120,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock 🇳🇿

We're Moving! 🚚 Our Hobsonville bookstore is closed this weekend. Please visit us on Monday in our new home 🎉

Once Upon a Harbour

By Fiona Farrell
0.0 (0 reviews)
Brief Description
Come inside and meet the Drizzles who make the rain. A couple of monsters who like dressing up. A little house that has an adventure. Some pirate rats and gulls who fight over a delicious pie. Some trees who have a party. And a clever little... Read More
Format: Hardback
$2799
Elsewhere:
$3500
OVERNIGHT NZ-WIDE DELIVERY

Found a better price? Request a price match

An extraordinary landmark gift book of funny stories and amazing illustrations from internationally acclaimed illustrator David Elliot and celebrated author Fiona Farrell.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Come inside and meet the Drizzles who make the rain. A couple of monsters who like dressing up. A little house that has an adventure. Some pirate rats and gulls who fight over a delicious pie. Some trees who have a party. And a clever little pig who saves her brothers and sisters from a mean wolf!

With its delightful text and imaginative storytelling, Once Upon a Harbour is an exciting and inventive read that breaks all the moulds. Its gorgeous illustrations are works of art: richly detailed, exuberant and playful. Readers will be drawn to explore them, again and again.

Aimed at all ages, this book will amuse adults as much as it intrigues children. A perfect book to share and read aloud.

Fiona and David have created a masterpiece to be celebrated. Once Upon a Harbour is destined to become a classic, to be treasured for years to come.

Perfect for:

  • Read aloud fun with young children
  • Exploring the detailed illustrations
  • Bedtime story reading
  • Gifting

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781991142276

Publisher: Allen & Unwin Aotearoa New Zealand

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 15 September 2026

Country: New Zealand

Imprint: A&U Children's NZ

Contributors:

  • Illustrated by David Elliot

Audience: Children

DIMENSIONS

Width: 225.0mm

Height: 225.0mm

Weight: 0g

Pages: 96

Collections

Best Sellers at Book Hero Children's Books Children's Picture Books Children’s, Teenage and Educational Fiona Farrell In Stock Books In stock Children's Books In Stock Kid's Books New Release Books New Release Children's Books New to Book Hero New Zealand and Australia Published New Zealand Children's Books New Zealand Poets New Zealand Published

About the Author


Fiona Farrell is one of New Zealand's leading writers, publishing award-winning work in multiple genres. Her first novel, The Skinny Louie Book, won the New Zealand Book Award in 1992 and later novels have been shortlisted and also nominated for the Dublin International IMPAC Award. Her short fiction has appeared alongside William Boyd and Alice Munro, her poems have been widely anthologised and her plays continue to be performed around New Zealand, Australia and the UK. She enjoys collaboration and has written libretti for several notable composers. This is her first time collaborating with an illustrator and she has enjoyed every minute! After living for nearly 30 years in a beautiful remote bay on Banks Peninsula, she now lives on a hill overlooking the harbour in Otepoti Dunedin. She loves talking to her granddaughters, sunrises, and walking on the beach.


David Elliot is an internationally recognised illustrator and author. He has been awarded four white Ravens from the international Youth Library in Germany, won the Margaret Mahy Book of the year twice and was the inaugural winner of the Arts Foundation Mallinson Rendall Illustrators Award. David has illustrated books for well-known fantasy writers, Brian Jacques in the UK (Redwall series), T.A. Barron in the USA (Great Tree of Avalon) and John Flanagan in Australia (Brotherband). His picture book Henry's Map (about a fastidious, map-making pig) has been picked up by National Geographic Learning, while Kirkus Magazine voted Bumblebee Grumblebee among the six Best Board Books in the USA. Back in New Zealand, David has illustrated books by some of the country's finest writers for children including, Margaret Mahy, Joy Cowley, Jack Lazenby and Janet Frame. David has always had a particular love for the sea and its creatures and spends much of his time wandering the wild southern beaches close to his home in Port Chalmers. With its cast of unruly characters acting out Fiona's wonderful poems around its shores, Once Upon a Harbour fits perfectly into David's fascination with books as places and places as books.

Also by Fiona Farrell

View all
  • Decline and Fall on Savage Street
    Decline and Fall on Savage Street is a fictional companion to The Villa at the Edge of the Empire and the winner of the 2017 NZ Heritage Novel Award. This fascinating prize-winning novel revolves around a house with a fanciful little turret, built by a river. Unfolding within its rooms are lives filled with event and emotional upheaval. A lot...
    By Fiona Farrell
    Paperback
    $3500
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Deck
    The Deck is a novel about telling stories in a time of change. What is the point of inventing stories when reality eclipses imagination? A little way off in the future, during a time of plague and profound social collapse, a group of friends escapes to a house in the country where they entertain themselves by playing music, eating, drinking...
    By Fiona Farrell
    Paperback
    $3400
    Elsewhere:
    $3700
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Book Book
    As war is waged in the Middle East, a woman in New Zealand has her nose in a book. Kate is immersed in other battles, engrossed in eyewitness accounts of an earlier war in ancient Persia. She has grown up, left her Otago home, and returned, and in all these years, books have shaped her life and made sense of...
    By Fiona Farrell
    Paperback
    Sold Out

