New Zealand Writers
BOON, Kevin
Boon writes accessible accounts of New Zealand history for young people.
BOON, Kevin (1940 - ) is a writer who has published over one hundred titles, most of them accessible accounts of New Zealand history for young people.His subjects include individuals from Edmund Hillary to Malvina Major; historical events from the Tongawera eruption to the Wahine Disaster; and aspects of colonial history from whalers and sealers to the Treaty of Waitangi.
Many of Boon's books are parts of various series. Series titles include People in NZ History, Famous New Zealanders, The Story of the All Blacks, New Zealand Disasters, and Developments in New Zealand History.
Boon's first book was a novel, The Great Marlin Mystery (1988). He has also written plays, and scripts for the television series If Y'Can't Beat 'Em, and for National Radio's Ears programme.
Boon's latest books are picture books including Lost (2002), Lorna and the Ladybird (2002), and Moonbiter (2002), which is the retelling of an Aboriginal story.
(KC.)
Updated Information
Recent titles in the People in New Zealand History series include Norman Kirk, Maui Pomare and Jon Trimmer (Kotuku Publishing, 2005).
In 2006 Kevin Boon won The Elsie Locke Award (previously LIANZA Young People's Non-fiction Award) for his series Developments in New Zealand History. The Elsie Locke Award celebrates a distinguished contribution to non-fiction for young people. The judging panel said, 'Without the work of Kevin Boon, New Zealand’s non-fiction resources for children would be infinitely poorer. A thematic approach to history, rather than a strictly chronological one, requires careful synthesis of the material, and Boon does this particularly well, moving through each topic in a way that to the reader is convincing and logical. It is an enormously impressive achievement.'
The Liberals, The Forests, Roads and Railways and Development of Farming are the four latest volumes in a series of twenty general knowledge resources recommended for children aged eight to fifteen years old. Each book contains double-page-spreads with multiple historic and contemporary photographs to corroborate the text. The themes and key events in each titles cross reference within the series, providing a continuum of colonial New Zealand history. The series also includes relevant New Zealand maps.
Dawn of the 20th Century (Waiatarua press, 2008) 'It is not easy to summon up the lost world of penny post, telegrams, trams and night carts, but Boon's assembly of useful information, lively illustrations and cogent captions does it well.' (Magpies, Vol 23, Issue 2, May 2008, p.8 (NZ section))
Kevin Boon is available to talk to students of ages. He is able to speak to students on a wide range of literary subjects including famous New Zealanders, New Zealand writers (including Janet Frame, Katherine Mansfield, James K Baxter and Frank Sargison), New Zealand history, Maori leaders, and reading an writing fiction. He would prefer to talk to one or two classes together and he is able to run workshops by prior arrangement. He is prepared to travel out of town for Writers in Schools visits.
KIDS AUTHORS PICTURES AND INFORMATION
Some Questions for Kevin Boon
Where do you live?
Apart from when I was a teacher in Australia for a year and England for two years, I have always lived in Wellington, New Zealand.
What sort of books do you read?
I enjoyed all of the children’s classics – Treasure Island, The Call of the Wild, The Time Machine, but I have also read a lot of non-fiction about Famous New Zealanders, New Zealand history, sport, etc.
Do you have a favourite author?
Charles Dickens, Shakespeare, H G Wells, Katherine Mansfield, James K Baxter, Margaret Mahy.
How do you think up your ideas?
Most of my fiction is based on real life experiences – Lost, The New Boy, The Case of the Missing Bike, etc. For my non-fiction I read about people and events, but where possible I enjoy interviewing people.
What is the best thing about being an author?
With fiction I enjoy thinking up the stories in the first place and writing them down. Polishing them up can be hard work, but it has to be done. With non-fiction I begin by reading about people and events, New Zealand history especially.
Some Questions for Primary School Students
Do you have any pets?
One black cat named Shadow. She’s 8 years old.
Do you have a favourite colour?
Blue.
Do you have a favourite food?
Fish of all kinds.
Do you have a favourite movie?
The Lord of the Rings.
Do you play any games?
Cricket, golf, tennis, chess.
What is the most fun thing about being an author?
Thinking up ideas in the first place, and reading and sharing books with students.
How do you make a book?
After writing the story I like to plan the text and illustration for the book, page by page. Once this has been set up in the computer and copied on a desk, the printer can print the books.
Where do you go for our holidays?
Usually to the area North of Auckland – the Bay of Islands – but sometimes to Australia or the Pacific Islands.
What is the naughtiest thing you ever did at school?
I honestly don’t think I was very naughty at school. Maybe that’s why I spent 22 years as a School Principal.
Some Questions for Secondary School Students
How did you get started?
The first serious writing that I did was for television. My novel The Great Marlin Mystery was planned as a TV series. After it was published people asked for shorter stories. My non-fiction is inspired by gaps I saw in information about New Zealand while I was teaching.
Who inspired you when you were getting started?
A very close friend of mine named Peter Coates who is a television producer, as well as Margaret Mahy and other New Zealand writers.
What advice would you give an aspiring young writer?
Write from our own experience and don’t say you haven’t got any because you have some unique and fascinating experience – everyone has. Try writing some non-fiction about real events and people.
Is it difficult to make a living writing in New Zealand?
Yes it is. You must be very versatile and very persistent. Margaret Mahy spent 20 years trying to get her work published!
What were you like as a teenager?
Pretty average very fond of sports, friends and fun.
Is there anything else you want to tell us about yourself?
One day when I was at school and the teacher was out of the room I pretended to teach the class. I didn’t see the teacher come quietly back into the room! She said that she thought I was quite good – so I became a teacher for 42 years.
On one occasion I was sitting on the widow ledge reading to my class when I leaned back too far and fell out the window! I came back in through the door still reading the story. I must enjoy reading to students. However, I don’t make it a regular feature.
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