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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: Ngā Hapa Reo: Common Māori Language Errors Authors: Hona Black & Te Aorangi Murphy-Fell ISBN: 978-1-99-004259-1 RRP: $39.99 Specs: PB, 210 x 148 mm portrait, 196 pp, b&w Publishing: 2 September 2024 Following on from the bestselling Te Reo Kapekape (2023) and He Iti te Kupu (2021), Hona Black's new book — co-authored with Te Aorangi Murphy-Fell — is an essential reference for any Māori learner or speaker. Surging interest in te reo Māori in recent years has led to a range of errors becoming common in classrooms and everyday use, many caused by language interference (following the patterns of English rather than te reo). This book sets out to correct that trend with easy-to-follow, fun examples of language errors. In six chapters focusing on different types of mistakes, the book directs readers to correct usages, numerous examples, and detailed explanations in both te reo and English. Ngā Hapa Reo is a stimulating read for anyone wanting to improve their command of te reo Māori, whether language learner or fluent speaker.
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Title: Nanny Mihi’s Harvest Te Hauhake a Nanny Mihi Author: Melanie Drewery Illustrator: Suzanne Simpson Translated by Kanapu Rangitauira ISBN: 978-1-99-004257-7 RRP: $21.00 Specs: 230 x 215 mm portrait, PB, 32 pp, colour Published: 4 June 2024 For Teacher Resource: click hereHaere mai,’ called Nanny Mihi, when we arrived to stay. ‘You are just in time to help me plant the garden.’ The fourth book in the Nanny Mihi series extends the nature connection from 2022’s Nanny Mihi’s Medicine/Ngā Rongoā a Nanny Mihi, with a fully bilingual text about gardening (publishing ahead of Matariki 2024). When her mokopuna arrive for the spring school holidays, Nanny enlists their help to plant her garden. As they return each season, the kids see their labours bear fruit. By winter there is nothing in the garden, but the products of the harvest have gone into a soup that ‘tastes like spring and summer and autumn and winter’! The fast-growing Nanny Mihi series is becoming a perennial for Kiwi kids.
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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.
Audiobook available from
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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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Title: Kia Hou Taku Tou! I Need a New Bum! Author: Dawn McMillan Illustrator: Ross Kinnaird Translated by Stephanie Huriana Fong ISBN: 978-1-99-004224-9 RRP: $21.00 Specs: 230 x 215 mm portrait, 32 pp, colour Publishing: 1 September 2022 To mark ten years since the first publication of I Need a New Bum!, and Te Wiki o te Reo Māori 2022, Oratia is delighted to present this children’s favourite in a new bilingual edition. All of the colourful and active main text is in Māori, following our hero as he searches for a tou hou/new bum, after finding that his one has a crack. ‘Subtitles’ in English run at the bottom of the page to help readers of all ages to understand and learn. After editions in Chinese, Italian, Korean and Portuguese, it’s a pleasure to ‘bring the bum home’ into Stephanie Fong’s gorgeous rhyming reo.
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Title: Illustrated Māori Dictionary Māori–English Essentials Author: A.W. Reed Illustrated by Roger Hart ISBN: 978-1-99-004213-3 RRP: $34.99 Specs: 210 x 148 mm portrait, PB, 144 pp, b/w Published: 16 August 2022 In compiling this dictionary A.W. Reed set out to entertain as well as educate. Its succinct entries encompass modern and traditional Māori language and customs, as do the fine illustrations by Roger Hart. These Māori to English definitions delve into a variety of associated meanings and derivations — providing interest for either beginning or more advanced speakers of te reo. The new Illustrated Māori Dictionary preserves the retro feel of the 1965 original — including its early adoption of macrons to mark long vowels, and indication of transliterated words. The text has been updated to reflect modern scholarship and language use. Not only a handy reference work, this corrected facsimile edition represents a classic of Kiwi publishing.
