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New Zealand is definitely on my list of places to visit. I wanted to go there pre: Lord of the Rings but now going to see The Shire is a cool bonus.

Also, we don’t have a lot of sheep around where I live so a country that has five sheep for every person sounds interesting! The landscape looks so lush and diverse . . . I could see myself taking a lot of pictures there.

But for now, we will read books about it. 🙂

CHILDREN’S BOOKS
ABOUT NEW ZEALAND

Elizabeth, Queen of the Seas

Here is the incredible story of Elizabeth, a real-life elephant seal who made her home in the Avon River in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. When Elizabeth decides to stretch out across a two-lane road, the citizens worry she might get hurt or cause traffic accidents, so a group of volunteers tows her out to sea. But Elizabeth swims all the way back to Christchurch. The volunteers catch her again and again—each time towing her farther, even hundreds of miles away—but, still, Elizabeth finds her way back home.

A Kiwi Year: Twelve months in the life of New Zealand’s Kids

Meet Charlie, Ruby, Oliver, Mason and Kaia – Kiwi kids representing a multicultural blend of culture and race that typifies our amazing country. They’ll take you through a year in the life of New Zealand’s kids, from celebrations, traditions and events, to our everyday way of life and the little things that make childhood so memorable. A Kiwi Year is a picture book bursting with national pride. It’s a snapshot of who we are as New Zealanders, blending our modern-day culture and lifestyle with past traditions and native heritage. Its pages feature meandering text, dates and gorgeous illustrations showcasing our five Kiwi kids at play, at school, at home, and enjoying the sights and sites of our great nation. From the Bay of Islands to our hot springs and soaring mountains, vibrant cities and quaint country towns, this is our New Zealand childhood.

The Lost Penguin: The Story Of A Wayward Emperor Penguin In New Zealand

In 2011, a juvenile emperor penguin was found eating sand on a beach in New Zealand, some 2,000 miles from his home in Antarctica. He was taken to a local zoo where he was placed in a cold room to recover. With charming illustrations made with his flipper, he recounts his ordeal. When he left for home later that year with a GPS tracker glued to his feathery bum, over quarter of a million people followed his release on the tracker’s website. The Lost Penguin is a poetic and whimsical story of a wayward penguin who learns that sometimes the most important lesson in life may come as a surprise: Don’t eat the yellow snow!

Welcome to New Zealand: A Nature Journal

A gorgeous guide to creating a nature journal that will inspire kids around the world to chronicle what they see in their own backyards. Kids love to be outside, but it’s easy to miss all the astounding wonders of nature, unless you look closely. Have you ever noticed that ladybugs have different numbers of spots? When you look at a leaf, what do you see: is it pointed or round, long or short, soft or hard? In this stunning idea book, acclaimed author and illustrator Sandra Morris shares her love for the flora and fauna of her native New Zealand and encourages budding scientists to record their own discoveries in creative ways, no matter where they live.

Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World’s Strangest Parrot

On remote Codfish Island off the southern coast of New Zealand live the last ninety-one kakapo parrots on earth. These trusting, flightless, and beautiful birds—the largest and most unusual parrots on earth—have suffered devastating population loss. Now, on an island refuge with the last of the species, New Zealand’s National Kakapo Recovery Team is working to restore the kakapo population. With the help of fourteen humans who share a single hut and a passion for saving these odd ground-dwelling birds, the kakapo are making a comeback in New Zealand. Follow intrepid animal lovers Sy Montgomery and Nic Bishop on a ten-day excursion to witness the exciting events in the life of the kakapo.