What people say about us
The story behind the Kiwi Kids Bookstore
The Kiwi Kids’ Bookstore is an online bookstore that showcases books by New Zealand authors and illustrators for children and teens aged 0-15.
The bookstore was founded by New Zealand children’s author Kate Gordon-Smith with a simple but important idea: to make it easier for families, schools and book lovers to discover and celebrate books by New Zealand authors.
As Kate explains:
“There are amazing bookstores in New Zealand that showcase children’s books and they have a whole world of books to choose from. That sometimes makes it harder for NZ books to feature and for book buyers looking for NZ books to have a wide selection to browse. That’s why I opted to focus on NZ children’s and teen books, be that fiction or non-fiction, poems and activity books.”
The Kiwi Kids’ Bookstore is built around the importance of supporting New Zealand’s authors, illustrators and publishers. The bookstore champions both independently and traditionally published authors, selecting books that meet high professional standards of writing, editing, production and printing.
Then, The Kiwi Kids’ Bookstore entered its next chapter with Lisa Gill at the helm. Lisa is a passionate booklover, reading advocate and IT specialist from Napier. With a BA in English and Art History, she always imagined she would end up doing something surrounded by books and words.
“Somehow I accidentally ended up in IT instead!” Lisa says. “Earlier in my career, I was a writer for Pavement and Pulp magazines, and I’ve been a passionate reader since I was young.”
Lisa has always been a strong advocate for children’s reading and the role books can play in a child’s life.
“When my son was younger, every achievement, big or small, was rewarded with a book. I love the role books can play in sparking curiosity, imagination and a lifelong love of learning.”
Her love of New Zealand books and her desire to support local writers and publishers made The Kiwi Kids’ Bookstore a natural fit.
Where we're based
All books are in print format – paperback, board or hardcover – and orders are dispatched from our premises in the Hawkes Bay.
We ship to New Zealand addresses only at this point, but we are happy to quote for international delivery.
Books can be ordered by people overseas to be sent to a New Zealand address. Simply complete the different billing and delivery addresses.
Please contact us if any questions about where we can send books.
Our book industry connections
The Kiwi Kids’ Bookstore is a member of Booksellers Aotearoa New Zealand.
In the news
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