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The Iron-Bound Coast Karekare in the Early Years Author: Wallace Badham Editor: Bob Harvey ISBN: 978-1-877514-01-2 RRP: $25.00 Specs: 240 x 215 mm portrait, HB, 200 pp, b&w, 215 images Published: September 2009 The Book: The Iron-Bound Coast is a publishing gem, discovered by Bob Harvey while researching the history of Auckland’s spectacular west coast. Prepared from the late Wally Badham’s manuscripts, the book records the early years of Karekare and neighbouring farming and logging settlements, at a time when car and air travel were starting to end the isolation of these stunning locations. Badham spins captivating yarns about the people and events of the first half of the twentieth century; with over 200 photos, many never-before published, this is a book to read and admire. -
Title: Titirangi Fringe of Heaven Author: Marc Bonny ISBN: 978-1-877514-13-5 RRP: $49.99 Specs: 248 x 192 mm portrait, trade paperback + flaps, 276 pp (includes 4 x 8 pp colour sections) Published: April 2011 The Book: Titirangi, probably Auckland’s most beautiful suburb and on the edge of the dramatic Waitakere Ranges, is truly the ‘fringe of heaven’. This richly illustrated book, compiled over many years by the West Auckland Historical Society, tracks the area’s evolution from successive Maori settlements, the first European arrivals, forest clearings and the beginnings of Titirangi village through to the post-war era when artists and writers began gravitating to the community as its regenerating forest reached for the sky. Titirangi: Fringe of Heaven collects specialist accounts of Maori history, prominent settlers, architecture, the arts and the environment with personal recollections of Titirangi life. A must for anyone with a connection to this beautiful area or with an interest in the arts and environment. -
Title: Polynesian Navigation and the Discovery of New Zealand Author: Jeff Evans ISBN: 978-0-947506-40-7 RRP: $39.99 Specs: 245 x 175 mm portrait, PB, 128 pp, b&w with photos & maps Published by Oratia Books: April 2017 The Book: The Polynesian navigator Kupe is credited with the discovery of the land his expedition named Aotearoa, land of the long white cloud. How did he and the many canoes that followed find their way without modern navigational techniques through perilous seas in wooden canoes? By examining myth, star charts and contemporary Polynesian seafaring, Jeff Evans traces the methods by which the early explorers made their epic voyages in Part One. The book’s second part travels with Maori canoe expert Matahi Brightwell and navigator Frances Cowan aboard the traditional canoe Hawaiki-nui following traditional navigation – with no modern aids – on its historic voyage from Tahiti down to New Zealand.E-book available from
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Title: Te Hokowhitu a Tu The Maori Pioneer Battalion in the First World War Author: Christopher Pugsley ISBN: 978-0-947506-38-4 RRP: $39.99 Specs: 297 x 210 mm (A4) portrait, PB, 148 pp, b&w Published: April 2015; Reprinted 20 March 2018 The Book: Maori soldiers signing up for the First World War representing a formidable fighting force – Te Hokowhitu a Tu, or the Seventy twice-told warriors of the war god, Tumatauenga. Paternalistic concern kept the Maori Pioneer Battalion kept most back from the front lines as support troops, but their war efforts won them rights as full citizens of their homelands. Drawing on rare archival material and previously unpublished diaries and letters, Te Hokowhitu a Tu is the authoritative account of Maori and Pacific Islanders in the First World War, and balances the wider story of the Pioneer Battalion’s exploits with a portrait of daily life for soldiers who laboured not only against the enemy but also racism behind their own lines. -
Title: The Musket Wars A History of Inter-Iwi Conflict 1806–1845 Author: Ron Crosby ISBN: 978-0-947506-29-2 RRP: $75 Specs: 240 x 160 mm portrait, flexibind, 432 pp (32 pp colour) Published: October 2012 The Book: First published in 1999, with an introduction by Michael King, The Musket Wars established Ron Crosby’s reputation as a daring, original chronicler of New Zealand history. This best-selling history provides the first comprehensive account of the wars that ravaged the country in the early 1800s, when iwi with newly acquired muskets unleashed terrible utu (revenge) on foes, helped by other introductions like potatoes that fuelled long-range taua (war parties). Ron Crosby weaves the strands of this conflict into an immensely readable narrative, guiding the reader through its complexities with lists of protagonists, a chronology, indexes and above all, superb maps and illustrations. This volume reproduces the revised 2001 edition with significant updates. -
From Silence to Voice: The Rise of Māori Literature Author: Paola Della Valle ISBN: 978-0-947506-41-4 RRP: $49.99 Specs: 210 x 148 mm, 288 pages, PB, b&w Published by Oratia Books: April 2017 The Book: Before the 1970s, Māori existed in New Zealand literature as figures created by Pakeha writers. The Māori renaissance of the 1970s changed all that. Fiction writers led by Ihimaera and Grace challenged earlier stereotypes and inherited literary forms, creating a new body of writing that has redefined the Māori in literature. From Silence to Voice portrays the early ‘silence’ of Māori in New Zealand literature – characterised in caricature by colonial writers, then in increasingly sympathetic portraits from the likes of Frank Sargeson, Janet Frame and Noel Hilliard – through to the new and challenging works presented by Māori writers themselves. In an academically brilliant yet easily read analysis, Della Valle also stresses important links with the literature and culture of Italy.E-book available from
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Te Ara Māori Pathways: Past, Present, Future Author: Krzysztof Pfeiffer & Paul Tapsell ISBN: 978-0-947506-02-5 RRP: $22.99 Specs: Paperback, 210 x 297 mm landscape, 32 pp, full colour Published: May 2016 The Book: From one of the leading Māori scholars of his generation and one of our greatest photographers comes this beautifully illustrated work that serves as a fine overview of leadership and challenges for Māori today. This trilingual publication in English, Māori and German will be of value for general readers, visitors and students. After a general introduction to Māori history, Te Ara focuses on the stories of iwi in five regions Hokianga, Peowhairangi (Bay of Islands) Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland), Waiariki (Rotorua-Taupo) and Murihiku (Otago-Southland). Edition also available in Musqueam (Vancouver First Nations language), ISBN 978-1-877514-60-9. -
Waka Taua: The Māori War Canoe Author: Jeff Evans ISBN: 978-0-947506-39-1 RRP: $37.99 Specs: 250 x 185 mm portrait, PB, 76 pp, b&w Published by Oratia Books: April 2017 The Book: A Māori war canoe being paddled a full speed is an awesome sight. Thanks to the renaissance in canoe building, more and more traditional waka taua are on the waterways, and feature in major events like the Queen’s Jubilee. Waka Taua gives a concise introduction to all aspects of the war canoe: its history, recent revival, types and variants, phase of building, parts of the waka, crew responsibilities and paddling techniques. With numerous historical and contemporary photographs and drawings, this easy-to-read book is the perfect reference for these amazing craft. Praise for the first edition of Waka Taua: ‘What a valuable and timely book, there being something of a rebirth in canoe building at present’ – Northern Advocate ‘It is Evans’ passion for his subject that makes this book special’ – Weekend Herald ‘.., has value and merit for all those interested in the history of waka taua’ – Hirini Melbourne, Waikato TimesE-book available from
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Favourite Māori Legends Author: A.W. Reed; edited by Ross Calman ISBN: 978-0-947506-22-3 RRP: $29.99 Specs: 210 x 148 mm portrait, PB, 160 pp, b&w Published: June 2013 The Book: Māori myths and legends have an important role in transmitting and regenerating traditional knowledge. Yet as Ross Calman points out in his introduction to this new edition, they are also simply great yarns – reflective of a time when telling and listening to stories was a key leisure activity in Māori society. Favourite Māori Legends is an invitation to enjoy over 30 of the most memorable legends, grouped into themes of the spirit world, patupaiarehe (ghosts), taniwha, supernatural creatures, heroes and deeds of daring. Concise yet complete, these stories are enlivened by the fine illustrations of Roger Hart.E-book available from
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Like Them That Dream The Maori and the Old Testament Author: Bronwyn Elsmore ISBN: 978-0-947506-06-3 RRP: $44.99 Specs: 234 x 153 mm portrait, PB, 216 pp, b&w with photos & map Published: September 2011 The Book: The arrival of European missionaries in New Zealand had an immeasurable impact on Maori society. Like Them That Dream tells the intriguing story of early interaction between Maori and missionary, leading to the many distinctive responses to the arrival of Christianity. The book’s first two parts consider how the Christian word was spread and how Maori responded, explaining the identification they felt with the Israelites of the Old Testament. The third part relates the rise of indigenous religious movements, from the early Papahurihia through Pai Marire, Ringatu and the Parihaka Movement, and the later incarnations of the Arowhenua Movement in the South Island and what remains today’s leading Maori church, Ratana.E-book available from
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Wiremu Pere The Life and Times of a Maori Leader, 1837–1915 Author: Joseph Anaru Te Kani Pere & others ISBN: 978-1-877514-09-8 RRP: $95.00 Specs: Jacketed hardback, 240 x 180 mm, 448 pp, includes foldout land deed and map Published: November 2010 The Book: Wiremu Pere (Wi Pere) lived from 1837 to 1915, leading his tribes of Rongowhakaata and Te Aitanga a Mahaki through some of the most turbulent chapters of New Zealand history. He stood resolute against colonialism and entered parliament to stand up for his East Coast people, yet was astute in his business dealings and was compromised in the views of many Pakeha and Maori. This handsome book, illustrated with numerous photographs, whakapapa and maps, sets out the many sides Wi Pere’s life and times with a particular focus on his family life, parliamentary career and contributions to the East CoastE-book available from
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He Puna Iti i te Ao Mārama A Little Spring in the World of Light: Towards an Indigenous Māori Theology Author: Pā Henare Tate ISBN: 978-1-99-004203-4 RRP: $80.00 Specs: 240 x 160 mm portrait, PB, 320 pp Published: November 2012 NEW EDITION PUBLISHED 10 NOVEMBER 2021 The Book: How to reconcile the deeply held Christian beliefs of Māori with the indigenous world view that they have inherited and are in many cases rediscovering? This far-reaching work attempts to develop the foundations of an indigenous Māori theology. In Pa Tate’s opinion, the traditional Christian message has fallen short of speaking intimately and powerfully to Māori experience in Aotearoa. Māori are crying out for a form of Christianity that is ‘theirs’. This book offers one response and contribution to this call by attempting to develop a theology that Māori can call ‘ours’. -
Horouta The History of the Horouta Canoe, Gisborne and East Coast Author: Rongowhakaata Halbert ISBN: 978-0-947506-20-9 RRP: $125.00 Specs: 280 x 210 mm portrait, HB, 496 pp, b&w Published: November 2012 The Book: Horouta is the definitive history of the descendants of the voyaging canoes that brought the first settlers from Polynesia to the lands that stretch from East Cape to northern Hawke’s Bay. Assembled through painstaking historical and genealogical research over more than 70 years by Rongowhakaata Halbert and his family, this outstanding work of scholarship is destined to serve the needs of all New Zealanders, and especially the peoples of Gisborne and the East Coast, for generations to come. -
