In 2021, Scorpio Books opened a dedicated children’s bookshop in the heart of Ōtautahi Christchurch’s CBD. ‘Telling Tales: Scorpio Children’s Books’ is located directly across the courtyard from Scorpio Books.
The sunny new shop is a treasure trove for the children of Ōtautahi, and the child within us all. The thoughtful selection of books aims to ignite imaginations and a thirst for knowledge in a new generation of readers. Our team at Telling Tales believe that books, and the stories they hold, have a unique capacity to inspire and connect us to a better future.
What’s our age range?
Telling Tales is a book shop predominantly for children 14 and under – but that’s just the simple answer. Like their readers, books don’t always fit into neat categories. There’s plenty of books in the Young Adult (YA) genre that might suit younger readers, and plenty of books pitched at 10-year-olds that teens still love as comfort reads. So, while YA lives at Scorpio Books (15+), we’ve got a section at Telling Tales called ‘Young Teen’ that caters to advanced middle grade readers and those up to about 14. If you’re unsure which shop or section you’ll find a particular title in, please ask. We’re always happy to point you in the right direction.
With the best range of carefully curated books in Christchurch, including a robust Gardening section, Scorpio Books is staffed by friendly, knowledgeable, eclectic readers always ready to help with a recommendation.
Browse the shelves, settle into a comfy chair and discover the best new releases and classics, fiction and non-fiction, on almost any topic you can think of. And if we don’t have what you want and it’s still in print, we’ll order it in for you.
Established over 45 years ago, Scorpio Books is a Christchurch institution. Lose yourself in this treasure trove for booklovers.
Scorpio Books offer all CHS Members a 10% discount (valid at both Scorpio Books & Telling Tales)
The Natural Gardener – Scorpio Book of the Month
The Natural Gardener By Richard Unsworth $65, Hardback From the earliest crop plantings to the most elaborate formal gardens, humans have cultivated gardens for millennia. Recently there has been a shift away from clean lines and perfectly trimmed hedges to more naturalistic plantings: the new natural garden is considered and curated, taking its cues … Read More
Outside In- Scorpio Book of the Month
Outside In By Sean A Pritchard $75, Hardback (limited stock so get in quick!) In his debut book, garden designer Sean A Pritchard shows you how to plan a garden so that every month of the year there’s something to bring indoors and display in an engaging way. From the cheery joy of early … Read More
Why Women Grow
Why Women Grow By Alice Vincent $28 Paperback | $39.99 Hardback Women have always gardened, but our stories have been buried with our work. Alice Vincent is on a quest to change that: to understand what encourages women to go out, work the soil, plant seeds and nurture them, even when so many other responsibilities … Read More
The Garden Against Time: In Search of a Common Paradise
The Garden Against Time: In Search of a Common Paradise By Olivia Laing Pre-orders now available | $49.99 ‘A garden contains secrets, we all know that: buried elements that might put on strange growth or germinate in unexpected places. The garden that I chose had walls, but like every garden it was interconnected, wide … Read More
Visionary: Gardens and Landscapes for our Future
Visionary: Gardens and Landscapes for our Future By Claire Takacs with Giacomo Guzzon $75.00 Available from Scorpio Books In Visionary: Gardens and Landscapes for our Future photographer Claire Takacs and landscape architect Giacomo Guzzon introduce stunning private and public gardens from around the world that have addressed both sustainability and climate change with outstanding results. Be inspired by … Read More
The Light Eaters: The New Science of Plant Intelligence
The Light Eaters: The New Science of Plant Intelligence By Zoë Schlanger $38.99 Order from Scorpio Books A narrative investigation into the new science of plant intelligence and sentience, from National Association of Science Writers Award winner and Livingston Award finalist Zoë Schlanger. Look at the green organism across the room or through the … Read More
Organic Vegetable Gardening
Organic Vegetable Gardening: A month-by-month guide to growing your own food By Xanthe White Due in-store 7th May 2024. $45. Pre-orders now available. The expert guide to growing your own vegetables organically in New Zealand. In this revised bestseller, expert landscape designer Xanthe White takes readers by the hand and walks them from backyard … Read More
Foraging New Zealand
Foraging New Zealand By Peter Langlands Due in-store mid-April, launch event at Scorpio Books 1 st May (details below). $50. Pre-orders now available – display copy in-store for perusal. www.scorpiobooks.co.nz/product/foraging-new-zealand New Zealand is full of incredible, edible wild foods — fruit, fungi and seaweed; berries, herbs and more — you only need to know … Read More
The Ethnobotanical: A world tour of Indigenous plant knowledge
The Ethnobotanical: A world tour of Indigenous plant knowledge by Sarah E Edwards ISBN: 9781529427400 $75.00 ‘Ethnobotany’ is an interdisciplinary field of study, using both social and natural sciences to explore the relationships between people and plants across cultures. Published in partnership with the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, this striking, large format book … Read More
Paul Bangay: A Life in Garden Design
Paul Bangay: A Life in Garden Design by Paul Bangay ISBN: 9781760763282 $90.00 Garden designer Paul Bangay likely needs no introduction – widely respected, he is one of Australia’s most sought-after designers, and has worked across the country as well as overseas for over forty years. His latest book, A Life in Garden Design, … Read More
Secret Gardens of Aotearoa Book Review
Secret Gardens of Aotearoa: Field notes and practical wisdom by Jane Mahoney & Sophie Bannan ISBN: 9781991006240 | $49.99 Secret Gardens of Aotearoa is a beautiful book that showcases twelve intriguing and unique gardens and the people who tend to them, along with advice, guides, and plenty of stunning photography. Written and photographed by … Read More
Soil to Table: The Land Gardeners Book Review
Soil to Table: The Land Gardeners Bridget Elworthy & Henrietta Courtauld ISBN: 9781760762636 | $89.99 The Land Gardeners – Bridget Elworthy and Henrietta Courtauld – are gardeners and healthy soil researchers and advocates based in the UK. Their first book, Cut Flowers, focused on the role of healthy soil in growing beautiful blooms. Soil … Read More