Bookrapt’s Treasury

Bookrapt’s Treasury is an anthology celebrating over four decades of the Bay of Plenty Children’s Literature Association. The hardcover book gathers stories, poems, and illustrations tailored for readers from preschool to high school. 

With storage expenditure the final cost for the project is $40,226.90. Bookrapt and Mauao Publishing are grateful to Tauranga Writers for Children ($6,000) and Creative Communities New Zealand (Tauranga) ($4,000) for their belief in our vision and for supporting this book. We are hoping that pre-sales will offset some of the cost, but we do have a shortfall and are hoping for $3,000 to take the pressure off.

Bookrapt’s Treasury brings together 63 emerging and award-winning authors, illustrators and photographers associated with the vibrant Bookrapt community. 

Bookrapt (the Bay of Plenty Children’s Literature Association, est. 1983) is a not-for-profit incorporated society promoting the value of books and reading for children and young people. Bookrapt champions literature from Aotearoa New Zealand and around the world.

Mauao Publishing (est. 2012) is an independent book publisher connecting the tamariki of Aotearoa with beautifully produced books telling stories from our own backyard. Our exceptional bilingual narrative non-fiction books have won multiple awards and are sought after by children and parents, educators, researchers, libraries, overseas tourists and anyone interested in stories unique to Aotearoa. 

The costs for publishing Bookrapts Treasury include:

• Book printing
• Supplementary illustrations
• Artwork photography
• Artwork scanning
• Book designer
• Customs clearance and GST
• Shipping from China to Auckland
• Freight to Tauranga
• Storage costs

For 43 years, Bookrapt has promoted the value of books and reading with a focus on literature from Aotearoa New Zealand. This dynamic group includes writers, artists, school teachers, librarians, parents, and grandparents with a passion for children and young person’s literature. 

We wish to celebrate our wonderful Bookrapt authors and illustrators who have contributed 78 stories, non-fiction pieces and poems, along with the 202 pieces of artwork and 37 photographs that feature in this beautiful anthology. 

Bookrapt will be supporting the first ever Aotearoa NZ Children's Book Week (15-21 August) in conjunction with Tauranga City Libraries with activities for children throughout the week that celebrate the authors and illustrators featured within Bookrapt's Treasury. 

Bookrapt’s Treasury offers hours of shared read-aloud pleasure or quiet reading for those who want to curl up in a cosy nook with a good book. As a gift, a keepsake, a companion to support a lifelong love of reading, this Treasury belongs on every family’s bookcase and in libraries and classrooms throughout Aotearoa.

Books written and illustrated locally validate young readers’ identities by reflecting their specific culture, landscape, and language, ensuring tamariki see themselves in the stories they consume. They foster kaitiakitanga (guardianship and protection) of Aotearoa's unique environment and heritage, indigenous knowledge as important myths and traditions are shared, along with familiar humour and slang words and experiences and places they recognise.