Ruby and the Land of Birds, by Latika Vasil (Wellington: Korobee Press, 2026). ISBN 978-0-473-79333-3.
RRP NZ$30.00. Available from https://latikavasil.com/shop/ (includes shipping anywhere in New Zealand) and in Wellington, from independent bookshops including Unity, The Children’s Bookshop, Marsden Books and Aurelia Books (soon).
There’s a great deal to like about Latika Vasil’s new middle grade novel Ruby and the Land of Birds, and it starts with the evocative cover: the kākā, the schoolgirl with her bag, and the pre-human forest. On a school trip to Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush, Ruby – struggling to find her feet at her new school – and her classmate Jasper fall through time to the same place a thousand or more years ago, when the forest primeval is populated by birds and other entities that have very varied views about the young interlopers who have just dropped in on them.
Ruby and Jasper are well-written, believable kids – ingenious but impetuous, prone to sudden rows but open to reconciliation, each outsiders in their school, easy to empathise with and like – and I had no trouble getting engaged in their story and wanting them to overcome the obstacles this world places in their path. They encounter a wise mentor who helps their journey, but who can’t shield them from all the dangers they face. In the end, it is their own actions that must save them.
This is a survival story, but the level of peril is appropriate for the book’s intended audience, while still keeping me as an adult reader eagerly turning the pages. I was cheering for the two children to make it home safe, and while I won’t spoil the ending, I thought it hit just the right note.
If you’re looking for a story that will entertain children of ages 8-12+, especially those who love nature, I can definitely recommend Ruby and the Land of Birds.
