Monday, 3 November 2014
Out on the Water
Twelve Tales of the Sea
Tessa Duder; illustrated by Bruce Potter
New collection evokes the adventure of sailing
and the sea for younger readers
Renowned
children’s author Tessa Duder and illustrator Bruce Potter have combined to produce
a stirring collection of twelve stories about kids out on the water around New
Zealand.
The stories in Out
on the Water range from a girl’s experience of her first Optimist regatta
to a boy learning the ropes on a tall ship from Sydney to Auckland in the 1880s.
Each story features a full-page line drawing, and weaves
into the text a rich thread of sailing words and knowledge (helped by a
glossary of language of the sea).
This is Tessa Duder’s first fiction for young adults
in over ten years. Her most recent young adult non-fiction is The Story of Sir Peter Blake – and one
of the new stories is a fictionalised account of Peter Blake and brother Tony
on an after-school sail across Waitemata Harbour.
In the book’s introduction, Tessa writes how the book
answers the request from a grandson for stories about children going sailing.
“So here are twelve stories about young people having a wide range of
experiences on the water – inshore as crew or skipper, or as crew on offshore
voyages.”
Tessa, who lives on Auckland’s North Shore, is a keen
sailor with a long-standing commitment to the sport in New Zealand, from
tutoring Optimist sailors to her work for the Spirit of Adventure Trust.
Out on the
Water will be
launched in Takapuna, Auckland this Thursday 6 November. Bruce, who lives in
Alexandra, will also be available for media, and will be in Wellington during
this week.
Publication Date: 6 November 2014
| ISBN: 978-1-877514-75-3 | RRP $29.99
Paperback, 234 x 153 mm, 152 pages b&w with line drawings
 |
| Tessa Duder |
 |
| Bruce Potter |
Crowds thronging the pavilion, strong turnouts for author events, publishers tied up in meeting after meeting: the Taipei International Book Exhibition is proving a busy experience for the New Zealand contingent. 
The large Guest of Honour pavilion has been standing room for a number of cultural performances, with hundreds showing up for performances by Ngā Kete Tuku Iho's performance group and its wood carvers also drawing many onlookers. 