Maori Weapons in Pre-European New Zealand Author: Jeff Evans ISBN: 978-0-947506-15-5 RRP: $37.99 Specs: 250 x 185 mm portrait, PB, 72 pp, b&w Published: August 2014 The Book: Here is a full inventory of traditional Maori weapons with all the available written information about traditional weapons collected into one concise volume. Maori Weapons provides complete cultural and technical information on the handmade weapons used by Maori, along with photos and line drawings. From the well-known taiaha and mere, to the more obscure wahaika and maripi, this is a comprehensive guide that will serve a range of readers. 'This book does a marvellous job of bringing together all the knowledge that could be gleaned from written sources on Maori weapons as objects of war... Here then is a complete armoury of Maori weapons.' – The late Dr Hirini Melbourne -
Title: Te Toi Whakairo The Art of Maori Carving Author: Hirini Moko Mead ISBN: 978-0-947506-37-7 RRP: $49.99 Specs: 242 x 182 mm portrait, PB, 276 pp, b&w Published: September 2015 The Book: Woodcarving is one of the supreme expressions of New Zealand identity. Beginning with carving’s mythical origins, Te Toi Whakairo explores the evolution of styles and techniques through the four main artistic periods to the present day, and provides detailed explanations of carving styles in different parts of the country, using examples from meeting houses and leading artists. Later chapters delve into the main structures, forms and motifs, and the role of the woodcarver, and explore the status of the art in contemporary New Zealand. Practical guidance is given for use of materials, tools, techniques, surface and background decoration, the human figure, and carving poupou. -
Title: Patu Author: Tim Tipene ISBN: 978-0-947506-84-1 RRP: $29.99 Specs: 210 x 148 mm (A5) portrait, PB, 224 pp Published: November 2012 The Book: In this powerful novel for teenagers, 16-year-old Jahnine is having to fend for herself amidst a series of family misfortunes, with her mother is in hospital battling cancer and her brother gone without a trace. Family legend has it that a patu taken during the Land Wars by her great-great-grandfather has left a curse on them. Determined to return the patu and lift the curse, Jahnine turns to a strange Maori boy, Andy, and follows him away from Auckland to try and put things right. Nothing turns out the way she imagines in this powerful, realistic novel.Audiobook available from
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Title: Kura Toa: Warrior School Author: Tim Tipene ISBN: 978-0-947506-17-9 RRP: $25.99 Specs: 210 x 148 mm portrait, PB, 92 pp, b&w Published: new edition 4 August 2016 The Book: High-school student Haki needs to find the pounamu that was stolen from him after a car crash by a mysterious old man who seems to know a lot about him. Haki’s search brings him into conflict with his family, his friends and his school. In the process he must confront his fears and find a way to answer the challenge to serve his people and his land, fight a taniwha, and grow into a warrior. Kura Toa is a superb read for students in the 12–16 age group that distils youth and indigenous issues into a seamless and easy-to-access narrative that has attracted a strong following in schools.E-book available from
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Title: Bullies and Warriors Author: Tim Tipene ISBN: 978-0-947506-30-8 RRP: $25.99 Specs: 198 x 129 mm portrait, PB, 100 pp Published: July 2012; reprinted in Oratia Books March 2017 The Book: Going to school is a misery for Sean. Whatever he does to avoid the school bully, Mark Thomas and his mates always catch up with him. Then the students join Warrior Kids, a programme that teaches leadership and self-control. So begins a journey for Mark and Sean that has a predictable outcome for one boy and a surprise for the other. In this novel for children aged 8–12, Tim Tipene depicts the reality of bullying and strategies to address it for those on both sides of the problem.E-book available from
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Title: The Castle in our Backyard Author: Malcolm Paterson Illustrator: Leah Mulgrew ISBN: 978-1-877514-05-0 RRP: $22.99 Specs: 284 x 208 mm portrait, PB, 32 pp, colour Published: July 2010 The Book: Tui and his cousin Jennifer are much too busy playing a video game to want to visit Maungakiekie/One Tree Hill. But then Nanny Marei tells them the mountain’s got giants and fortresses, just like their game! Explore Maungakiekie with Tui and Jennifer as they travel back into its history – meeting the Goddess of Fire, Māori tribes, Chinese gardeners, Sir John Logan Campbell, and the tourists of today. -
Title: The Story of Sir Peter Blake Author: Tessa Duder ISBN: 978-0-947506-31-5 RRP: $25.99 Specs: 234 x 153 mm portrait, PB, 144 pp (inc. 8 pp colour) Published: June 2012 Oratia Books edition: April 2017 The Book: Peter Blake was a New Zealand hero – sailor, adventurer, leader and environmentalist. Competing in ocean races, he clocked up as many sea miles as any seafarer in history, with some epic victories. Then he led his small country to win the America’s Cup (twice!), and gave his last years to helping the environment. Award-winning author Tessa Duder tells the gripping story of Sir Peter’s life for teenage readers, revealing what made him an inspirational leader. The book features boxes backgrounding sailing skills, the America’s Cup and other key points, and is richly illustrated with photos from his life (including 8 pages of colour). -
Title: Warrior Kids: Warrior Training for Children Author: Tim Tipene ISBN: 978-1-877514-22-7 RRP: $44.99 Specs: A4 portrait, PB, 232 pp (8 pp colour) Published: October 2011 The Book: Warrior Kids is a pioneering programme that over the past 17 years has empowered thousands of children across New Zealand, many of them from challenged backgrounds. Focusing on bringing out the warrior within, the programme draws upon Maori concepts of the warrior and Eastern martial arts in a non-aggressive way designed to instil confidence, respect and self-control, leading children to become masters of their lives. Warrior Kids: Warrior Training for Children features the complete ten sessions of the in-school programme in a format that instructors can apply to their own work with young people.E-book available from
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Title: I Need a New Bum! AS READ BY THE SCOTTISH GRANNY ON FACEBOOK Author: Dawn McMillan Illustrator: Ross Kinnaird ISBN: 978-0-947506-18-6 RRP: $21.00 Specs: 230 x 215 mm portrait, PB, 32 pp, colour Published: September 2012 For orders from outside New Zealand, email: sales@oratia.co.nz The Book: I need a new bum! Mine's got a crack. I can see in the mirror a crack at the back. What to do when you need a new bum? Should you get one that’s blue or yellow spotted? A rocket bum that’s all fire and thrust, or a robo-bum? The options are endless – but wait, Dad’s bum crack is showing too? Maybe this is contagious. I Need a New Bum! is a multiple bestseller in New Zealand and has gained a legion of fans around the world. I Need a New Bum! is available in New Zealand through this website and good booksellers. It’s also in the fun collection I Need a New Bum! and other stories: http://oratia.co.nz/product/i-need-a-new-bum-and-other-stories/ For orders from outside New Zealand, email: sales@oratia.co.nz For the US edition I Need a New Butt! (Dover Publications): http://store.doverpublications.com/0486787990.html For Australian orders, John Reed Books: https://www.johnreedbooks.com.au/p/children-s-books-i-need-a-new-bum--2?barcode=9780947506186 For the UK edition, Scholastic UK: https://shop.scholastic.co.uk/products/I-Need-a-New-Bum-9781407196015 For the Chinese edition (CITIC Press): https://www.amazon.cn/%E6%88%91%E8%A6%81%E4%B8%80%E4%B8%AA%E6%96%B0%E5%B1%81%E8%82%A1-%E5%94%90-%E9%BA%A6%E5%85%8B%E7%B1%B3%E8%8E%B2/dp/B071VCT9Z6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1499929058&sr=8-1&keywords=%E6%88%91%E8%A6%81%E4%B8%80%E4%B8%AA%E6%96%B0%E5%B1%81%E8%82%A1E-book available from
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Title: Snowy the Doganaut Author: Diego Albuquerque ISBN: 978-1-877514-62-3 RRP: $14.99 Specs: 200 x 200 mm portrait, PB, 32 pp, colour Published: June 2014 The Book: Snowy is a dog with a difference – an alien canine, with ears where he should have eyes, and eyes in the back of his head. Can a kindly veterinarian make him normal, even if he has to travel to Pluto to do it? This is the first English translation of a classic in its native Brazil, where author Diego Albuquerque wrote it as a child. Viva Snowy! -
Title: Out on the Water Twelve Tales of the Sea Author: Tessa Duder ISBN: 978-1-877514-75-3 RRP: $32.99 Specs: 234 x 153 mm portrait, PB, 152 pp, b&w + line drawings Published: November 2014 The Book: ‘Take the tiller, Tom,’ said Dad. ‘Me?’ said Tom. ‘Sure. Birthday treat. And because you’ve been crewing long enough.’ Ten short stories, and two longer historical ones, bring to life the thrills and challenges of sailing, paddling and travelling on the seas around New Zealand. Accompanied by Bruce Potter’s vivid illustrations, these are the work of a world-class children’s writer with an intimate knowledge of the sea. For children who love the sea and lakes, or who simply love adventure. -
Title: The Last Maopo Author: Tania Simpson ISBN: 978-1-877514-66-1 RRP: $37.99 Specs: 240 x 170 mm portrait, PB + flaps, 160 pp, b&w Published: April 2014 The Book: The moving story of Wiremu Maopo, the last of his line in a large South Island family, who joined the second Māori Contingent and went off to fight in the First World War. Wiremu writes regularly to his friend Virgie, and the story of Wiremu’s life is woven around 40 letters that he penned during the war. All of Wiremu’s siblings died of illness either in childhood or later in life and when he returns from the war ironically he is the only surviving member of the once large family. Wiremu was unaware during and after the war that his girlfriend Phoebe had given birth to a daughter who would carry on his line. The Last Maopo also follows Phoebe’s story and reconnects the Maopo line with the author, Wiremu’s great-granddaughter. Praise for The Last Maopo 'This is not only a moving personal story but also one of very few books to tell the experience of the First World War first-hand from a Māori viewpoint.' – Christopher Pugsley, military historian 'The Last Maopo is a lovely piece of work. I recall memories of the Maopo whānau being shared around Taumutu back in the 1960s; Tania Simpson's book brings the story of Wiremu Maopo back to life for new generations.' – Sir Tipene O'Regan -
Title: Gallipoli The New Zealand Story Author: Christopher Pugsley ISBN: 978-0-947506-07-0 RRP: $49.99 Specs: 240 x 170 mm portrait, PB + flaps, 400 pp, b&w Published: October 2014 SIXTH REVISED EDITION OUT ON 8 APRIL 2022 The Book: The definitive account of New Zealand’s role in the disastrous 1915 Gallipoli campaign, when a British-led expeditionary force met the Turkish army in an attempt to wrest control of the Dardanelles, comes alive in an updated edition, liberally illustrated and brilliantly analysed by the doyen of Kiwi military historians.This sixth edition builds on a revision of New Zealand troop numbers at Gallipoli to reassess the campaign, with extensive updates and a new preface. It shows us Gallipoli through the eyes of those who fought there — in their letters and diaries, illustrated with an abundance of original photos.
Gallipoli does justice to the reality of this epic campaign, and deserves a place on the shelves of any history enthusiast.
