New children's book makes a splash

6 November 2018

Summer’s nearly here, and everyone’ll be heading to the beach, river or pool to pull off the perfect dive bomb. But what if you just can’t get it right?

This is the dilemma for the boy in Sacha Cotter and Josh Morgan’s picture book, The Bomb. This award-winning pair have created a funny and inspirational story about a boy who keeps on doing flops, in spite of taking lessons from his bomb-champ nan and getting advice from everyone, until he finds the secret. Listening to his inner voice, he is able to shine.

The story came to Sacha after a trip home one summer to Kawerau and watching children spend hours trying to do the coolest bomb. It’s a ritual of Aotearoa summer life that can last into adulthood.

‘Everywhere I went, I saw kids jumping off things and having the time of their lives. It reminded me of my own childhood,’ says Sacha. ‘I wanted to write a story that celebrated a much-loved part of our culture – the art of dive bombing!’ she continues.

Sacha noticed a particular culture around bombs and wondered what it might be like for a child who did not quite fit the traditional mould. She likes the idea of fun and humour in her stories as well as having strong connections between her characters and a positive message.

Sacha and Josh hope that children will enjoy the story and also feel encouraged to be their unique selves and make their own splash. Josh’s illustrations are bright, quirky, full of detail and surprises and capture the essence of the story beautifully.

The Bomb is the third picture book by the Wellington duo, and it is available in English and te reo Māori language editions. A book launch will be held this Saturday, 10 November at 3 p.m. at the Children’s Bookshop in Kilbirnie.

Nau mai, haere mai. Welcome all.

About the author and illustrator
Sacha Cotter is a writer, librarian and teacher. Josh Morgan (Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Rongowhakaata) is an illustrator, writer and designer.

Sacha and Josh have previously collaborated on two picture books: Keys/Ngā Kī and The Marble Maker/Te Kaihanga Māpere. Keys was a finalist in the picture book category and Ngā Kī was winner of the Māori Language Award of the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults 2015. Ngā Kī also won Te Tohu Taurapa Award in the LIANZA Children’s Book Awards 2015 and was selected for the IBBY Honour List in 2016. Te Kaihanga Māpere won Te Kura Pounamu award of the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults 2017.

About the publisher
Huia Publishers is an award-winning independent company producing wonderful and provocative books with a uniquely Māori and Pacific perspective.

ENDS

© Scoop Media