Sharon Holt facts for kids

Sharon Holt is a New Zealand writer who creates books for children. She also publishes books and makes learning materials in Te Reo Māori, which is the Māori language. Many of her books have won awards or been chosen as finalists. Her special series, Te Reo Singalong, won big awards in 2013 and 2015 for helping people learn Māori. Sharon lives in Te Aroha, New Zealand.

About Sharon Holt

Sharon Holt was born in Auckland in 1959. She grew up in a part of Auckland called Glen Innes. Later, in 1997, she moved to the Waikato region. She lived in a few different towns there, including Leamington, Kihikihi, and Hamilton.

Even when she was a child, Sharon dreamed of becoming an author. Before she started writing and publishing full-time, she worked as a teacher and a journalist. When her own children were young, she began sending her stories to publishers. Since then, many of her books, poems, plays, and articles have been published. They are used in both regular bookstores and schools.

Learning Te Reo Māori

In 2002, Sharon decided to learn Te Reo Māori. She didn't know much about the language before this. She wasn't even sure how to say Māori place names correctly. She took a course at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, a special learning center.

Even though she is not Māori, she quickly fell in love with the language. Her teachers and classmates helped her a lot on her Māori language journey. She started her own publishing company called The Writing Bug Ltd. Her goal was to create a series of books in Te Reo Māori. These books use simple, repeated sentences and catchy songs. This helps children feel confident when they use Te Reo Māori.

Sharon still writes and sells these Te Reo Singalong picture books. They also come with other learning materials. These books are now published by EduMaxi. She also performs Te Reo Singalong shows. She teaches workshops, both in person and online, to help people learn how to say Māori words correctly.

Connecting with Readers

Sharon Holt has been a part of many festivals and book events. This includes the Auckland Writers Festival. She also visits schools through the Writers in Schools program. She leads special training sessions for teachers to help them in their work.

Sharon Holt is married and has two children. She now lives in Te Aroha.

Awards and Recognitions

Sharon Holt's books have won several awards and honors.

In 2007, her book It's True! You Can Make Your Own Jokes was a finalist. This was in the non-fiction category of the New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards. The illustrator for this book was Ross Kinnaird. The same book was also named a Storylines Notable Book in 2007. Her book Your Mother Didn't Do That! also made the Storylines Notable Book list in 2010.

The Te Reo Singalong series has won many awards:

• It won the Print category in the Ngā Tohu Reo Māori / Māori Language Awards in 2013.
• It was also a finalist in the same awards in 2012 and 2014.
• In 2015, it won Best Te Reo Resource.
• It also won the Teachers' Choice Award at the CLNZ Educational Publishing Awards in 2015.