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The Anzac Experience New Zealand, Australia and Empire in the First World War Author: Christopher Pugsley ISBN: 978-0-947506-00-1 RRP: $49.99 Specs: 240 x 170 mm portrait, PB, 356 pp, b&w, 60 photos Publishing: 1 April 2025 ‘One of the best works of Australasian military history I have ever read.’ Allan Converse, The Journal of Military History This gripping book captures the evolution by trial and error of the New Zealand Army, alongside those of Australia and Canada, from the Boer War in South Africa to involvement in the First World War. It tells the story of citizen soldiers becoming professional as they learned the lessons of the Gallipoli landings and applied these to the Western Front – earning them the status of the fighting elite in the British armies in France. Richly illustrated with historical photographs and maps, The Anzac Experience blends social analysis and military history in a compelling combination. In its research and writing, Christopher Pugsley walked every New Zealand battlefield on Gallipoli and the Western Front. -
Ngā Waka o Neherā The first voyaging canoes ISBN: 978-0-947506-05-6 RRP: $47.99 Specs: 245 x 175 mm portrait, PB, 224 pp, b&w Published: 2009; New edition: 2016 The Book: Ngā Waka o Neherā is the essential reference work to the traditions of Māori canoes that voyaged to New Zealand – including lists of the waka, names of crew members and vessels, karakia and waiata, and maps. A must for lovers of history, students of Māori and nautical enthusiasts, the book is concisely written with Jeff’s trademark clarity and solid research.E-book available from
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Title: Holy Socks Author: Dawn McMillan Illustrator: Philip Webb ISBN: 978-0-947506-44-5 RRP: $21.00 Specs: 230 x 215 mm portrait, PB, 32 pp, colour Published: October 2013 REPRINTED OCTOBER 2017 The Book: ‘One Christmas Eve, some years ago, a ginger kitten wandered along a street on the far side of town. He was hungry, and cold and wet.’ Bertie McGinty finds the kitten and christens him Holy Socks. Soon the pair are inseparable. Even after Bertie’s death, Holy Socks sticks by his master and takes up home in the church near his grave. Captivated by Holy Socks as she sits in church, young Christie calls out, ‘Can I keep the cat?’ Father John, by way of answer, tells everyone the story of Holy Socks. A heart-warming tale with beautiful illustrations. -
Voices from the Surf 80 Years of the Karekare Surf Lifesaving Club ISBN: 978-0-473-33052-1 RRP: $49.99 Specs: 260 x 305 mm landscape, 208 pp (120 pp colour) PB Includes DVD documentary Published: December 2015 The Book: Karekare is one of the most iconic beaches of New Zealand – and one of the most dangerous. It has been said that in its 80 years the Karekare Surf Lifesaving Club has saved over 2000 people from death by drowning in the surf – beginning with New Zealand’s first seaplane rescue in 1935, a story brilliantly retold here by Charles Hamlin. Voices from the Surf collects the voices of generations of lifeguards since, with tales of brave rescues, competition success, club camaraderie, and many reflections on the bond that the ‘clubbies’ have with the special, spiritual landscape that is Karekare. There is a lot of yarn telling and living history in this book; open it anywhere to read a ripping story. -
Takitimu A History of Ngati Kahungunu Author: J.H. Mitchell ISBN: 978-0-947506-21-6 RRP: $85.00 Specs: 240 x 150 mm portrait, HB, 312 pp, b&w with photo and whakapapa sections Published: October 2014 The Book: Takitimu is one of the great tribal histories in the New Zealand literary canon. It tells of the Ngati Kahungunu people – tangata whenua of Hawke’s Bay and parts of East Coast and Wairarapa – from their origins in the Pacific Islands to their lineage in Aotearoa up to the twentieth century. It is divided into four main sections: the history up to the departure of Takitimu and other canoes of migration; the history of Ngati Kahungunu; short biographies of Sir James Carroll, Sir Maui Pomare and the Rev. Tamihana Huata; and appendices describing charms, proverbs, the interpretation of dreams and signs, and the Maori almanac. Complete with genealogical tables, this is a book of great value for history enthusiasts and especially the people of Ngati Kahungunu – the third largest Maori tribe, with descendants throughout New Zealand and Australia. -
Title: The Tunnel in our Backyard Author: Malcolm Paterson Illustrator: Hana Maihi ISBN: 978-0-947506-04-9 RRP: $22.99 Specs: 284 x 208 mm portrait, PB, 32 pp, colour Published: 16 June 2016 For Teacher Resource: Click here The Book: A charming picture book, The Tunnel in our Backyard brings to life for children the connection with the land around them - a land full of stories and reminders of history. Jennifer and her whanau go to Te Atatu to help her cousin Tui’s family move house to Mount Albert. What they learn from Nanny on the way about Matariki and the Waterview Tunnel leads on to a big discovery once they reach Mount Albert – that old tunnels also run under here! Under the guidance of Nanny and new neighbour Tefere, the kids relive old and more recent history and follow in the giant footsteps of the ancestor Ruarangi from Mount Albert down to Meola Reef in Point Chevalier. -
Title: Māori Place Names: Their Meanings and Origins Author: A.W. Reed Editor: Peter Dowling ISBN: 978-0-947506-08-7 RRP: $34.99 Specs: 210 x 148 mm portrait, PB, 152 pp, b&w Published: 5 July 2016 The Book: Pronounce and understand Māori place names with the new fourth edition of A.W. Reed’s classic guide to meanings and origins of names across New Zealand. From Ahaura to Whitianga, this handily sized book is the definitive guide to the most common and notable Māori names on our land. Why do Whangarei, Tauranga, Motueka and Timaru have the names they do? Why all the fuss about the spelling of Whanganui and Rimutaka? What are the original names for Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin? Māori Place Names gives concise and clear answers, as well as taking in curiosities like the world’s longest place name (pictured). The new Māori Place Names includes maps on the inside covers showing principal names, and also reproduces the illustrations from the original 1950 edition by renowned artist James Berry. For bookshelf, glove box or backpack, this is a must.E-book available from
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Title: Te Arawa: A History of the Arawa People Author: Don Stafford ISBN: 978-0-947506-10-0 RRP: $98.00 Specs: HB, 240 x 150 mm portrait, 616 pp, 12 b&w photo sections, deluxe jacket Publishing: 25 August 2016 The Book: Te Arawa is the major work by one of the leading historians of pre-European New Zealand, the late Don Stafford. The book tells the complete history of the Te Arawa waka and its descendants until the late nineteenth century. This relates the iwi’s origins in the South Pacific; migration and settlement in Aotearoa; the exploits of ancestors including Tamatekapua, Ihenga, Hatupatu, Tutanekai and Wahiao; development and relations among the Arawa confederation; the arrival of Europeans; Te Arawa’s participation in Māori–Pākehā warfare; and the campaigns involving Te Kooti. Te Arawa was and remains a monumental work of research and writing, and as a 616-page hardback is also an impressive physical artefact. This handsome hardback edition includes photographic pages on glossy paper and extensive whakapapa (genealogies). -
Title: Squeakopotamus Author: Dawn McMillan Illustrator: Ross Kinnaird ISBN: 978-0-947506-11-7 RRP: $21.00 Specs: 230 x 215 mm portrait, PB, 32 pp, colour Publishing: 6 October 2016 The Book: Is he a hippo that looks like a mouse? Or, is he a mouse too big for this house? Just who or what is Squeakopotamus? And how will the kids, Mum and Dad keep him fed? No one yet has ever had a pet like the astonishing, demolishing Squeakopotamus! A memorable tale for younger readers, Squeakopotamus crosses hippo-sized fun and zany illustrations with mouse-proud rhyme, rhythm and a happy ending. -
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. -
Title: Te Toki me te Whao Author: Clive Fugill ISBN: 978-0-947506-13-1 RRP: $45 Specs: 250 x 185 mm portrait, PB, 152 pp, colour Publishing: 11 November 2016 The Book: Te Toki me te Whao is the first book by one of New Zealand’s most esteemed experts in wood carving – and the first dedicated to Maori tool technology since Elsdon Best’s Stone Implements of the Maori (1912). Building on a lifetime of study and experience, Clive Fugill provides a complete historical record as well as a practical guide in the use of Maori tools and technology. The book traces the mythical origins of wood carving and stone implements in the Pacific, location and use of materials in New Zealand, the manufacture of tools, and how to use them in making works in wood, stone and bone. Illustrated with over 80 of Clive’s drawings, the book also features colour photos by Chris Hoult. -
Title: The New Zealand Experience at Gallipoli and the Western Front Author: Matthew Wright ISBN: 978-0-947506-19-3 RRP: $49.99 Specs: 240 x 170 mm portrait, PB with flaps, 392 pp, black & white Publishing: 6 April 2017 The Book: In The New Zealand Experience at Gallipoli and the Western Front, historian Matthew Wright goes to the heart of how the First World War affected the lives of ordinary New Zealanders. The book analyses what it was like for New Zealand soldiers at the two main battle fronts where they fought, and frames it with the social effects back home. Beginning with an outline of pre-war New Zealand society, Wright portrays the extraordinary world of war into which its young men plunged as they entered the baptism of fire at Gallipoli. The end of innocence that the withdrawal from the Dardanelles implied led to a harder, more fatalistic approach in the theatre of mechanised death that was the Western Front. By war’s end, hope and glory had faded, replaced by a new view of military heroism – in a country forever changed. -
Title: Parliamentary Practice in New Zealand Author: David McGee; edited by Mary Harris and David Wilson ISBN: 978-0-947506-24-7 RRP: $75.00 Specs: 245 x 155 mm portrait, PB, 896 pp, black & white Ebook ISBN: 978-0-947506-27-8 Ebook RRP: $45.00 The Book: Parliamentary Practice in New Zealand is the definitive work on practice and procedure in the New Zealand House of Representatives. This fourth edition incorporates a decade of developments since the third edition in 2005, and reflects many significant changes in parliamentary law, practice and procedure, including:- the Parliamentary Privilege Act 2014
- how the House and its committees conduct legislative and financial scrutiny
- the use of extended sittings by the House
- the increased role of the Business Committee to manage the transaction of parliamentary business
- how the work of the House and its committees is communicated to the public.
