Pencil Pal by Kylie 

This is a short but real sweet zine that we picked up at Auckland Zinefest last month by our very own ex zine librarian Kylie. It’s called ‘Pencil Pal’ after a peanuts strip where Charlie Brown wants to write to his pen pal but keeps getting ink all over the page, so he changes to pencil and calls his pen pal ‘pencil pal’ from then on. Cute huh? Well, along with tips on writing and replying to letters, there is also a list of reasons why you should get yourself a pen pal – my favourite is to have people to send cards to that you find in second hand shops. Tell me about it! I have a whole heap! What I found most interesting though was Kylie’s description of her pen pals past and present, including the 7 year old miss who sent back her letters with spelling corrected!

Stephanie

It’s for Cook, Volume 1.  by Emma Boyd 

E mate kai ana koe? Are you hungry?

To show my pleasure, I would have liked to get this little volume mucky on my counter, splodged with beetroot, carrot, and pineapple. It’s a small volume, cute sized and illuminated with photography.

Having only 9 recipes it could seem sparse, but this, it reads like a recipe book but looks like a menu, somewhat wholesome, but not in a yoga -every -day -only -organic- in- big -letters -self -help -self -righteous wholesome.

With much self-control I returned it to the library in the condition I borrowed it, with some cumin seed stuck between my teeth.

Kia mākona. Bon appétit. 

Anita

I Hate Mom’s Cat by Corinne Mucha

I Hate Mom’s Cat is a short comic in which Corinne Mucha does more or less what the title suggests – details how and why she hates her mother’s cat, Teddy. In simple, childlike drawings and sweetly funny text, she outlines Teddy’s many character flaws and compares them to her memories of the saint-like cats of her childhood – against which Teddy doesn’t stand a chance. This is one of six zines by Corinne Mucha that we hold, including the full length graphic novel, My Alaskan Summer.

Jeremy