More from Children's Books

View all
  • Gruffalo Granny
    The brand new Gruffalo picture book from Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. The Gruffalo said to his daughter one day, "Your Gruffalo Granny is coming to stay." Return to the deep dark wood with the first new Gruffalo story in over 20 years, and meet Gruffalo Granny as she visits the Gruffalo family. This fresh and exciting new Gruffalo adventure...
    By Julia Donaldson
    Hardback
    $2499
    Elsewhere:
    $3000
    Backorder
    Ships early October
  • New Release
    The Comeback Kid
    Charlie Boy might be just an ordinary kid, but he's about to get into some EXTRA-ordinary trouble... Get ready for this funny, fast-paced, friendship adventure with lots of kick. Meet Charlie Boy: skinny, small, looks like a strand of spaghetti. He and his best friend, Rocky the Lower Hutt Chief, are good at getting into trouble together. But when Charlie...
    By Airana Ngarewa
    Paperback
    $1799
    Elsewhere:
    $1999
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • New Release
    The Neverfear
    A world of richly-imagined wonder Cressida Cowell It’s the Midsummer Feast on the Islet of Glimt and on this magical moonlit evening, the word on everyone’s lips is bandits. Reports of masked men burning villages are spreading throughout the Archipelago, but worse is still to come: Christopher and Anya are ambushed and one of the people they love most is...
    By Katherine Rundell
    Paperback
    $1999
    Elsewhere:
    $2299
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Pocket Observology
    New Release
    Pocket Observology
    Pocket Observology is a practical field guide designed for those who love to explore and understand the natural world around them. Slip this guide out of your pocket to identify, measure, compare, or find clues to the things you encounter every day in nature. This pocket guide is a useful tool and a fun reminder of how to engage with...
    By Giselle Clarkson
    Paperback
    $2399
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Minecraft Annual 2027
    New Release
    Minecraft Annual 2027
    The official Minecraft Annual 2027, full of updates, builds, activities, and more! Discover all there is to know about the past year of Minecraft in this exciting annual. Stuffed to the brim with updates, activities, step-by-step builds, and tips and tricks for the game, this book is a must-have for any minecrafter. This year’s annual includes: Mob guides on happy...
    By Mojang AB
    Hardback
    $1999
    Elsewhere:
    $2499
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • New Release
    Giant Heart
    Meet Jonah Lomu, one of the greatest All Blacks of all time. His speed and strength on the rugby field made him famous around the world, and his fun and generous personality made him beloved, but all the while he faced a big battle with his health. “[David Hill’s] stories are wonderful, full of action and are always teaching the...
    By David Hill
    Hardback
    $1999
    Elsewhere:
    $2500
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Ms Rachel: My First Little Library
    New Release
    Ms Rachel: My First Little Library
    Learn about colours, animals, words and numbers with Ms Rachel in this early learning boxset. This little set contains four board books that help introduce children to early concepts. Perfect for younger readers, each chunky book will keep little hands occupied at home, or on the move. And, once you’re done reading (and re-reading), the four books come together to...
    By Ms Rachel
    Board book
    $1599
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Protector of Beyond 1
    New Release
    Lizzy's Pick Lizzy's Pick
    Protector of Beyond 1
    Experience fierce magical creatures, perilous trials, and a heroine to root for in this 1st instalment in a new blockbuster fantasy series. The moment you enter the Arbiter, your fate is sealed. If you spark, you fight! And 12-year-old Elder Triss produces a spark like no other. Transported to the mysterious Beyond, Elder has no choice but to train for...
    By Shara Curlett
    Paperback
    $2199
    Elsewhere:
    $2400
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • New Release
    Animalia 40th Anniversary Edition
    A beautiful, foiled collector's edition to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Graeme Base's classic and bestselling Australian picture book, Animalia. Embark on a fantastical alphabetic adventure where each turn of the page unveils a rich tapestry of intricate illustrations tied to a unique letter of the alphabet. More than 5 million copies sold worldwide Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA)...
    By Graeme Base
    Hardback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3500
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • The Little Kiwi Builder
    New Release
    The Little Kiwi Builder
    Oh no, the little kiwi builder's house is falling down! His screws have all come loose - what can he do? When the brickie, the plumber, the roofer, the sparky and the painter all come to help, it's looking good! Until, that night ... uh-oh! Perfect for: Anyone who likes fun and silly rhyming stories Reading aloud with little ones...
    By Tim Saunders
    Paperback
    $1899
    Elsewhere:
    $2199
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • You Choose Party Time You Choose Party Time
    New Release
    You Choose Party Time
    It's time to celebrate - Party Time is a brand new You Choose adventure! It's Party Time and you choose what happens! What kind of party will it be? Who will you invite? Which cake would you like to eat? Will you dance to a steel pan band or bagpipes? The possibilities are endless in this magical storytelling toolkit which...
    By Pippa Goodhart
    Hardback
    $2599
    Elsewhere:
    $3400
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Matihe! Achoo! Matihe! Achoo!
    New Release
    Matihe! Achoo!
    What happens when a grumpy tupua has to sneeze? Matihe! Achoo! is a bilingual story about the tupua Mataoho and his connection to the volcanoes of Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland. It comes with an action song to engage young readers! He pūrākau e pā ana ki a Mataoho me ngā puia o Takamaki Makaurau. He tupua pukukino a Mataoho e noho...
    By Qiane Matata-Sipu
    Paperback
    $1899
    Elsewhere:
    $2100
    In Stock
    Ships Monday

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.

Children's Books lists from the team

Explore our curated lists from our heroes to find your next read!

The Latest at Book Hero

View all