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Title: Pūkaki: Te Hokinga Mai o te Auahitūroa Author: Paul Tapsell Translator: Scotty Te Manahau Morrison ISBN: 978-0-947506-25-4 RRP: $45 Specs: 248 x 248 mm portrait, PB, 188 pp, colour Publishing: 12 September 2017 PRINT EDITION IN MĀORI IS NOW OUT OF PRINT BUT ENGLISH EDITION EBOOK IS STILL AVAILABLE The Book: This major Māori translation is a book of national importance with special value for all descendants of Te Arawa and residents of Rotorua. Pūkaki — Te Hokinga Mai o te Auahitūroa records the life and transformations of Pūkaki, an ancestral father of Ngāti Whakaue of Te Arawa. From mortal rangatira to international icon in the Te Maori exhibition, follow Pūkaki on his return home to Rotorua in 1997, his representation on New Zealand’s 20-cent coin, and his subsequent relocation to the Rotorua Museum. Winner of the 2000 E.H. McCormick Best First Book Award for Non-Fiction, this heavily illustrated work intersperses the author’s research with the memories of Ngāti Whakaue elders. This te Reo edition, brilliantly translated by Scotty Morrison of Ngāti Whakaue, updates the story of Pūkaki through to 2017. The English language edition Pūkaki: A Comet Returns, is available as an ebook on leading online retailers including Amazon, Kobo and Apple BooksE-book available from
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Title: Regions of New Zealand Author: Peter Dowling ISBN: 978-0-947506-35-3 RRP: $32.99 Specs: 270 x 210 mm portrait, HB, 40 pp, colour Publishing: 24 October 2017 The Book: Where are the regions of New Zealand? How did they develop? What makes them special and cool to visit? Through maps, photos, fact boxes and simple text, Regions of New Zealand takes readers on a tour from Northland to Southland, Tokelau to Antarctica – with fascinating insights into the special features, facts and characters of our distinctive regions. Each region features in a spread of the book, with a colour map showing towns and features, summary text, photos illustrating key locations and tourist destinations, fact boxes and key info. In addition are sections on Māori regional relationships, early provincial divisions, outlying territories and study links. -
Title: I Need a New Bum! and other stories Author: Dawn McMillan Illustrator: Ross Kinnaird ISBN: 978-0-947506-32-2 RRP: $29.99 Specs: 230 x 215 mm portrait, PB, 96 pp, colour Publishing: 9 November 2017 The Book: Bum problems ... Naughty seagulls ... Mysterious smells ... This collection from the fun team of Dawn McMillan and Ross Kinnaird brings three favourite stories together in one fantabulous volume: I Need a New Bum! —What to do about that crack? Seagull Sid and the naughty things his seagulls did!— How can the seagulls reclaim their beach? Doggy Doo on my Shoe — Who’s to blame for that awful smell? Hilarious rhymes and zany drawings make this a book to treasure. -
Title: The Camera in the Crowd: Filming New Zealand in Peace and War, 1895–1920 Author: Christopher Pugsley Foreword: Sir Peter Jackson ISBN: 978-0-947506-34-6 RRP: $85 Specs: 270 x 215 mm portrait, HB, 480 pp, b&w with colour sections Publishing: 29 November 2017 The Book: Filming and cinema quickly won the hearts of New Zealand from the mid-1890s, yet the story of the cameramen and the film they took here and in the First World War has never been fully captured. This attractive hardback brings to fruition years of original research and archival work by esteemed historian Christopher Pugsley, who was brought in by the then New Zealand Film Archive in the early 1990s to catalogue our earliest film — and uncovered a treasure trove in the process. Told with Pugsley’s brilliant and engaging style, The Camera in the Crowd features over 350 photos and illustrations — many of them precisely tied to early filming through website links. -
Title: Urban Māori: The Second Great Migration Author: Bradford Haami ISBN: 978-0-947506-28-5 RRP: $39.99 Specs: 234 x 153 mm portrait, PB, 304 pp, b&w Publishing: 1 February 2018 The Book: The post-1945 migration to the cities by Māori transformed Aotearoa New Zealand forever. Before the Second World War 90% of Māori lived in rural tribal communities; by the mid-1970s almost 80% lived in the cities —perhaps the fastest movement of any population from traditional homelands to the cities. Economic opportunity improved the lot of many but created huge disruption and challenges, making this a story of expectation, need, loss, isolation and revival. Exploring what being Māori means today, Bradford Haami looks back to the experience of the first migrants, and traces the development of an urban Māori identity over the following years. Commissioned by Te Whānau o Waipareira, Urban Māori intersperses first-person accounts of migrants with readable history and numerous photos, covering the full spectrum of the migration experience — including ground-breaking accounts of urban marae, social deprivation, trade training schemes and the Māori experience in Australia. -
Title: Heke Tangata: Māori in Markets and Cities Author: Brian Easton ISBN: 978-0-947506-43-8 RRP: $29.99 Specs: 234 x 153 mm portrait, PB, 130 pp, b&w Publishing: 15 May 2018 The Book: Heke Tangata can broadly be translated as ‘migration of the people’, and in this book economist Brian Easton tracks the major relocations Māori have made into the cities and market economy since 1945. The book’s first part provides a narrative of the post-war Māori experience while the second part gives the statistical basis, covering areas including criminal justice, demography, education, employment, health, housing, incomes and wealth. The picture that emerges is stark: Māori remain a generation behind Pākehā in economic well-being. Commissioned by Te Whānau o Waipareira, Heke Tangata is a concise, clear overview for policy discussion and general understanding of Māori economic participation in contemporary Aotearoa/New Zealand. -
Title: Seek and Destroy: The History of 3 Squadron RNZAF Author: Paul Harrison ISBN: 978-0-947506-45-2 RRP: $90 Specs: 260 x 200 mm portrait, HB, 388 pp (52 pp colour) Published: 5 April 2018 The Book: In 2015 No.3 Squadron Royal New Zealand Air Force celebrated 50 years of continuous helicopter operations since it reformed in 1965. Seek and Destroy is the official history of the machines and personnel that make up the colourful and wide-ranging operations of this unique squadron, which was first formed in 1930 and whose aircraft and personnel have seen service all around the world from the UK to Asia, the Pacific and the Antarctic. Comprising 388 pages, including 265 black & white photos and maps, and 94 colour plates, this illustrated hardback brings together anecdotal stories of the operations and exercises conducted during the past 50 years, taking in numerous civil defence and peacekeeping activities. -
Title: Woolly Wally Author: Dawn McMillan Illustrator: Ross Kinnaird ISBN: 978-0-947506-42-1 RRP: $21.00 Specs: 230 x 215 mm portrait, PB, 32 pp, colour Published: NEW EDITION WITH NEW ISBN PUBLISHED 13 JUNE 2018 The Book: Wally is the sheep supreme, the master of his flock, proud to be the handsome head of his faithful ewes. But pride, as they say, comes before a fall — or in Wally’s case, a date with the shearing shed. What will Wally and his flock learn once they have lost their fine fleeces? First published in 2006, Woolly Wally is now back in an upgraded new edition that blends fun with a universal moral. -
Title: Nanny Mihi and the Bellbird Author: Melanie Drewery Illustrator: Tracy Duncan ISBN: 978-0-947506-36-0 RRP: $21.00 Specs: 230 x 215 mm portrait, PB, 32 pp, colour Published: 10 July 2018 Fact sheet for classroom use: Click here The Book: Every school holidays the kids go and stay with their nanny in her house by the sea. One morning (for some reason) Nanny Mihi gets the kids up early and they sit on the porch whistling a song until the sun comes up. Then they find out why – a bellbird appears and joins in the song. Whenever they come to stay after that, the bellbird is there to whistle the kids’ song. But in spring, there is no bellbird! What has happened? Nanny Mihi and the Bellbird is a charming story about love for family and nature, released for school holidays — a special time for kids and grandparents (and for parents as well). Nanny Mihi is back! -
Title: The Guinea Pig Club Archibald McIndoe and the RAF in World War II Author: Emily Mayhew Forewords by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh and HRH Prince Harry ISBN: 978-1-784383-21-3 RRP: $45 Specs: 234 x 156 mm portrait, PB, 240 pp, black & white Publishing: 14 August 2018 The Book: “Mayhew is to be commended on an outstanding addition to expanding our knowledge …” Airforce Magazine Plastic surgery was in its infancy before the Second World War. The Allies were tremendously fortunate in having the New Zealand surgeon Archibald McIndoe operating at a small hospital in East Grinstead in the south of England. McIndoe set up a revolutionary treatment regime for survivors of plane crashes. He secured his group of patients — dubbed the Guinea Pig Club — an honoured place in society as heroes of the air war. For the first time official records have been used to explore this remarkable relationship between the Guinea Pig Club, the RAF and the Home Front. This New Zealand/UK/Canada co-edition includes new material on McIndoe’s early life in Dunedin, and a foreword by HRH Prince Harry, and links to a major new film. -
The Taniwha in our Backyard Author: Malcolm Paterson Illustrator: Martin Bailey ISBN: 978-0-947506-46-9 RRP: $22.99 Specs: 284 x 208 mm portrait, PB, 32 pp, colour Publishing: 12 September 2018 For Teacher Resource: Click here The Book: Tui, his cousin Jennifer and their whānau go to the south Kaipara to visit their Uncle Rua and Auntie Mina. Exploring the area down to Muriwai, they learn about moa, kauri, Māui dolphins, kaitiakitanga (stewardship), geology and more. In the telling of their stories, a previously unknown taniwha (monster) takes centre stage! The Taniwha in our Backyard mixes English and Māori (with a smattering of Malay), profiling established and newer ethnic groups. This third book in the Sharing Our Stories series carries on the kaupapa of connecting children with the amazing environments and history around them. -
Title: Food Atlas Discover All the Delicious Foods of the World Author: Giulia Malerba Illustrator: Febe Sillani ISBN: 978-0-947506-51-3 RRP: $39.99 Specs: 370 x 270 mm portrait, HB, 72 pp, colour Publishing: 3 October 2018 The Book: An international phenomenon, this large-format hardback guides young readers and adults on an illustrated voyage into the foods and ingredients of the six continents – with New Zealand, Australia and Fiji representing Oceania. Gorgeous, illustrated maps show in detail the most typical fruits and vegetables, meat, fish and cheese, cereals, beverages, herbs and spices for each region. One country at a time, the world of food takes shape, and children have fun exploring the gastronomical wonders of the Earth, discovering all of the differences along the way. Originally published in Italian by Dalcò Edizione in the foodie city of Parma, Food Atlas has sold over 150,000 copies worldwide in 18 languages. Oratia is proud to bring an English edition to whet young appetites Down Under. -
Title: There's a Tui in our Teapot Author: Dawn McMillan Illustrator: Nikki Slade Robinson ISBN: 978-0-947506-47-6 RRP: $25.99 Specs: 270 x 210 mm portrait, HB, 32 pp, colour Published: 16 October 2018 For Teacher Resource: Click here The Book: There’s a tui in our teapot. He’s looking out at me. A tui in the teapot? Yes … he wants a cup of tea! A tui and his various friends including takahe, kea, korimako (bellbird), pukeko and hoiho (yellow-eyed penguin) invade the family kitchen, getting up to all kinds of high jinks and making a tremendous mess! What will Nan say when she sees what the hilarious gang of mischievous birds have done to her kitchen? Two of New Zealand's best children's book creators join together in this classic bit of fun that concludes with a handy fact list on the native birds featured. -
Title: Le Quesnoy 1918: New Zealand's Last Battle Author: Christopher Pugsley ISBN: 978-0-947506-49-0 RRP: $39.99 Specs: 297 x 210 mm portrait, PB, 168 pp (b&w with 8-pp colour) Publishing: 25 October 2018 UPDATED EDITION PUBLISHED 18 March 2020 REPRINTED WITH UPDATES 20 November 2022 The Book: The New Zealand Division’s capture of the French town of Le Quesnoy was its last and most successful action in the First World War. Breaking through defensive lines and scaling the town walls by ladder, the New Zealanders overwhelmed the defenders, freeing the town after years of German occupation.It was a victory that resounded around the world, and helped convince German high command they could no longer hold the front. Based on his intimate knowledge of the landscape and those involved, Dr Christopher Pugsley puts together the story with his mastery of drama and detail — producing a book that is thrilling at the same time as a tribute to the New Zealanders who died (and whose details are fully recorded here for the first time).
Updated with additional information received from descendants since the first publication in October 2018, and with a new red cover to match, Le Quesnoy 1918 is an inspiring read of relevance to all New Zealanders.
