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Title: What’s in a Name? He aha tō te Ingoa? Author: Renisa Viraj Maki Illustrator: Isobel Te Aho-White Māori translation by Hona Black ISBN: 978-1-99-004263-8 RRP: $22.99 Specs: PB, 270 x 210 mm portrait, 32 pp, colour Published: 5 November 2024 For Teacher Resource: click here ‘I’m worried about saying the names correctly,’ Priyanka says when she gets tasked with reading out student names at the end-of-year school assembly. Determined to say them correctly, she goes on a chase to find her classmates and learn how to pronounce their names. She meets Arihia, Xinze, Somachandra, Sean and Tausa’afia, learns about their names and practises hard for the big day. Renisa Maki tells a gentle and heart-warming story that crosses cultures and highlights the mana our names carry. Superbly illustrated by Isobel Te AhoWhite and translated into te reo Māori by Hona Black, What's in a Name? is a book to read and reread at home or school.
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Title: There’s a Crab in my Castle He Pāpaka kei taku Pā Author: Dawn McMillan Illustrator: Nikki Slade Robinson Māori translation by: Stephanie Huriana Fong ISBN: 978-1-99-004262-1 RRP: $25.99 Specs: 270 x 210 mm portrait, HB, 32 pp, colour Published: 15 October 2024 For Teacher Resource: click here There’s a cool crab in my castle! He’d like to be the king. He sits there on his throne, watching everything. The newest addition to Dawn McMillan’s Nature Stories series takes readers to the rocky shore, where crab meets sandhopper, snapper, kina, manta ray and more. Enticing rhymes and Nikki Slade Robinson’s evocative illustrations bring the beach to life. With a fun ensemble of seaside creatures and text in Māori and English, this is an educating and entertaining read for young readers and their whānau, out in time for summer.
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Title: Rere Atu Taku Poi! Let My Poi Fly! Author: Tangaroa Paul Illustrator: Rebecca Gibbs ISBN: 978-1-99-004248-5 RRP: $22.99 Specs: PB, 270 x 210 mm portrait, 32 pp, colour Publishing: 8 February 2024 For Teacher Resource: click hereWritten in te reo Māori and translated by the author, Rere Atu Taku Poi! is a beautifully illustrated story about gender fluidity in a school setting. Rangi loves doing haka but performing poi is his favourite — even though his classmates say it’s just for girls. When the lead poi performer falls sick before a school performance, Rangi has to take her place. How will the other students and audience react – ‘Surely a boy can’t lead the poi?’As Rangi steps on stage, the familiar movements of poi take him from scared and unsure to standing as his authentic self.
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Title: Te Pukapuka ka Kore e Pānuihia Author: Tim Tipene Illustrator: Nicoletta Benella Translator: Kanapu Rangitauira ISBN: 978-1-99-004247-8 RRP: $22.99 Specs: PB, 270 x 210 mm portrait, 32 pp, colour Published: 1 September 2023 For Teacher Resource: click hereHe uaua te pānui pukapuka mā ētahi tāngata — he uaua mā te tamai roto i tēnei pukapuka. Engari, arā ētahi pukapuka ka tohua kia pānuihia e koe, mea rawa ake ka puare mai he ao whakamīharo i roto i ngā whārangi.Ko Te Pukapuka ka Kore e Pānuihia tētahi o aua pukapuka. Pūtake mai ai i ōna wheako, ka whakaahuatia e te kaituhi whiwhi tohu, e Tim Tipene ētahi o ngā uauatanga i ngā wā he uaua te pānui, he whakamōhio atu ki ngā tamariki e taea ana aua uauatanga te eke panuku. The boy who narrates this story doesn’t like reading, until one day in the school library he picks up Te Pukapuka ka kore e Pānuihia. Suddenly the book takes on a life of its own – and before he knows it, he’s finished the book. ‘What should I read next?’
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Title: The Book that Wouldn’t Read Author: Tim Tipene Illustrator: Nicoletta Benella ISBN: 978-1-99-004231-7 RRP: $25.99 Specs: HB, 270 x 210 mm portrait, 32 pp, colour Published: 1 September 2023 For Teacher Resource: click here
The boy at the centre of Tim Tipene’s striking new story doesn’t like reading, until one day in the school library he picks up The Book that Wouldn’t Read. Suddenly the book takes on a life of its own — with sentences moving up and down, words changing colour and disappearing, and strange fonts and characters that get the reader jumping around, even burping. His appeals to the teacher and friends get hushed because ‘it’s reading time,’ and before he knows it, he’s finished the book. ‘What should I read next?’
The Book that Wouldn't Read takes the viewpoint of children who have reading struggles, with design guided by educators for appeal to reluctant or even dyslexic readersThis inspirational story is available in English (in this hardback edition) as well as in Māori (paperback).
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Title: You Don’t Know How Lucky You Are! Me i Mōhio Koe ki tō Waimarietanga! My Beautiful Family Author: Belinda O’Keefe Illustrator: Ross Kinnaird Translator: Te Ama-Rere-Tai Rangihuna ISBN: 978-1-99-004236-2 RRP: $21.00 Specs: PB, 230 x 215 mm, 32 pp, colour Published: 5 July 2023
When Izzy moans about unloading the dishwasher, Great-uncle Arthur says, ‘You don’t know how lucky you are!”
He’s always done something worse — like hand-washing stacks of dishes, or dodging arrows in a battle.
As the stories get wilder — taking three days to finish a meal of tough old food, for example — his great-niece starts to wonder if Arthur may be exaggerating a little …
Emerging author Belinda O’Keefe joins forces with well-known illustrator Ross Kinnaird in this fun book that helps young readers connect with the experience of their grandparents’ generation.
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Title: Tōku Whānau Rerehua My Beautiful Family Author: Rauhina Cooper Illustrator: Isobel Joy Te Aho-White ISBN: 978-1-99-004238-6 RRP: $22.99 Specs: PB, 270 x 210 mm portrait, 32 pp, colour Published: 2 June 2023 For Teacher Resource: click here
‘How was school today, Huia’ her mum asked. ‘It was okay … but our news topic is our family.’
Huia feels too shy to talk about her family to her classmates because she has two mums. Will her friends laugh at her and tease her?
Over the next days, she learns that some whānau have a step-parent, some have one parent, and some children are adopted. There are all sorts of families! So when her turn comes to show her family photo, she doesn’t have to be shy.
Written in te reo Māori and translated into English (te reo appears first on the pages), Rauhina Cooper’s story is beautifully illustrated by award-winning illustrator Izzy White.
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Title: The Grandmothers of Pikitea Street Ngā Kuia o te Tiriti o Pikitea Author: Renisa Viraj Maki Illustrator: Nikki Slade Robinson Māori translation by Kanapu Rangitauira ISBN: 978-1-99-004217-1 RRP: $22.99 Specs: PB, 270 x 210 mm portrait, 32 pp, colour Published: 8 September 2022 For Teacher Resource: click here Scents of lemongrass, garam masala, baking and smoked meat drifted down the street as the children’s grandmothers made food for their lunchboxes. Māori, Ethiopian, Samoan, NZ European, Indian and Chinese grandmothers share traditional stories and recipes with their grandkids as they get ready for bed — explaining how the food will benefit the kids at school the next day. The grandmothers aren’t cooking only for the children. They are also making dishes for their monthly gathering at one of their homes, where they continue to share their traditional dishes and stories, crossing cultural boundaries. Renisa Maki tells a beautiful story of connection between cultures, and nanas and grandchildren, sumptuously illustrated and with a fine te reo translation. Winner of a Storylines Notable Book Award 2022, Picture Books category
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