Scholastic New Zealand Award
for Best Children’s Book 2021

Finalist

Designer: Vida Kelly, Vida and Luke Kelly Design
Title: Mophead Tu: The Queen’s Poem
Publisher: Auckland University Press
Format: 253 x 180mm, 96pp, hardback.
Printed 2c (black and purple) throughout.
Case: woodfree paper over board with matt machine varnishing plus debossing on front, back and spine.
Typography: Lunchbox Light and hand-drawn lettering. Illustrations and hand-drawn lettering by Selina Tusitala Marsh.

Judges’ comments Fun, inventive and endlessly energetic, Selina Tusitala Marsh’s Pasifika graphic memoir addresses colonialism and white privilege for kids with a positive, funny, light-hearted yet serious vibe. There’s a fun interplay between words and pictures on every page, and the bold two-colour design throughout keeps readers engaged and carries them along for a wild ride.