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Title: When Dad Came Home Author: Vanessa Hatley-Owen Illustrator: Rosie Colligan ISBN: 978-0-947506-50-6 RRP: $21.00 Specs: 230 x 215 mm portrait, PB, 32 pp, colour Publishing: 8 November 2018 Teacher resource for classroom use: Click here The Book: The war was over and Dad was coming home at last! But the days and weeks go by, and when he does return Dad is not the happy man that young Rita once knew and Thomas thinks he remembers. Struggling to understand his sadness and fears, the kids accompany him as he readjusts to home life, all the while singing his favourite song. One day, while they help him fix the deck, Dad starts to join in the song … Vanessa Hatley-Owen and Rosie Colligan beautifully capture a children’s view of family love and the realities of shell shock for the men who returned after the First World War ended on 11 November 1918. -
Title: Te Ahi Kā: The Fires of Occupation Author: Martin Toft ISBN: 978-1-911306-38-2 Imprint: Dewi Lewis Publishing; distributed in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific by Oratia Books RRP: $65.00 Specs: 205 x 165 mm portrait, HB, 200 pp colour; alternate female (green, fern) and male (yellow, ember) covers Publishing: 5 December 2018 The Book: Danish photographer Martin Toft spent six months living among iwi deep in the Whanganui River lands in the mid-1990s. They honoured him with the Māori name Pouma Pokai-whenua. By returning 20 years later, again with his camera, Toft completed part of a promise to the iwi, and publishing this book fulfils the rest of that pledge. Te Ahi Kā: The Fires of Occupation explores in photographs, archives and interviews some of the key political, environmental and cultural issues for the iwi as it has sought return of its historical lands at Mangapapapa. This sumptuous hardback production, with fold-out pages, fine binding and alternate female (fern) and male (embers) cover designs, is now featuring in photo book festivals worldwide. Te Ahi Kā evokes the physical and metaphysical relationship between a river and its ancestors, between Māori and the author. It aims to leave a legacy for future guardians of the Whanganui, and to share the aspirations and desires of this unique community. -
Legends of Rotorua and the Hot Lakes Author: A.W. Reed Illustrator: Dennis Turner ISBN: 978-0-947506-57-5 RRP: $29.99 Specs: 210 x 148 mm portrait, PB, 164 pp, b&w Published: 20 March 2019 The Book: First published in 1958, this is the classic collection of myths relating to that cradle of Māori culture, Rotorua – with relevance across New Zealand Rotorua is one of New Zealand’s most visited cities. It is impossible to avoid the area’s Māori history and, in this book, it is easy to learn about the most popular legends of the area. These include Ngatoro the Fire-Bringer, whose avoidance of fire demons left them raging underground to make the famous geyser and mudpool formations in the Rotorua area; and Hatupatu, who bravely escaped from the birdwoman, who would have him as her slave. A.W. Reed is renowned for his telling of Māori stories; his list of published works in this area is long and his popularity has rarely waned. The Dennis Turner beautiful illustrations are reproduced unaltered, speaking to the era of the book’s original publication. -
Home Child A child migrant in New Zealand Author: Dawn McMillan Illustrator: Trish Bowles ISBN: 978-0-947506-58-2 RRP: $27.99 Specs: 270 x 210 mm portrait, HB, 40 pp, colour Published: 9 April 2019 For Teacher Resource: click here The Book: ‘Tears were close as I talked to the class about where I had come from. The way I spoke, my accent, the words I used, made me different from everyone else.’ Home Child is the true story of Pat Brown, whose father made the heart-wrenching decision in 1950 to send his children from London to New Zealand for a better life. The four kids enjoy their ship voyage from Britain, not knowing that they will never be going home again — nor that only Pat and her sister would be staying together when they are adopted by Kiwi families. In these pages Pat (now resident in Nelson) retells the story of making a new life in New Zealand to her granddaughter Sarah Rose, hauntingly capturing the experience of young children consigned to a strange but welcoming country. In 2010 Pat represented New Zealand at the British Government’s official apology to child migrants. This is her story. -
Title: Sea Edge: Where the Waitematā Meets Auckland Author: Bob Harvey ISBN: 978-0-947506-48-3 RRP: $75.00 Specs: 300 x 300 mm, HB, 260 pp colour Published: 19 June 2019 The Book: Since the first Polynesian voyagers made landfall in their double-hulled sailing canoes, new arrivals have continually rediscovered and redefined Auckland’s harbour. Waitematā, ‘sparkling waters’, originated as a name from a rock off Kauri Point. Settlers from Britain and other parts of Europe navigated into the Waitematā to create the ‘City of Sails’. Sea Edge: Where the Waitematā Meets Auckland is a collection of old and new stories, vignettes of the past and visions of the future, accompanied by many unpublished photographs and illustrations. It ranges widely, with 74 individual sections, each adding a fresh flavour to the story of Auckland’s vibrant, beautiful sea edge. -
Series: The NZ Series Title: Volcanoes and Earthquakes Editor: Gordon Ell and Sarah Ell ISBN: 978-0-947506-60-5 RRP: $29.99 Specs: 240 x 160 mm portrait, PB, 100 pp, 4 colour Published: 10 July 2019 For Teacher Resource: click here The Book: Get ready for a new take on New Zealand society, history and geography in one of the first two books in The NZ Series, a snappily designed and fact-packed collection for intermediate and high-school age readers. Volcanoes and Earthquakes investigates the causes and history of seismic activity in Aotearoa, taking in the Christchurch and Kaikoura earthquakes and recent volcanic activity. The informative, easy-to-understand text is accompanied by numerous explanatory diagrams, historical and modern-day photographs and ‘Fact File’ boxes. Ours is a physically small country but it packs a powerful amount of geological activity into its landscape, as does the keen design of Volcanoes and Earthquakes.E-book available from
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Title: Pioneer Women Series: The NZ Series Editor: Sarah Ell ISBN: 978-0-947506-59-9 RRP: $29.99 Specs: 240 x 160 mm portrait, PB, 100 pp, 2 colour Published: 10 July 2019 For Teacher Resource: click here The Book: Get ready for a new take on New Zealand society, history and geography in one of the first two books in The NZ Series, a snappily designed and fact-packed collection for intermediate and high-school age readers. This fascinating collection of writings and reflections by some of the pioneer women who came to New Zealand in the nineteenth century reveals the challenges they faced and overcame when they arrived in their new country. Pioneer Women presents extracts from diaries and letters by women who emigrated to New Zealand from Europe in the nineteenth century. These tales of hardship and happiness are accompanied by portraits, newspaper clippings, and markers like the Women’s Suffrage Petition, creating an easily digested record of these adventurous pioneers. -
Title: Te Whatu Tāniko — Tāniko Weaving: Technique and Tradition Author: Hirini Moko Mead ISBN: 978-0-947506-61-2 RRP: $45.00 Specs: 250 x 185 mm, PB, 136 pp b&w Published: 15 August 2019 Tāniko weaving is one of the supreme expressions of Māori art. Weaving and dyeing the fibres of native flax creates elaborate, beautiful patterns that are used to adorn clothing, with distinctive styles that have evolved over centuries of creativity.This has been the standard work on the subject since its first publication as Taniko Weaving in 1952. Since rewritten and updated, Te Whatu Tāniko provides the history and social context for weaving, as well as clear, practical guidelines for making tāniko.
Using the book’s clear and concise graphs and drawings, readers can utilise this book to weave the beautiful patterns within. The instructions can be used as a beginner’s guide or a refresher resource, or simply to enjoy and admire this beautiful artform.
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Whakarongo ki ō Tūpuna Listen to your Ancestors Author: Darryn Joseph Illustrator: Munro Te Whata ISBN: 978-0-947506-62-9 RRP: $25.99 Specs: 270 x 210 mm portrait, HB, 32 pp, colour Published: 10 September 2019 WINNER: NZSA New Zealand Literary Heritage Awards 2020, Te Reo Māori section The Book: One night in June 2016, Massey University language lecturer Darryn Joseph sat in a hospital room minding a teacher who had become a dear friend and mentor to him. Darryn wrote her a poem of appreciation, kissed her hand and said goodbye; the next day she passed away. That poem is contained in Whakarongo ki ō Tūpuna/Listen to your Ancestors, which is written in te Reo Māori with English translation. The story follows a beloved teacher giving her pupils and grand-daughter guidance by directing them to follow the examples of Māori gods and ancestors. The book is illustrated by emerging artist Munro Te Whata, who has vividly brought to life settings in a school, the outdoors and a rest home in a colourful and fun style. Whakarongo ki ō Tūpuna teaches the values represented by Māori gods and ancestors, and provides a much-needed tool for reading in te Reo. And at its heart this is a story of love and respect, harking back to the friendship that inspired its writing. -
Title: I've Broken My Bum! Author: Dawn McMillan Illustrator: Ross Kinnaird ISBN: 978-0-947506-64-3 RRP: $21.00 Specs: 230 x 215 mm portrait, PB, 32 pp, colour Published: 9 October 2019 For orders from outside New Zealand, email: sales@oratia.co.nz What should you do when you fall off your bike and your bum breaks into pieces? Collect them up, take them home and glue them together, of course!But then what happens when the pieces get stuck to the tray on which you’re making the repairs?
Join the popular character from I Need a New Bum! as he discovers the joy and fun that can be had when you have a tray stuck to your bum! You can slide like a boss, you can be an ace at paintball, you can be a superhero, you can ride a geyser — and imagine how good you can be at surfing …
Dawn McMillan’s rollicking rhyme is accompanied by Ross Kinnaird’s reliably hilarious images, pulling the story along to a conclusion that encourages children to embrace and celebrate their differences.
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Title: Nanny Mihi and the Rainbow Author: Melanie Drewery Illustrator: Tracy Duncan ISBN: 978-0-947506-65-0 RRP: $21.00 Specs: 230 x 215 mm portrait, PB, 32 pp, colour Published: 5 November 2019 For Teacher Resource: click here The Book: Nanny Mihi’s mokopuna (grandchildren) come to stay during the school holidays. Each day, she sends them out to collect objects of a different colour. They scour the local beach collecting shells, flowers, seaweed and beach detritus left by humans, all the time asking, ‘why?’. By the week’s end they have a collection of coloured items for a beach rainbow. Nanny Mihi teaches her grandchildren and the kids who will read the book patience, creativity and connection to nature — and that sometimes the best things are not those we keep but those we give away. The text includes te Reo throughout, for which translations are provided. Tracy Duncan’s revamped artwork and Melanie’s enduring story ensure that once again children’s imaginations will be captured. -
Title: Shipwrecked New Zealand maritime disasters Authors: Gavin McLean, with Kynan Gentry Illustrations: Eric Heath ISBN: 978-0-947506-66-7 RRP: $59.99 Specs: 280 x 215 mm portrait, jacketed HB, 264 pp, b&w with 16-pp colour Published: 11 November 2019 The Book: Shipwrecks litter the coasts and reefs of New Zealand. Disasters at sea are no longer the regular occurrence that led to drowning being known as ‘the New Zealand death’, yet recent wrecks like the Rena show that perils persist. This keenly priced, jacketed hardback retells the voyages of ships doomed never to make their next port. It features plentiful photos and ephemera — including two colour sections showcasing the superb illustrations of notable ships lost to the sea, by renowned artist Eric Heath. Before his untimely death Gavin McLean had been revising his previous histories of New Zealand maritime disasters for this new project. Completed by historian Kynan Gentry, Shipwrecked will be the definitive history of the subject for years to come. -
Title: Whāriki The growth of Māori community entrepreneurship Authors: Merata Kawharu and Paul Tapsell ISBN: 978-0-947506-63-6 RRP: $39.99 Specs: 234 x 153 mm portrait, PB with flaps, 200 pp, b&w Published: 5 November 2019 The Book: Understanding what drives enterprise within an indigenous cultural space is not widely understood in New Zealand. Whāriki reveals how kin-based business ventures created by Māori have promoted social, economic and environmental wellbeing from the whenua (land) up. Its core is eight case studies — some arising from iwi-driven ideas, some ideas from marae-based whanau. These range from a bee school in Northland, ginseng growing in the King Country, to the rehabilitation of Māori prisoners in Dunedin and a web-engaged response to accessing tribal marae. Always reaching into ancestral ties and lessons to provide guidance and foundation for their ideas, these businesses are wrapped in cultural approaches that engage kin communities in improving the wellbeing of their iwi, hapū and whānau. This book explores the successes, the failures, the learnings and the futures of these opportunities for Māori. -
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.E-book available from
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Title: Rush to Riches Kauri and Gold Series: The NZ Series Author: Gordon Ell ISBN: 978-0-947506-70-4 RRP: $29.99 Specs: 240 x 160 mm portrait, PB, 100 pp, 2 colour Published: 8 May 2020 For Teacher Resource: click here The Book: The discovery of gold in New Zealand in the 1800s led thousands of people to rush to overnight tent towns set among isolated mountains and rivers. In the north, vast forests of giant kauri trees cloaked the land. Yet now only a tiny fraction of the trees survive in threatened forests, and many goldmining settlements are just ghost towns. Rush to Riches tells the story of how mining for gold and felling the kauri forests helped found New Zealand, with both Māori and new immigrants involved in these new industries. The tales in this book reveal how exploiting these resources changed the face of the land and its people. The third in The NZ Series brings these important forces in history and the environment to readers from young adults on, with plentiful illustrations and information boxes. -
Title: The Longdrop Author: Joan Joass Illustrator: Bob Darroch ISBN: 978-0-947506-71-1 RRP: $21.00 Specs: 230 x 215 mm portrait, PB, 32 pp, colour Published: 16 June 2020 For Teacher Resource: Click here For orders from outside New Zealand, email: sales@oratia.co.nzHere’s a fantastic tale for kids about the classic Kiwi holiday that includes a caravan, a beach and the sometimes-smelly toilet shed out the back of the holiday section — the longdrop.
