Kate Horton - Books for Kids

05/10/2026

Happy holidays friends!

I'm working on our reference section in the shop, and having so much fun shopping for must-read teacher books.

I've been out of the game for a while, so I'm all over things that were released pre-2020, but haven't been all over the more recent releases. Can you help me fill in the gaps?

❓❓❓ What's the best bit of professional reading you've done lately ❓❓❓

I've written about my top 8. Super keen to know what I missed:

https://booksforkids.co.nz/blogs/book-recommendations/eight-books-for-your-teacher-bookshelf

27/09/2026

Have you ever been to a Scholastic Book Sale?? I haven't, but I hear they're epic!

03/08/2026

I've lined up 3 super impressive NZ authors to do some virtual writing workshops with your class to celebrate NZ Children's Book Week. Put these in your calendar now:

TUESDAY August 18 @ 9:30-10.15 Stacy Gregg Stacy Gregg
WEDNESDAY August 19 @ 9:30-10:15 James Russell James Russell
FRIDAY August 21 @ 9:30-10:15 Claire Mabey Claire Mabey

Registrations open TUESDAY morning to all NZ primary, intermediate & secondary teachers over in As strong as the teacher next to me.
If you're not a member yet, it's free to join.

Thanks heaps to Read NZ Te Pou Muramura for helping us to provide these awesome opportunities for Kids all over NZ to learn from some of our most talented children's authors.

17/06/2026

This is a big deal! I'm hosting our very first live event in plot in Week 11 and oh my, we're starting STRONG! Graci Kim is the super special guest for our first ever virtual authors-in-schools workshop. You'll recognise Graci from the National Young Leaders Day roadshow if you were lucky enough to head along.

At 9:30am on Wednesday of Week 11, Graci and I will go live on the School Kit platform, where you and your class can dial in and learn about how Graci became a bestselling author. She's got an awesome session planned where your students will learn the world-building formula that she uses and how she maps out key plot points.

If you teach Year 4+, make sure you put this in your calendar.

To join, all you need is to be a member of School Kit Squad. Once you're in, you can register for the event from tomorrow.

07/06/2026

I've done it! I've manually loaded almost 4,000 books to the website, so it's ready enough (only 2,000 more books to go) to send you there to start shopping. If you're a member of the School Kit Squad, next time you log in, head to plot. where you'll find your online discount code. Show your School Kit app in-store to use it here too.

If you're not a member, head over and sign up today. It's free for all NZ educators.
https://squad.schoolkit.co.nz/share/hk4M49TXT7AGMOo2?utm_source=manual

18/05/2026

I've been in the bookshop for two weeks now. I've figured out how to process a sale, how to order stock and how to fix the $1/ride rocket machine out on the footpath.
Now that I kinda know the ropes, I'm ready to start research mode to get things happening for schools. First things first though, figuring out how the margins work so I know how much wriggle room I've got with pricing. As you'd expect, the more I buy, the better the deal. This makes it tempting to buy things in quantities of 10/20... but reality hits pretty quickly when you start seeing the bills come in, and it's an easy decision to say yes to 2 or 3 copies of most things. Plus, we've got over 6,000 different titles in the shop; we'd need to add on a warehouse if I went too crazy ... maybe that bit happens in 2027.
So let's just order them in.
If you want a class set of just avoyt any book in the world that is still in print, I can hook you up, and the delivery will take about 4 weeks. So you go and get organized for Term 3, and I'll sort the books for you.

09/05/2026

07/05/2026

Here's my first teacher special for you: 10% off anything by Donovan Bixley.
When you think about it, books are the first exposure kids get to great art, and Donovan 100% gets that. Not only is he a great author, he's a PHENOMENAL illustrator.
The websites a few days away so if you see anything that tickles your fancy, send me a DM and I'll pop it in the post to you.

06/05/2026

Day 1 in the bookshop is done and dusted. My friend popped in bright and early to make sure she was my first official customer which was super special.
So far this week I've been reminded that:
🫡 when you want to do ALL THE THINGS it's important to accept that they won't all be sorted in week 1.
😉 what customers want vs. what you think they'll want can be two very different things (I sold an unexpectedly high quantity of wrapping paper today).
🥳 when people offer to help, let them!

I'm running the show for the first 3 weeks before my store manager gets started, then I'll spend most of my time in School-Supplier mode. So for now, watch this space for updates from the retail world.