Te Whenua Kauruki Mokena Potae Reedy

3. Te Whenua Kauruki Mokena Potae REEDY, illustrated by Samuel SAKARIA, Huia Press, Wellington NZ, 2001, 167 pages.ISBN 1-877266-93-0

This adventure novel, written in the Maori language, is a sequel to Te Mere (1999) and Te Mura a Tangaroa (2000). The three young time-travelling cousins, Hana, Te Ra and Morehu (with their dog) find themselves battling against the odds to keep hold of the vitally important mere (club), both in the present and in the past. Will the children survive their adventures this time? Who has the mere? And who is this strangely familiar woman?
Te Whenua Kauruki (The People of the Smoke) was published by Huia for the New Zealand Ministry of Education. Its suggested reading level is primary and intermediate. reading age: 8-12 years.
In Maori:“Ka haere tonu nga mahi miharo a nga tamariki e toru nei. Kei nehe ra ratou inaianei. Heoi ano, kei a wai te mere? Ko wai te kuia nei e tutakana ana e ratou? Ka ora tonu ratou, ka mate ranei? Ka nui nga patai ka pupu ake i te korero nei.”

Trevor Agnew