The kids need to go, and the public loo is sooo far away from their caravan. So, Dad builds a longdrop! When the paper builds to capacity Dad thinks and thinks and solves his problem — with a match ...
Based on a true story (Joan’s husband is ‘Dad’), this fun rhyming story celebrates the hilarious situations that arise from the Kiwi ‘she’ll be right’ approach to life. Bob Darroch’s jam-packed illustrations perfectly depict New Zealand holiday time.
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Title: 12 Huia Birds/12 Manu Huia Author: Julian Stokoe Illustrator: Stacy Eyles ISBN: 978-0-947506-78-0 RRP: $22.99 Specs: 270 x 210 mm portrait, PB, 32 pp, colour Published: 14 July 2020 For orders from outside New Zealand, email: sales@oratia.co.nz Previously published in hardback in English, this popular book is now back with Māori text in a quality paperback. The Listener named the first edition one of its Top 50 Children's Books of 2016, and called it: “A striking reminder of the many ways this beautiful bird was wiped out.” 12 beautiful huia birds play and sing in the forest. But is that a canoe arriving? A rat sniffling? A ship on the horizon? One by one, the huia start to disappear – what will remain? 12 Huia Birds is a captivating celebration of one of our loveliest birds. Through gentle rhyme and colourful imagery it subtly conveys an environmental message – and includes links to a 12 Huia Birds app, educational resources and games. -
Title: Life with Cars New Zealanders' motoring memories 1950s–1980s Author: Stephen Barnett ISBN: 978-0-947506-74-2 RRP: $49.99 Specs: 240 x 260 mm landscape,PB with flaps, 168 pp, colour Published: 4 November 2020 For a preview of the book: Click here Book can be pre-ordered ahead of November publication The Book: Life with Cars is a like a national family photo album, albeit one with its focus on cars. It brims with evocative imagery of cars and automotive adventures from the 1950s to the 1980s, with the words of the contributors as told to the author.Their stories reflect New Zealanders’ creation and uptake of car culture — telling of breakdowns in the middle of nowhere, holidays at the beach, evading the law, Sunday drives and of course posing on, beside or in the much-loved four-wheeled family members.
Underpinning these stories are relationships — primarily between owners and their cars, but also between parents and children, partners in life, and young people and their peers — all during a time when cars had character, there was less congestion on the roads and petrol was cheap.
These stories will resonate with a wide audience, from those who owned cars then to those that love their cars as much today.
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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: Sir Singlet Author: Dawn McMillan Illustrator: Ross Kinnaird ISBN: 978-0-947506-75-9 RRP: $21.00 Specs: 230 x 215 mm portrait, PB, 32 pp, colour Published: 2 October 2020 For orders from outside New Zealand, email: sales@oratia.co.nz The latest collaboration from author Dawn McMillan and illustrator Ross Kinnaird Sir Singlet brings their zany rhyms and illustrations to a colourful story of a knight who can’t stand the sloppy underwear he wears under his armour. Narrated by his nephew, Sir Singlet celebrates special talents: Sir Singlet is clever with needle and thread. See all the cushions he’s made for his bed? Sir Singlet’s solution to his problem is to design his own line of comfortable, and colourful ‘knightwear’. But before he can launch the product, the king gets in the way by declaring war. Wearing his new undergarments, Sir Singlet wins the battle, not using hand-to-hand combat — but by scaring his enemies away when he displays his wonderful wearable creations. The king is so pleased that he … well, you’ll have to read the story to find out how it all ends up! -
Title: Freyberg A Life's Journey Authors: Matthew Wright ISBN: 978-0-947506-72-8 RRP: $45 Specs: 234 x 153 mm portrait, PB with flaps, 232 pp, b&w Published: 6 October 2020 The Book: Bernard Freyberg was a legend while alive and is an iconic figure today, commemorated in the naming of schools, squares and swimming pools across the country. But how much do we really know of the man behind the myth? And what enabled a humble immigrant child in Wellington to become a hero in two wars, friend to literary giants and politicians, very private father and husband, and very public governor-general? In this fresh account of one of the 20th-century’s great New Zealanders, Matthew Wright approaches Bernard Freyberg the man rather than the more widely known figure of a military leader. Freyberg: A Life’s Journey is the most accessible biography on ‘Tiny’ Freyberg yet, with numerous black and white photos. -
Title: The Forgotten Wars Why the Musket Wars matter today Author: Ron Crosby ISBN: 978-0-947506-79-7 RRP: $39.99 Specs: 240 x 160 mm portrait, PB, 208 pp, b&w with 16-pp colour Published: 14 October 2020 For Teacher Resource: Click here The Book: Muskets, potatoes and other introductions fundamentally altered the balance of power in 19th-century Aotearoa, leading to inter-iwi conflicts over almost 40 years that claimed tens of thousands of lives (killing, wounding or displacing up to half of the Māori population). Distinguished author and lawyer Ron Crosby brilliantly rewrites his seminal The Musket Wars on a thematic basis, simplifying it to a concise new work full of maps and illustrations for the general reader. Years of presentations to schools and groups is reflected in this dynamic new approach. This important book will further understanding of how the boom of muskets continues to echo in New Zealand today. And it needs to — the wars are still neglected by government and glossed over by other histories. The Forgotten Wars ensures these epic conflicts will be remembered.E-book available from
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Title: There's a Weta on my Sweater Author: Dawn McMillan Illustrator: Stephanie Thatcher ISBN: 978-0-947506-76-6 RRP: $25.99 Specs: 270 x 210 mm portrait, HB, 32 pp, colour Published: 4 November 2020 For Teacher Resource: Click here The Book: There’s a weta on my sweater! He’s climbing up my sleeve … A humungous weta! An awesome weta! He doesn’t want to leave. Weta and friends, including beetle, centipede, stick insect and huhu, come to school with the kids for Show and Tell. In the classroom weta marches along while his friends show what they can do — singing, dancing and scaring the teacher! But they don’t want to stay in the classroom! Where will they go? Will Koro be able to help his mokopuna keep the critters safe?E-book available from
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Title: He Iti te Kupu: Māori Metaphors and Similes Author: Hona Black ISBN: 978-0-947506-91-9 RRP: $39.99 Specs: 210 x 148 mm portrait, PB, 232 pp Published: 4 February 2021 WINNER: NZSA New Zealand Literary Heritage Awards 2021, Te Reo Māori section The Book: He Iti te Kupu contains nearly 500 sayings that draw a comparison between something (often the natural world) and people, events or contexts. Written in Māori and English, this accessible guide explains the use, meaning and context of a host of the principal figures of speech in te Reo.Divided into themes, including birds of the land and sea, parts of the body, acknowledgements, animals and insects.
The title derives from the proverb, ‘The words are small, yet their meanings are substantial,’ highlighting the importance of these sayings in the landscape of Māori language learning and speaking.
This volume will prove to be an invaluable resource for beginning and advanced learners of te Reo Māori.
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Title: My Bum is SO NOISY! Author: Dawn McMillan Illustrator: Ross Kinnaird ISBN: 978-0-947506-81-0 RRP: $21.00 Specs: 230 x 215 mm portrait, PB, 32 pp, colour Published: 2 March 2021My bum is so noisy.
My bum brings me shame.
It makes weird noises and I get the blame.
This poor kid really has trouble with his bum. This time he’s in a fix because some strange noises unpredictably issue from his behind!
There’s tooting and hooting, and burping and slurping, and popping and squeaking when Auntie is speaking. But Mum and Dad love their boy and they refuse to make a fuss. And see what happens when he is talent-spotted (or talent-heard) by movie scouts …
Join the popular character from I Need a New Bum! and I’ve Broken my Bum! when he discovers he has the loudest, the proudest, the most uproarious, victorious, sound-system backside!
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Title: First Encounters Series: The NZ Series Author: Gordon Ell and Sarah Ell ISBN: 978-0-947506-90-2 RRP: $29.99 Specs: 240 x 160 mm portrait, PB, 108 pp, 2 colour Published: 8 April 2021 For Teacher Resource: click here The Book: Europeans had no idea what they would find when they first set eyes on Aotearoa. First Encounters selects some of the key writings from these early traders, missionaries, explorers and surveyors — covering nearly 200 years from Abel Tasman in 1642 and Joseph Banks in 1769, through to early settlers such as John Logan Campbell in 1840. Their records of encounters with this new land and its Māori inhabitants reveal stories of wonder, curiosity, misunderstanding and adventure — all with maximum interest and impact for modern readers. The text is liberally illustrated with two-colour imagery and historical photos, alongside fact boxes explaining historical language and events. -
Title: Events in the Life of Phillip Tapsell Editor: Jonathan Adams ISBN: 978-0-947506-92-6 RRP: $45.00 Specs: 240 x 160 mm portrait, PB, 252 pp, b&w Published: 6 May 2021 The Book: Hans Falk, born in 1790 in Copenhagen, took to the sea as a lad, changed his name to Phillip Tapsell, and after many adventures settled at Maketū in New Zealand’s Bay of Plenty. There he became the key trader for local iwi and married into the highest levels of Te Arawa, while helping other tribes to defend themselves against invasion from northern tribes. He was, in other words, one of the original Pākehā-Māori. Yet Tapsell’s life of daring is not well known today, and the memoirs he dictated to Edward Little shortly before his death were only ever published in newspaper form. Brought together, these make an important contribution to the history of the countries of his birth and death. Meticulously researched and edited by Dr Jonathan Adams, this book presents the original manuscript with close editing and annotation. Part 1 discusses Tapsell’s life and identity as a Pākehā-Māori; Part 2 reproduces his reminiscences as recorded by Little; and Part 3 summarises the key events in the story, examines the manuscript as an artefact, and includes accounts of Tapsell’s life and how that has been interpreted in Denmark. -
Title: Captain Cat Author: Joan Joass Illustrator: Bob Darroch ISBN: 978-0-947506-86-5 RRP: $21.00 Specs: 230 x 215 mm portrait, PB, 32 pp, colour Published: 3 June 2021 For Teacher Resource: Click here For orders from outside New Zealand, email: sales@oratia.co.nzAn adventurous tale of two mischievous cats that find themselves in a predicament — their love for fish leads to an unscheduled journey in their owners’ dinghy. Will anyone notice them floating into the estuary?
