Merry Christmas! December 22, 2011
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Great Christmas Gift Guide November 21, 2011
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Time for the 2011 Castle Publishing Great Christmas Gift Guide… an excellent selection of NZ books that make ideal gifts this Christmas and superb summer reading. There’s something for everyone, so buy books for someone you love or for yourself this summer. There are even some great specials listed there, so you get NZ books at a very affordable price. Head on over to the Castle website to browse the guide and order online – quick and easy… the books will be delivered to your doorstep. Visit the guide here.
New book: The People Paul Admired November 18, 2011
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I’ve been a little remiss in posting about this book, but now is as good a time as any, because Christmas is approaching and this book would be a great gift or superb for summer reading.
The People Paul Admired, by Beulah Wood, is an absorbing insight into the everyday life of the first-century church. Beulah examines the lives and lifestyles of early house church leaders at the time of Paul. Uniquely, she does this through first-person narratives delivered by historically-based characters such as servant girls and minor characters from the book of Acts – a technique that lifts the book into being an engrossing read. Carefully researched and creatively written – entertaining and informative.
Beulah Wood, BD (Melbourne), DMin (Gordon-Conwell), has published over thirty books in New Zealand, India, and the UK. She now divides her time between writing in New Zealand and teaching half of each year at South Asia Institute of Advanced Christian Studies, Bangalore, India.
For more info about The People Paul Admired, and to purchase a copy, visit the Castle website.
Christmas gift idea: The Rose Princess November 2, 2011
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A few months ago we took on distribution for a very wonderful kids’ picture book authored by New Zealander Mike de Vetter. The Rose Princess and the Special Gift is beautifully illustrated in full colour with a hard cover. And now it’s available for a new special price of NZ$17.95. For more info and to purchase a copy online, head over to this page on the Castle website.
Here is some feedback about the book so far:
“There are a lot of children’s books on the market today, but only a handful are as engaging and captivating to kids as The Rose Princess and the Special Gift. It is itself a special gift, that is not only visually beautiful, but also tells a beautiful story with an important message. As a Dad, I want as many tools that help will me connect with my children and that help me pass on a lasting faith to them – this is one such tool.” - Tim Sisarich (Father of five and Executive Director, Focus on the Family NZ)
“The Rose Princess and the Special Gift is a delightful book that speaks to the heart of a child. Every small girl needs to hear from her dad that she is lovely and yes she is capable of goodness. This book communicates both of those messages. In a special way the affirmation of a father permeates the story and embraces the small princess in a world of imagination. Our own small granddaughters were captivated!” – Mary Grant (Founder, Parents Inc. and Faith 4 Families)
Proudly New Zealand October 31, 2011
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New Zealand is a great little country – and not just because we won the Rugby World Cup and the Lord of the Rings films were made here! At Castle we think that there is amazing value in unique books produced by New Zealanders (and Australasians) for New Zealand (and Australasia).
We keep our production quality high and our products unique.
And to show just how adamant we are about all this, we’ve got a new logo that we’re going to take every opportunity to display…
Sad news October 25, 2011
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We at Castle were very saddened to hear of the recent passing of Dr Howard Harper.
The following is an excerpt from the obituary in the New Zealand Herald:
HARPER, Dr Howard Fife FRCF. Passed away peacefully in London on 19 October 2011 after a lengthy illness, aged 80 years. It can truly be said that “a mighty Totara has fallen”. Raised in New Zealand, he spent 50 years of his life with his beloved wife Monica, in pioneering missionary and medical work in Central Asia. He was an indefatigable character who kept his focus on enabling people to see again physically and spiritually until the last weeks of his life.
At Castle we were honoured to be able to help tell his story through working on the book which his daughter Faith Goldberg compiled. He was a truly inspirational man who touched the lives of thousands of people. It is wonderful to think that this mostly unsung hero received some recognition in his home country towards the end of his life. We believe that his life and legacy will continue to be treasured for many years to come.
On the radio: Good God – the Goodalls! October 20, 2011
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The impressive tome that is Good God – the Goodalls! has been picked up by Community Radio Hamilton. The book is being dramatised chapter by chapter on the Historic Souvenirs programme, which retells personal memoirs in a series of animated book readings. This is a weekly show broadcast at noon on Mondays. Community Radio Hamilton is on 1206 AM in the Waikato Region and on 106.7 FM in Hamilton.
For more information about Good God – the Goodalls! or to purchase a copy please visit this page on the Castle website.
Hot off the press: Way to Go September 22, 2011
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Another book hot off the press and another great book from George Bryant. Way to Go is published by DayStar Books with production work done by Castle.
Way to Go is excellent – practical and easy to read. It revisits the key teachings of Jesus Christ regarding how we should relate to each other. 2000 years on, and Jesus’ message is still as high impact as ever. George has been able to do full justice to that message, communicating it to a contemporary audience in a way that is bound to leave you challenged.
Highly recommended. For more info, visit the DayStar website.
Inspiring art August 2, 2011
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The other night I was watching a re-run of the excellent TV series presented by Justin Paton called ‘How To Look At A Painting‘. It was the episode about New Zealand landscape painting.
I was fascinated by the discussion about Robin White’s 12-panel piece, ‘Summer Grass’, not least of all because one of the stories that sparked White’s imagination comes from one of our books.
‘Summer Grass’ is a painting about the Featherston Prisoner of War Camp where over 800 Japanese prisoners were held during WW2, and where 48 prisoners died in 1943 under fire from camp guards during a riot. White related reading the story of one prisoner who heard the quote ‘they shall mount up with wings as eagles…’ This prisoner realised that the quote was from the Bible and began reading from the beginning of the Bible until he found the words. Moved by this story, White incorporated the text from Isaiah 40, written in Japanese script, into her painting.
The story that so inspired White is found in Beyond Death and Dishonour by Michiharu Shinya. Starting in 2000, at the request of the author, who wanted to give his memoirs as a gift to the people of New Zealand, we started work on revising and updating the text that was first published as ‘The Path from Guadalcanal’ (Outrigger, 1979). It was a fascinating project as we edited the original translation and worked alongside the family of Hessell Troughton (the padre at Featherston who gave Shinya a Bible), and with people such as Noel Earles (who had been a guard at the camp at the end of the war). The story attracted quite a lot of attention when it was published in 2001 and continues to be popular today.
For information about Beyond Death and Dishonour and to purchase a copy online, visit the Castle website here.
Hot off the press: The Real Goal July 26, 2011
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Well, there’s a certain rather large sporting event taking place in New Zealand in less than two months. New Zealand is rugby-mad at the best of times but when it comes to the world cup (our worries about how well the All Blacks will perform aside) the intensity goes up more than one notch. Add to that an influx of rugby fans from around the world, and this creates a rather unique context.
We want people to know more about Jesus. We believe in a message that can change individuals and the world for the better. So when you combine that with the rugby context, what comes out is something like our newest production – The Real Goal.
This pocket-sized (90mm x 148mm) 8-page gospel tract booklet features contemporary design and a conversational style to explain the Christian gospel message for sports fans – especially fans of Union or League. Written by Laidlaw College lecturer Mark Keown (author of What’s God Up To On Planet Earth?) and Jeff Hagan.
We’re really excited about this.
Please head over to this page on our website, where you can preview the booklet as a pdf, get more info, and purchase copies (only 50c (NZ) each)…