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Title: Nanny Mihi's Medicine Ngā Rongoā a Nanny Mihi Author: Melanie Drewery Illustrator: Suzanne Simpson Translated by Kanapu Rangitauira ISBN: 978-1-99-004211-9 RRP: $21.00 Specs: 230 x 215 mm portrait, PB, 32 pp, colour Published: 15 June 2022 For Teacher Resource: click here Nanny Mihi’s grandchildren excitedly visit her every school holidays. Only this time they arrive with colds … Nanny takes the kids around her forest and garden, showing them plants that can make them feel better. They find kawakawa and make tea, mānuka to put in the bath and clear their stuffy noses, koromiko to help their headaches, and cabbage tree leaves to help with the cuts and scratches they get in the forest. By the time they’re well, Nanny is tired and scratched from their foraging — and the kids know just what she needs! This latest in the popular Nanny Mihi series features an all-new illustration style and a spread of information about the medicines growing around us.
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Title: Rona Moon Author: Tim Tipene Illustrator: Theresa Reihana Translator: Stephanie Huriana Fong ISBN: 978-1-99-004233-1 RRP: $22.99 Specs: 270 x 210 mm portrait, PB, 32 pp, colour Paperback edition publishing: 17 November 2022 (Hardback edition originally published: 16 September 2020) The Book: ‘Everything looks so small from up here,’ said Rona. ‘I know,’ Whaea beamed. ‘Even the reasons we felt angry seem so little’ The beloved myth of Rona and the Moon comes to 21st-century Aotearoa in English and Māori in Tim Tipene’s sensitive telling, strikingly illustrated by Tai Tokerau artist Theresa Reihana. Rona Moon gets angry with everyone — her brother, her Nana and Papa — and then one night she calls the moon stupid! Taken to meet her ancestor Whaea Rona on the moon, she learns a lesson in how to control her temper. Published originally in hardback in 2020 and reprinted soon after, Rona Moon/Ko Rona Māhina is now available in a quality paperback edition.
E-book available from
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Title: Te Reo Māori: The Basics Explained Author: David Kārena-Holmes ISBN: 978-0-947506-69-8 RRP: $34.99 Specs: 210 x 148 mm portrait, PB, 168 pp, b&w Published: 5 February 2020 The Book: The use of te reo Māori in daily New Zealand life is snowballing, as is demand for resources to make learning the language efficient and enjoyable. This book helps answer that demand. Here in simple terms is a thorough guide to the building blocks of grammar in te reo, showing how to create phrases, sentences and paragraphs. After an introductory chapter on pronunciation and written forms of the language, 17 chapters introduce the main base words, particles and determiners that guide their use. The book employs real-life examples to illustrate how Māori grammar works day to day. Te Reo Māori: The Basics Explained draws on David Karena-Holmes’ decades of experience teaching and writing about Māori language. Building on his previous works, this updated and expanded approach will be an essential companion for speakers at any level.
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Title: Māui – Sun Catcher/Te Kaihao i te Rā Author: Tim Tipene Illustrator: Zak Waipara Translator: Rob Ruha ISBN: 978-1-99-004232-4 RRP: $22.99 Specs: 270 x 210 mm portrait, PB, 32 pp, colour Paperback edition publishing: 17 November 2022 (Hardback edition originally published: 8 November 2016) The Book: In this modern retelling of the beloved myth, Māui is a schoolboy who lives with his mother and four older brothers in a city where the day is never long enough to get things done. Māui grasps the mantle: Mum, I'm gonna catch that Sun for you. That Sun who’s always on the run. With their woven flax net, the brothers drive to the pit where the Sun lives, and make their play to slow the day. This bilingual book– in English and Māori – brings Māui into the 21st century in a fun and colourful retelling – the first in the international Indigenous Voices series. Published originally in hardback in 2016 and reprinted in 2019, Māui – Sun Catcher/Te Kaihao i te Rā is now available in a quality paperback edition.
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