Children's Maori Books

A bilingual picturebook written by Beatrice Yates (Aunty Bea) with CD narration and waiata by the author, along with Rodger Cunningham and Rehua Mihaka. This book follows on from One Day a Taniwha and Hoha te Taniwha. They are fun and easy to read with superb illustrations by Kat Quin Merewether

In ancient times in Aotearoa, there was a beautiful lake in which there dwelt two monstrous taniwha. Their names were Whataitai and Ngake. Whataitai and Ngake are two taniwha living in a beautiful lake. But when Ngake gets bored and decides to break free to the ocean his actions have far reaching consequences and help shape the landscape of our capital city. Discover the dramatic legend of how Wellington Harbour was created.

Award winning author, Joy Cowley, has teamed up with Bible Society to write the remarkable story of Tarore. In 1835, Bible Society published 100 copies of the Gospel of Luke in Maori. In 1836, missionaries gave one of these Gospels to a young Maori girl, Tarore, at a mission school near Matamata. Tarore's subsequent acceptance of the Christian faith and her murder at a young age had a great impact upon the Maori people with many coming to faith as a result. The book will contain selected verses from the Gospel of Luke, and it will... read more

The creation myth of Maori legend is simply told in Peter's stunning, illustrative style. Bold design and brief text introduce the struggle of the children of Rangi and Papa as they try to part their parents and bring light to the world.

The people who live in the pa below his cave call him Ngakau Pono, Loyal Heart, and he has been looking after the people for hundreds of years.When Pakeha arrive in New Zealand, Ngakau Pono's people start to leave the pa. The gardens are untended, and the fishing is neglected. The houses are falling down.With no one left to look after, the taniwha sleeps for weeks and months and years and misses the huge changes taking place outside his cave. Finally, the sound of the karanga wakes him up. The people have returned to the pa. He is ... read more

Reprint, originally published 1990. Junior picture book in both Maori and English about the story of the creatures of the sea.

This book is a Finalist in the Picture Book Category, New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards 2010.

In Maori.
Everyone loved Old Hu-Hu. But nobody loved him quite as much as little Hu-Hu-Tu. Old Hu-Hu is a thoughtful tale of young Hu-Hu-Tu's search for understanding of what has happened to his beloved Old Hu-Hu, who flew all the way to the moon (or so they said), then fell down dead. Sensitively written, this is a beautiful story of death and the celebration of life, with powerful, evocative illustrations by Rach... read more

Hinemoa is really brave. Even dentists don't scare her. When her brother says there is a ghost in his room it is Hinemoa who stands and tells the ghost to 'bring it on'. But when it comes time for Hinemoa to swim she is too impatient and jumps in the deep end. A quick trip to the bottom and Hinemoa comes out of the pool a little scared of the water. So Nana has to show her how to conquer her fears and learn to swim.

Pop's vege garden is growing well until someone gives him a pet magpie - which wreaks havoc on Pop's prize veges! Pop's refusal to put the pesky magpie into a cage results in him ending up building a cage for his veges - and himself - instead!

This picture book is about cousins' holidays in a rural Maori community having adventures and fun together - playing in the bush, riding horses, fishing, eeling and swimming at the beach. During the holiday, a death leads to a rahui being placed on the beach. After a year, the rahui is lifted, and they return to the beach full of life and with their cousin in their hearts. The feeling of the book is joyous and wistful, and the illustrations richly evoke the atmosphere of the setting and people.

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me a pukeko in a ponga tree. A wonderful New Zealand adaption of the popular song The Twelve Days of Christmas.

Tutu is a baby taniwha who loves to sing and dance.
This story is designed to be sung to the tune of "Twinkle twinkle little star," incorporating English and Maori words. It includes notes on pronunciation and translation.

Part of a series of photographic vocabulary books designed for early childhood and junior level at primary school. This book allows children to participate in the native language of Maori and should encourage them to learn more about Maori language and culture.

A delightful, easy introduction to saying how you feel using te reo. Young and old alike will be able to describe whether they are feeling hoha (bored), makariri (cold), matekai (hungry) or simply tinopai rawe (fantastic)! A pronunciation guide in the back of the book gives new learners to te reo a simple guide to the language.

Rawiri’s class is visiting the Whirinaki Forest and his grandmother has given him a tatty old kete to collect treasures in. But what treasures does she actually meanB By the end of his trip Rawiri has learnt that not all treasures can be carried in a kete. Te Reo version also available. First published June 2003.

A beautiful collection of stories and poems about our southern skies. From the legends of Matariki and Rona and the Moon through to how tuatara made the stars, Melanie Drewery weaves a special magic through all her stories that will ensure we never look up at the night sky in the same way again. Accompanied by Jenny Cooper's stunning illustrations this will be a book to treasure and read over and over again. First published December 2009.

Pukeko is tired of the dull, dreary swamp where she is living with her new family so she sets out to collect some colours to brighten the place up. Unfortunately, the owners of the colours don't take kindly to her thieving ways and she soon has a battle on her hands. A delightful story, beautifully illustrated by the author and illustrator team who produced the Natural New Zealand ABC Wallchart.

Faced with too short days and long nights Maui comes up with a plan to slow the sun's passage through the sky. With the help of his brothers, Maui sets out for the home of the sun to catch it and make it move more slowly.