in three decades of organising and participating in children’s book week events. 

At the NZ Children’s Book Awards ceremony in Wellington last Wednesday I shared my concerns with  Ann Packer, children’s book reviewer for The Listener, as we were both involved in regional event planning for the AIM Children’s Book Awards in the 1990s. We then spoke to Juliet Blyth, CEO of Read NZ Te Pou Muramura, and I offered to prepare a brief history of NZ Children’s Book Awards.

National Library’s Papers Past reveals that the Prime Minister Mr Fraser, patron of the New Zealand Library Association’ announced the inaugural Children’s Book Week 12th – 18th November 1944, after the ‘Dominion accepted an invitation from the American Library Association to join with other free countries in this important event’. The slogan was Uniting Through Books

At the New Zealand Library Association conference in February 1945 remits from the Wellington branch  supporting an annual book week were considered  with recommendations of inviting local bodies, Associated Booksellers of New Zealand, Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of New Zealand, National Broadcasting Service, New Zealand Education al Institute and the School Committees’ Association to appoint representatives to the association’s standing committee.

In his broadcast address 12 November 1945 opening Children’s Book Week, Mr Fraser said he hoped more school libraries with trained librarians would eventually be available throughout New Zealand.

The New Zealand Library Association (Now Library Association of New Zealand Aotearoa) and Booksellers New Zealand have long been sponsors of Children’s Book Weeks. 

Commercial sponsorship began when in 1989. Unilever through its Aim toothpaste brand announced sponsorship of $150,000 for the next three years for the Aim Children’s Book Week. This support was rebranded in 1993 as The Aim Children’s Book Festival and continued until 1996 after which New Zealand Post sponsored the Book Awards and the New Zealand Post Book Children’s Book Festival from 1997 to 2014. 2014 was the last time Book Week as we knew it took place.

More about the Book Awards

Until 2015 there were two separate awards for children and young adult titles. The first, New Zealand Library Association’s Esther Glen Medal for Fiction was established in 1945, with the Russell Clark Medal in1978, Young People’s Nonfiction award 1987, (renamed Elsie Locke Award 2002), Te Kura Pounamu in 1995 and the LIANZA Young Adult Award 2010. 

Concurrently in 1982 the inaugural New Zealand Government Publishing Awards for New Zealand Children’s Books of the Year, administered by the New Zealand Literary Fund was established with a Children’s Book of the Year Award and Children’s Picture Book of the Year Award. Under the sponsorship of Aim in 1990 the Awards became Aim Story Book of the Year, Aim Picture Story Book of the Year adding AIM Best First Book in 1992, and in 1993 The Aim Non-Fiction Book of the Year and also The Story Book of the Year became Aim Senior Fiction Award and Aim Junior Fiction Award, with the Aim Book of the Year added in 1995. 

In 1997 New Zealand Post Book Children’s Book Awards added the New Zealand Post Children’s Choice Award, and in 2004 renamed Senior Fiction Award as New Zealand Post Young Adult Award and changed the name of the Awards to New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. 

In 2015 The LIANZA Children’s Book Awards and the New Zealand Book Awards for children and Young Adults were merged as the current New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults under the umbrella of the New Zealand Book Awards Trust

Frances Plumpton


Image credit:

 https://photonews.org.nz/nelson/issue/NPN82_19670819/t1-body-d51.html 

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