Mānuka Stories: 1 December 2025 to 30 January 2026
When the mānuka blooms, it’s time to read!
Mānuka Stories competition is finished for the year
Mānuka flowers in December and January. When the mānuka blooms, it’s time to read! Visit your local library, grab your Mānuka Stories entry form and be in to win!
Grounded in mātauranga Māori, the mānuka signifies the connection to the whenua | land, and honours the role of the environment as the ultimate storyteller. Mānuka also symbolises a challenge, encouraging us to nurture and care for the mānuka, just as storytelling and reading encourages our own learning and growth.
Winners
Many thanks to everyone who entered our Mānuka Stories reading challenge (and their grown-ups for helping with entries and encouragement). See a full list of winners.
Challenges
Here are the stickers you can get for each challenge.
Attend a library programme or event
Pī / Bee
Read a story
Putiputi Māwhero / Pink Blooms
Listen to a story
Putiputi Mā / White Blooms
Rate and review books
Huhu
Complete the BookBot Challenge
Kererū
Stop awhile in your library reading nook
Tūī
Visit the library van out and about
Tuna / eel
Visit the Mānuka Storygrove exhibition
Kihikihi / Cicada
Collect when you finish your entry form
Rā / Sun
Attend a library programme or event
Pī / Bee
Events
Read a story
Putiputi Māwhero / Pink Blooms
Featured
Best of 2025 for Kids and Teens
New for Kids
New for Rangatahi
Listen to a story
Putiputi Mā / White Blooms
Kids eAudiobooks
Young Adult eAudiobooks
Rate and review books
Huhu
New for Kids
New for Rangatahi
Complete the BookBot Challenge
Kererū
Featured
Take the BookBots Challenge
Stop awhile in your library reading nook
Tūī
Visit the library van out and about
Tuna / eel
Visit the Mānuka Storygrove exhibition
Kihikihi / Cicada
Tomo mai ki te Wao Pūrākau
Tētahi wāhi e tupu noa ana ngā kōrero paki, ā, ka puāwai hoki ō mahara
... enter the Storygrove, a place where stories grow wild and your imagination blooms
On your visit to Tūranga, follow the trail of blooms to find the Mānuka Storygrove – a hidden grove of summertime wonder. Through the swishy harakeke you’ll find cozy nooks, and explore playful spaces filled with books, puppet theatre, magnetic poetry, and more.
Step into this magical native bush and discover a world of storytelling for the whole whānau, this summer.
3 December 2025 – 28 February 2026
Te Pito Huarewa Gallery, Tuakiri | Identity, Level 2
Collect when you finish your entry form
Rā / Sun
Get the Rā sticker added when you hand in your entry.
Here are some of the cool prizes you could win!
Read Mānuka Stories books!
Spot the Rā / Sun Sticker and Dive In
Every library has a display bursting with extra-special books marked with the Rā / Sun sticker reserved just for Mānuka Stories!
Each branch has its own quirky mix of popular series and cool titles we know you’ll love. So hunt for the sticker, grab your favourites, and let the stories shine!
Mānuka Stories photos
Recommended for Kids
Best of 2025 for Kids and Teens
Reading Recommendations for Tamariki
Children's literary prizes and awards
Recommended for Teens
Best of 2025: Young Adult
Reading Recommendations - Teens
Teen literary prizes and awards
What your kid's teacher wishes you knew - holiday reading
Featured
Join us for school holiday fun and learning
Bilingual Story Cards
Christmas
Library tote bags $9
Terms and Conditions
- Mānuka Stories Challenge is for ages 0 – 18 years
- The competition is open between Monday 1 December 2025 and Friday 30 January 2026.
- Entries must be returned to any one of the Christchurch City Libraries or submitted via online entry form by 5pm on Friday 30 January 2026.
- Winners will be notified and announced on our website and Facebook page.
- Prize allocation is at the discretion of the Christchurch City Council. All decisions are final and no correspondence will be entered into.
- Entries must have all correct contact details to be in the draw.
Previous Challenges
Join the library. It's free!
It is free to join the library. You can join the library online or at a library.