The owner of the boat might not be on to it, but the neighbourhood kids are! Spying Fluff and Scout floating about, one of them posts on the Internet: ‘Do you know whose cats are these?Get in touch and HURRY please!’
Thank goodness Mum uses social media. Scout and Fluff are saved when the Joneses jump in their kayaks and set off to save their moggies.
Bob Darroch’s vibrant and jam-packed illustrations hilariously depict Fluff and Scout’s adventures at sea, and the efforts of the Jones family and friends to bring them back to shore.
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Title: The New Zealand Wars Series: The NZ Series Author: Matthew Wright ISBN: : 978-0-947506-93-3 RRP: $29.99 Specs: 240 x 160 mm portrait, PB, 108 pp, colour Published: 8 July 2021 For Teacher Resource: click here Why did the New Zealand Wars occur? Who fought them and how did they proceed? And where were these battles fought? In The New Zealand Wars, Matthew Wright answers these questions in probing text supported by fact boxes and illustrations that make navigating these protracted wars easy. Building on his 2014 book on the same subject, Wright covers all of the wars’ major incidents, movements and people, including the Battle of Gate Pa, Pai Marire, and figures such as Colonel G.S. Whitmore and Te Kooti. He shows that the wars, which pitted British settlers and allied Māori against other Māori over a 30-year period, really ended up as a civil war fanning flames in many regions. The book features glossaries that explain military terms, and sidebars that explore subjects like ‘Did Māori invent trench warfare?’, and ‘Food, horrible food’. There are over 70 colour images, including of battle sites that we can visit today. -
Title: Bedtime, No Playtime! Author: Lawrence Schimel Illustrator: Elina Braslina ISBN: 978-1-99-004206-5 RRP: $14.99 Specs: Board book, 150 x 150 mm, 16 pp, colour Published: 17 August 2021 Click here for companion book Early One Morning A young girl is getting ready for bed when her puppy tries to play. First Rex brings his ball over, but that doesn’t work. Then he crashes story time, and she still doesn’t give in! Finally, as a last resort, Rex steals her teddy and the chase is on! Under the table, over the chair, her daddies race and, at last, rescue the bear. Now it’s really time for bed! Goodnight, Rex. An adorable rhyming board book that will have pre-school readers coming back, and the representation of a family with two dads makes this a meaningful addition to every bookshelf. -
Title: Early One Morning Author: Lawrence Schimel Illustrator: Elina Braslina ISBN: 978-1-99-004207-2 RRP: $14.99 Specs: Board book, 150 x 150 mm, 16 pp, colour Published: 17 August 2021 Click here for companion book Bedtime, Not Playtime! A young boy and his cat are awake before his mums and sister. It’s too early to make a sound, but his rumbling tummy needs to be fed. The boy and his cat finish their breakfast just in time to say ‘Good morning!’ to the rest of the family. Delightful illustrations and a simple story will have pre-school readers coming back. The cadence of this adorable rhyming board book will delight readers young and old, and the representation of a family with two moms makes ita meaningful addition to every bookshelf. -
Title: Blimmin’ Koro: Kātahi rā, e Koro e! Author: Jill Bevan-Brown Illustrator: Trish Bowles Translator: Māhaki Bevan-Brown ISBN: 978-0-947506-87-2 RRP: $25.99 Specs: 270 x 210 mm portrait, 32 pp, colour Published: 7 September 2021 For Teacher Resource: click here For orders from outside New Zealand, email: sales@oratia.co.nzKotukū notices her grandfather is becoming forgetful. He hides things around the house and has trouble talking. Is Koro sick? Step by step, Kotukū and her whānau learn about dementia and help Koro to adjust to the changes in his life.This bilingual story tells the story Koro’s changes and how his family adapt to look after him. What doesn’t change is their unwavering love for their grandad. Trish Bowles’ watercolour illustrations sensitively trace the family’s journey and help show dementia doesn’t mean the end of life.
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He Atua, He Tangata Author: A.W. Reed Revised by: Ross Calman ISBN: 978-0-947506-88-9 RRP: $65.00 Specs: 240 x 160 mm, HB, 400 pp, b&w Published: 6 October 2021In this updated edition of the Reed Book of Māori Mythology, esteemed editor Ross Calman comprehensively revises the core stories of gods (atua) and people (tangata) and the many other beings that sit on the continuum between the two. Divided into themes, this elegantly produced volume starts with traditions of the creation of the universe, and the separation of Rangi and Papa, then reviews the pantheon of atua (gods), the overworlds and underworlds. Next are the demigods and supernatural peoples, then legends of earth, ocean and sky, tohunga and makutu, and finally legends of love and endurance. He Atua, He Tangata presents different versions for stories, with sources identified where possible. Calman has modernised the language to give stories a contemporary feel, incorporating updates to the reo, making this timeless work ideal for twenty-first century readers. -
Title: Voices of Aotearoa 25 years of Going West Oratory Author: The Going West Trust ISBN: 978-0-947506-97-1 RRP: $49.99 Specs: 220 x 170 mm, HB, 384 pp, b&w Published: 16 September 2021Since 1996 the Going West Writers Festival has brought together literary voices from around Aotearoa to share a feast of ideas and words. Eminent New Zealand writers and commentators have launched each year with an opening address on the festival’s theme, most as part of the Douglas Orators series. Voices of Aotearoa draws on the Going West Trust’s complete sound archive to reproduce addresses about literature, politics, the environment, culture, personal lives and national identity. The stellar line-up of writers is: Dame Christine Cole-Catley • Nigel Cox • Allen Curnow • David Eggleton • Patricia Grace • Charlotte Grimshaw • Stephanie Johnson • Dame Fiona Kidman • Michael King • Elizabeth Knox • James Littlewood • Bernard Makoare • Paula Morris • Rod Oram • Geoff Park • Vincent O’Sullivan • Chris Price • Te Radar • Dame Anne Salmond • Maurice Shadbolt • Tony Simpson • Robert Sullivan • Ngahuia te Awekotuku • Marilyn Waring • Ian Wedde • Peter Wells • Maualaivao Albert Wendt An introduction by Naomi McCleary records the festival’s origins and evolution, and a postscript from current festival director James Littlewood takes Going West into the Covid-19 era. This beautifully designed hardback is destined to become a must-have collection from an A-team of New Zealand writers and thinkers, recorded at one of our most distinctive literary festivals. -
Cover Story 100 Beautiful, Strange and Frankly Incredible New Zealand LP Covers Author: Steve Braunias ISBN: 978-0-947506-89-6 RRP: $49.99 Specs: 312 x 312 mm, PB, 168 pp, colour Publishing: 26 October 2021 REPRINT IS IN STOCK NOW!Music is a key to culture, no matter where in the world you are from and New Zealand is no exception. In the decades from 1957–87 the LP was king of New Zealand recorded music. To sell the music cover art was needed, and the book showcases 100 of the best examples at full LP size. Divided into themes, Cover Story brings Braunias’ inimitable wit and empathy to bear on the artistic flair, fashion and occasional gaudiness these album covers represent. Based on interviews and his own experience collecting over 800 albums from op-shops around the country, he reflects on what they say about our popular culture. Several hundred words accompany each of the albums — from Bill & Boyd to Tina Cross, Christian music to punk — while Katrina Duncan’s sharp design lets the art leap from the page. This is a big book in every sense, one that is a visual delight and full of quirky information, but that doesn’t take its subjects or itself too seriously. -
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Title: Seven Lives on Salt River Author: Dick Scott ISBN: 978-1-99-004210-2 RRP: $39.99 Specs: 250 x 182 mm portrait, PB facsimile edition, 160 pp, b&w Published: 11 October 2021 WINNER: 1988 New Zealand Book Award, non-fiction OUT OF STOCK, REPRINT UNDER CONSIDERATION‘There are marvellous insights into people … it is an extraordinary book.’ — David Lange First published in 1987 and here in its third edition, Seven Lives on Salt River is a local history that has transcended its boundaries along the northern Kaipara Harbour around Pahi to be a universal story of how European arrivals adapted to life among Māori in a new land. Dick Scott was renowned for bringing the suppressed history of Parihaka to light in Ask That Mountain, and like that earlier work, Seven Lives has become a classic of popular storytelling. The seven families he portrays here were both ordinary and outstanding, including Gordon Coates, the first New Zealand-born prime minister, the Blackwells, responsible for a standard botanical guide to the country, and Henry Scotland, a father of the peace movement and champion of Māori land rights. Beyond their legacies, it is the detail of how these families fitted in and the spectacular illustrations that gives this book its enduring fascination. Printed locally in a facsimile edition. -
Title: I’ve Broken MY BUM! and other stories Author: Dawn McMillan Illustrator: Ross Kinnaird ISBN:978-0-947506-94-0 RRP: $29.99 Specs: 230 x 215 mm portrait, PB, 96 pp, colour Publishing: 19 October 2021A backwards bum … Out-of-control ear hair … A dog relates his adventures … The laugh-a-lot team of Dawn McMillan and Ross Kinnaird brings three of their best stories together in this volume of funny and fantastical characters! Included are I’ve Broken my Bum! — Is glue the right solution to put a broken bum back together? Mister Spears and his Hairy Ears — Will corks and a helmet really stop Mister Spears’ ear hair growing? Charlie and his amazing tales — Did Charlie the dog seriously do a parachute jump? A great value edition to get the kids through lockdowns and holidays.Audiobook available from
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Title: The Battlecruiser New Zealand Author: Matthew Wright ISBN: 978-1-526784-0-32 RRP: $59.99 Specs: Jacketed hardback, 234 x 156 mm portrait, 288 pp, b&w with colour Published: 16 November 2021 TEMPORARILY OUT OF STOCKIn March 1909 New Zealand’s Premier Joseph Ward offered a ‘first-class battleship of the latest type’ to the British Navy as a contribution to the Empire (and to guard against the perceived threat of a newly rising Japan). Paid for by the people of New Zealand it would enter service in time to fight with distinction in all the major naval battles in the First World War. Born of the collision between New Zealand’s patriotic dreams and European politics, the tale of HMS New Zealand is further wrapped in issues of engineering, naval strategy and public opinion. Written as part naval history and part ‘biography’ of the vessel and its sailors, The Battlecruiser New Zealand is a fast-paced account of the ship’s career — brought to life through official documents, eyewitness accounts and new research. Extensively illustrated throughout with black & white and colour photos, plans and paintings, this attractive hardback will appeal to a wide audience, from naval enthusiasts to the general reader of New Zealand history. -
Title: There’s a Moa in the Moonlight He Moa kei rō Atarau Author: Dawn McMillan Illustrator: Nikki Slade Robinson Māori text: Ngaere Roberts ISBN: 978-0-947506-96-4 RRP: $25.99 Specs: 270 x 210 mm portrait, HB, 32 pp, colour Publishing: 2 November 2021 For Teacher Resource: click here There’s a Moa in the Moonlight. He’s in our garden plot. He’s munching all our melons. He likes the seeds a lot. Moa and friends are invading the garden — Huia is hanging out in the hibiscus, Wren is darting around and Adzebill is hunting lizards! What will Mum say when she sees all these animals in her garden? An effortless combination of rhyming text and funky illustrations extends Dawn McMillan’s nature-story series to bring our extinct animals back to life. Featuring a spread of animal facts at the back. -
Title: My Bum is SO CHEEKY! Author: Dawn McMillan Illustrator: Ross Kinnaird ISBN:978-1-99-004212-6 RRP: $21.00 Specs: 230 x 215 mm portrait, PB, 32 pp, colour Published: 7 March 2022My bum is ridiculous! My bum acts like a fool. It causes trouble when I go to school In the newest addition to the hit ‘Bum’ series, our boy’s backside just can’t sit still — it’s jiving and dancing, puddle jumping, and then stuck down the back of a chair! Mum and Dad come to the rescue: they pull their boy out of the chair and buy the perfect thing for his bum talents — a trampoline! And guess where he goes? For Olympic gold! Also publishing in the US and UK.Join the popular character from I Need a New Bum!, I’ve Broken My Bum! and My Bum is So Noisy! as he discovers he has the cheekiest bum ever.
