Books for Kids

10/05/2026

Kate's top 4 books about Science. 🧪🔬🔭🥼

We're celebrating rocks, dinosaurs, space and physics at Books for Kids this week. We've got something to suit science lovers of all ages.

08/05/2026

Have you spotted us in the Waikato Times this morning?

05/05/2026

Hi everyone! I'm Kate, and I am so thrilled to introduce myself as the new owner of Books for Kids. 🎉
This place has meant so much to so many families for over fifty years, and that does not happen by accident. It happens because of people like Megan and the incredible owners who came before her, teachers and librarians who loved children's books with their whole hearts and built something truly special here on Grey Street. I feel the weight of that legacy every single day and I could not be more honoured to carry it forward.
A little about me. I spent over a decade teaching in Waikato classrooms before life took me in a few unexpected directions, and I have ended up exactly where I was always supposed to be. I am a reader to my core. The kind of person who has a stack of books on the bedside table, another pile by the couch, and absolutely no regrets about either.
I believe with everything I have that the right book in a child's hands at exactly the right moment can change the course of their life. That belief is what brought me here and it is what will drive everything we do together.
I am still learning the ropes and I ask for your patience and your grace while I find my feet. 🫠🫠🫠 What I can promise you is that I will pour everything I have into this place and into this community.
Come in and say hi. I would love to meet you. 📚
Kate x

04/05/2026

Congratulations Harrop. You're our lucky stocktake winner. I'll send you a DM with details about how to claim your prize in-store.

Thank you all for your guesses. I'm look8ng forward to meeting you all when we open again on Wednesday the 6th.

Kate oxox

30/04/2026

We are open today as usual but will be CLOSED from Saturday May 2 to WEDNESDAY May 6 for stocktake and handover to our new owner,
Last day for me but it’s been a brilliant 8 years - big hugs to our wonderfully faithful customers! I will miss you all! Big thanks to my assistants Elise, Jane and Christelle who will be carrying on with Kate!

30/04/2026

Good old(!) Torty!

A quiet surprise from Torty the 130+ year old tortoise 🐢

Yesterday on Anzac Day, we received this remarkable image from Torty’s family - the Littles. After several days buried away, ready for brumation, Torty unexpectedly emerged; awake on Anzac Day for the very first time. Her family say the unusual behaviour may be linked to shifting weather patterns.

Torty is regarded as Aotearoa New Zealand’s oldest living survivor of World War I, having been rescued by NZ soldier Stewart Little and brought home more than 100 years ago. Many have followed her story since she visited Te Papa last month, where she saw the Gallipoli: The Scale of Our War exhibition, and the replica of Torty that helps share her extraordinary journey.

A very special moment on a significant day. Torty’s rare appearance on Anzac Day offers a connection to a distant past, still present, still part of the story we continue to remember. Lest we forget.

📸 Christine Little

28/04/2026

Special to have visit Books for Kids yesterday afternoon - busy whipping up a dragon drawing for some lucky kids! Thank you!! Enjoy your Hamilton school visits!

28/04/2026

May 5th -Save the date for the next chapter of Books for Kids! Welcome Kate Horton, new owner of the iconic Hamilton Kids bookshop!

20/04/2026

Cover reveal day! This is my new book, launch day Monday, June 15!
Here's the back-cover blurb:
When an earthquake destroys Gryllum House, the orphanage where fourteen-year-old Marlon Foundling has spent his entire life, his miraculous survival beneath the rubble catches the attention of The Circus of Lost Children. This extraordinary troupe, comprised entirely of society’s forgotten children, whisks Marlon into a vibrant new world.
But dark forces loom, both in the form of a mysterious hex that forces every member to depart by their eighteenth birthday, and the victim of that hex: Enoch Blood, the vengeful ringmaster of a rival circus.
Marlon must find the courage to confront not only his personal demons but the threat that could extinguish this extraordinary haven forever.

There's a nationwide tour, limited edition hardbacks complete with gilded edges and ribbons, posters, online downloads, the whole shebang! Stand by for more to come!

16/04/2026

ROARRR is #2 on the NZ Kid's bestseller list this week.

Littlemoabooks