Dragon Brothers Books

25/07/2024

First review is in! https://whatbooknext.com/children-of-the-rush-3-book-review/

19/07/2024

Hi FB folks, the Whitcoulls Kids Top 50 vote is on again, and I'd appreciate your votes for any of my books! It gives Kiwi authors the ability to rub shoulders with the big players, so means a lot to be on it! Voting ends tomorrow, and you go into the draw to win $100 book vouchers. Thanks in advance!

Whitcoulls

17/07/2024

Launches Friday!

02/05/2024

Featherstonians! I'm coming to the Featherston Booktown Karukatea Festival 2024 and I'll be at the Featherston Library talking about creativity and imagination on Saturday, May 11 from 12pm-12:45pm. Come and say hello!

30/04/2024

If you have a premium subscription with Spotify, the audiobooks of my five Dragon Defenders junior novels and my debut novel for adults - MINE - are all free, or at least included in your subscription. Not sure how long it will last, so get in quick if you want to listen to these - or any - audiobooks. For those who have read The Dragon Defenders series, these books are different versions for the international market, so take a listen and see what you think!

19/04/2024

Dunediners!

13/02/2024

I had a yarn about phones and teens with Jesse Mulligan RNZ Afternoons today!

Children's author and blogger James Russell is a children's author has noticed a trend of teenagers using phones as an escape from awkward conversations. James speaks to Jesse.

14/11/2023

The very best kind of book review - one written by an eleven-year-old! Thanks Sofia (glad you liked it!) and Kete Books for publishing her review!

All is well in Gabriel’s Gully, the ramshackle gold rush town - but not for long in Book 2 of James Russell's Gold Rush adventure series.

07/11/2023

This Sunday! Dragon Brothers Books will be there!

02/11/2023

Looks good! Storylines Trust Te Whare Waituhi Tamariki o Aotearoa

18/10/2023

Yahoo! #1, #2 and #6 this month!

06/10/2023

It's time to say a huge thank you to all who voted for my books in the Whitcoulls Kids Top 50!
You'll notice in the time-lapse part of the video that a young boy stops to read what I'm writing on the beach, and when I told him I was a writer and that I was making a video to thank all the people who supported me, I could see him looking at me more closely. He told me that he remembered me visiting his school, and that he loved my books! It's little moments like that which make me grateful to be an author in this awesome country.

05/10/2023

To celebrate the last days of school holidays and the September Aotearoa Children’s Junior Fiction and YA Bestseller List we have one copy of each of the epic Children of the Rush books to give away! We also announce last fortnight’s prize draw winner…

21/09/2023

Woop! Three books in the top ten this month!

29/08/2023

Then there were 10! Children of the Rush - book two, is my 10th book for children! Out in all good bookshops this Friday, or on pre-order from www.dragbrothersbooks.com

28/08/2023

Michael: 12 years old, Irish, thoughtful, kind and curious. Children of the Rush - book two is out this Friday!

23/08/2023

Getting close...

01/08/2023

Couldn't have said it better myself! If you're on the Kapiti Coast, come and join us!

01/08/2023

Check out the trailer for my book created by the pupils of Pāpāmoa College!

29/07/2023

The New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults are coming up fast, and we couldn't be more excited to celebrate these amazing stories on August 10. 🤩
Next in our interview series, Angela Thompson, Teacher Librarian at Remarkables Primary School, chats with James Russell about Children of the Rush, a finalist for the Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Junior Fiction Award. 📚
Read their conversation on our blog: https://www.read-nz.org/news/article/nz-book-awards-q-a-children-of-the-rush

27/07/2023

Woop! Back in the #1 spot! Thanks for all the support!

🥁Announcing the ten bestselling junior fiction and YA books from Aotearoa for July (together they make a great reading list)!

Here it is: the July Aotearoa Children's Junior Fiction and Young Adults Bestseller List, sponsored by Storylines https://bit.ly/3rM8QrR

Children of the Rush by James Russell is back in the top spot this month, with Below by David Hill in at number two and The Sparrow by Tessa Duder at number three.

Find out what else is new, view the list!

Read reviews of these great books (and many others) on Kete:

📗Children of the Rush
https://www.ketebooks.co.nz/all-book-reviews/children-of-the-rush

📙Below
https://www.ketebooks.co.nz/all-book-reviews/below-hill

📘The Sparrow
https://www.ketebooks.co.nz/all-book-reviews/the-sparrow-duder

Storylines Trust Te Whare Waituhi Tamariki o Aotearoa Penguin Kids NZ tessadudernz Dragon Brothers Books Bateman Books

22/07/2023

FB friends! I'd appreciate your vote for The Dragon Hunters, The Dragon Defenders, or Children of The Rush (or all three!) in the vote for the Whitcoulls Kids Top 50. Means a lot to be on the list duking it out with JK Rowling and David Walliams. Voting ends today, and you go in the draw for $100 book vouchers. Thanks all.

Whitcoulls

30/06/2023

Nice piece in The Sapling today about the junior fiction finalists in the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults by Jane Arthur from Good Books!

We asked Jane Arthur, co-founder of The Sapling and co-owner/manager of GOOD BOOKS, to sell us the junior fiction finalists, and if you haven’t already read them you’ll be running to bookshops and libraries to add them to your and...

13/06/2023

📚 Today we're highlighting 'Children of the Rush' by James Russell.

Two children meet on the bleak Otago goldfields of 1861 – a world of lawlessness, cruelty and greed, where wealth automatically confers status and power. Atarangi and Michael have neither, but each has a surprising magical talent. Will they be able to stop a vicious goldfields gang? A well-researched, thrilling, page-turning read.

Dragon Brothers Books

31/05/2023

Woohoo! Children of the Rush just made the shortlist for the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults! To celebrate, we're giving away three full sets of Dragon Brothers Books - to go in the draw just sign up at https://shorturl.at/josA7

25/05/2023

Yeehaa! Children of the Rush is #1 on the children's bestseller list this month! (With The Dragon Defenders coming in at #5). Result!

Take a look at the weekly Nielsen BookScan Bestseller list. Current list is to May 20.

18/05/2023

All done! Three cool days at the Auckland Writers Festival after being called in at the last minute. Wonderful, engaged kids and amazing authors on the schools programme. Thanks

02/03/2023

That feels good! Just finished draft one of Children of the Rush - Book Two!

09/12/2022

Hi folks, I'll be signing these at The Little Book Shop in Remuera, Auckland at 3pm today if you'd like to come and say hi.

04/12/2022

The next review is in from the awesome WhatBookNext (parents take note - this website is run by the dedicated and tireless Adele Broadbent - herself a talented Kiwi author - and is the perfect place to find the next great book for your child).

Michael and Atarangi find themselves in the rough NZ goldfields of Gabriel's Gully. Both dealing with a loss in their family, their friendship brings kindness and relief from grueling days. When robbery plans are overheard, they know they must do something to stop them. A riveting read!