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Title: The Water Bottle Author: Philippa Werry Illustrator: Burak Akbay ISBN: 978-1-99-004215-7 RRP: $22.99 Specs: PB, 270 x 210 mm, 32 pp, colour Publishing: 5 April 2022 For Teacher Resource: click here Award-winning children’s author Philippa Werry teams up with leading Turkish illustrator Burak Akbay to tell a tale that crosses the battle lines of Gallipoli. Young girl Derya and her family move from Turkey to live in New Zealand, bringing with them family treasures including the water bottle that her great-grandfather Hasan brought back from Gallipoli. At school she learns that her new friend Tom had a great-great-uncle who fought at Gallipoli. Together with their friend Airini they learn what happened when New Zealand and Turkish soldiers met there, and how an Anzac soldier gave the water bottle to Hasan after he was wounded. After attending an Anzac Day ceremony, the friends come home together and Tom’s mum makes Anzac biscuits. ‘Look at the three of us,’ Airini says. ‘Many years ago our families fought each other, but now we can be friends.’ -
Title: Greenstone Carving: Techniques and Concepts in Pounamu Author: Len Gale ISBN: 978-1-99-004216-4 RRP: $39.99 Specs: PB, 250 x 185 mm portrait, 84 pp, colour Publishing: 15 June 2022 This helpful practitioner’s guide takes the reader from the origins of pounamu/greenstone through the basics of design, tools and techniques, leading on to popular styles like hei tiki, toki, pekapeka, mere and patu. Illustrated with helpful drawings and photos of work in progress, this new edition also features photography of finished work from leading studio Moko Pounamu, Ōtautahi/Christchurch. -
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. -
Title: Hickory Dickory Kick Author: Peter Millett Illustrator: Bob Darroch ISBN: 978-1-99-00-4225-6 RRP: $21.00 Specs: 230 x 215 mm portrait, PB, 32 pp, colour Published: 1 August 2022 Hickory Dickory Slick, the halfback pulled a trick. He hid the ball behind the maul … HICKORY DICKORY SLICK! What’s not to enjoy about men of a certain age galumphing around a footy field, slipping in cow pats and tripping over Granny’s knitting? Add in Buck the dog chasing the ball, and there’s chaos. All the action between the black and gold teams plays out to the tune of 'Hickory Dickory Dock' in this jam-packed read for fans of rugby and riotous fun. -
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. -
Title: Hundertwasser in New Zealand The Art of Creating Paradise Author: Andreas J. Hirsch Translated by Uta Hoffmann ISBN: 978-1-99-004214-0 RRP:$70.00 Specs: 260 x 190 mm, portrait, 240 pp, colour, cloth cover with tipped-on art, reading ribbon Published: 16 August 2022; reprint now in stock‘New Zealand is for me a kind of promised land.' Austrian-born artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser arrived in New Zealand in 1973, seeking refuge from a world out of kilter with nature. After travelling and exhibiting, he settled at Kaurinui, the land he bought and restored in the Bay of Islands. Wishing to unite ‘nature and art, art and life’, he was ‘never nearer to this unity than in New Zealand’. Hundertwasser in New Zealand is a richly illustrated and accessible account of the artist’s love of Aotearoa, his interaction with the people and land, and the influence these had on his work. Andreas Hirsch explores in superb, lucid prose the artist’s trajectory in New Zealand, including the art, philosophy and architecture he created here, along with public projects like the Koru Flag and the Kawakawa Public Toilets. Illustrated with an array of paintings, drawings, sketches, photographs and the artist’s writing, this book is itself an artistic statement that will connect with readers of all kinds and truly enshrine Hundertwasser as a New Zealand icon. -
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. -
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 -
Title: Footprints on the Land How Humans Changed New Zealand Author: Richard Wolfe ISBN: 978-1-99-004220-1 RRP: $45.00 Specs: 250 x 185 mm, PB, 184 pp, b&w with colour sections Published: 12 October 2022 The Book: Richard Wolfe eloquently summarises this book’s scope in his Introduction: For upwards of 800 years, humans have made New Zealand their home, modifying the landscape to suit their needs. Although there can be no going back to the land’s original pristine condition, an awareness of the history of these changes will provide both a background and surely improve understanding of our present circumstances and challenges. Footprints on the Land tracks those changes — from early settlement and wars through to state building, with railways, species introductions, milling, mining and farming. Later chapters recount the impacts of urbanisation, draining and flooding, and the car, before considering the threats and opportunities that now face New Zealanders as a result. Wolfe’s timely tour of the human place on these islands is distinguished by art and photography that display what we’ve created and what we’ve lost. -
The River in our BackyardTe Awa e Pātata Rawa AnaAuthor: Malcolm Paterson Illustrator: Martin Bailey ISBN:978-1-99-004219-5 RRP: $22.99 Specs: 284 x 208 mm portrait, PB, 32 pp, colour Published: 17 October 2022For Teacher Resource: click hereContinuing the successful series that connects kids with local heritage, in this fourth Sharing our Stories book Tui, cousin Jennifer and whānau go on a voyage of discovery into the history and nature of Auckland’s Te Atatū peninsula and the wider Waitematā Harbour. The children learn about the impact humans have had on the river and ocean, how places got their names, and how their family friends Kōmako and Kumar help to conserve nature. Everyone then joins in the fun of Diwali, attending a local market and watching their friend Rani perform in a dance. Martin Bailey’s vibrant artwork brings to life a story of connection that celebrates our shared heritage, with text in English and Māori along with words from the Tamil language. -
Series: The NZ Series Title: Weather and Climate New Zealand Author: Sandra Carrod ISBN: 978-1-99-004226-3 RRP: $29.99 Specs: 240 x 160 mm portrait, PB, 100 pp, colour Published: 17 October 2022 For Teacher Resource: click here The Book: Weather refers to short-term atmospheric conditions; climate is the weather of a region averaged over a long period. In this info-packed addition to The NZ Series, Sandra Carrod explores the main elements of New Zealand’s climate and weather in global, regional and local terms. Weather and Climate New Zealand answers questions such as: What’s in a weather system? How do you read a weather chart? In what ways does our weather and climate differ from other parts of the world? And what are the indicators of climate change in New Zealand? Alongside explanations of all kinds of weather events — including rain, snow, thunderstorms and tornadoes — are extensive graphics, photographs and data from agencies like Niwa and the MetService. After reading this book, reading the weather will become easy. Highly Commended in the Storylines Notable Book Awards 2022, Non-fiction category -
Title: Toby Curtis Unfinished business: Ki hea āpōpō Author: Sir Toby Curtis, with Lorraine Berridge McLeod ISBN: 978-1-99-004230-0 RRP: $39.99 Specs: 234 x 153 mm portrait, PB, 180 pp Published: 17 November 2022 The Book: Born into poverty in 1939, Toby Curtis rose to the peak of achievement in Māoridom. His long history of leadership in education, broadcasting and the powerful Te Arawa confederation of iwi belied the challenges he had to overcome, and the legacy of colonisation that still overshadow the fields in which he contributed. In this thoughtful and lively memoir, Sir Toby looks back frankly on his life and career — interspersing memoir with text boxes that address policy and academic issues in education, language and indigenous rights. He reflects on a teaching career spent creating connection to tikanga and te reo for his students; leadership in broadcasting, where he helped chart the path to creating an independent voice for Māori; and his 16 years as the leader of Rotorua’s influential Te Arawa Lakes Trust. Toby was knighted in 2014 for his services to Māori education and yet, as this book’s subtitle and contents assert, he saw a lot more work to be done. -
Series: Moana Oceania Title: Sāmoa Author: Dahlia Malaeulu Translator: Tapaau Auvaa ISBN:978-1-99-004222-5 RRP: $29.99 Specs: 230 x 170 mm portrait, PB, 48 pp, colour Published: 15 February 2023 Aimed at readers 8+ but valuable for anyone with an interest in our Pacific ‘āiga (family), this is one of two inaugural books in the Moana Oceania series created by Oratia Books’ Editorial Director, Carolyn Lagahetau. Dahlia Malaeulu provides a comprehensive overview of life in Sāmoa for readers in New Zealand, with text in Gagana Samoa and English. Samoan children can see themselves reflected in these books, and all readers can learn about the islands’ culture, language, daily life, history, environment and sport. Moana Oceania: Sāmoa explains the fundamental values of Fa’asāmoa (Samoan life), including connection to ‘āiga (family), nu’u (village), land and religion. It shows how families in Sāmoa live, how they are educated, and how they celebrate and commemorate through dance, music and festivals — while exploring how Samoans in Aotearoa maintain and adapt their culture. With colour photographs throughout, the book contains pull-out boxes of information, making the text easy to access. -
Title: Auckland: The Twentieth-Century Story Author: Paul Moon ISBN:978-1-99-004235-5 RRP: $45.00 Specs: 240 x 160 mm portrait, PB, 360 pp, b&w Published: 5 April 2023 Auckland in 1999 would have been unrecognisable to the city’s residents at the beginning of the twentieth century — the result of dramatic changes in populations, cultures, beliefs, aspirations and senses of itself. Auckland: The Twentieth-Century Story journeys through the mosaic of cultures and lifestyles, anxieties and hopes, disasters and triumphs, virtues and vices that led to this transformation. Drawing on diaries, oral history, newspapers and other media, Paul Moon explores themes including housing, gardening, the harbours, tangata whenua struggles, shopping culture, the immigrant experience and the pervading sense that Auckland was simultaneously at the edge of the world yet at its centre. Readers across New Zealand will experience many ‘Where were you when …?’ moments as they explore the changing landscapes of our largest city. Moon’s crisp writing gives readers everywhere a sense of a city that has felt triumph and failure but continues to develop so its citizens can proudly call it home. -
Title: My Bum’s on THE RUN! Author: Dawn McMillan Illustrator: Ross Kinnaird ISBN:978-1-99-004241-6 RRP: $21.00 Specs: 230 x 215 mm portrait, PB, 32 pp, colour Published: 2 March 2023Down the footpath, along past the trees I’m out in front, moving with ease. (With my new secret weapon — cabbage and peas!) Red Pants Boy (RPB) really, really wants to win a running race. But try as he might, his bum is slowing him down. What can he do? Find something to move his bum along, of course! Maybe a kite, or a rocket blast, or a big engine? Nah, he figures he needs some bum-strengthening exercises — some squats, kicks, steps and lunges. And while he’s working out, a whole lot of other folk join him. After some training he’s off — on a cross-country race near home. Think he’s set up to win? There’s a twist to this tale, involving his wee dog friend, in one of the funniest and surely the fastest of the New Bum series!
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