There’s a Rainbow in my River: He Kōpere kei taku Awa

 

          

There's a Rainbow in my River:
He Kōpere kei taku Awa
Dawn McMillan
Ill. Nikki Slade Robinson
Oratia (2026)
Picture book
32 pages, Paperback
ISBN 978 1 991353 06 1

 ‘Diving Beetle is diving! I see him way down there.
He’s like a scuba diver, with his bubble full of air.
Ko Tātaka Ruku ko ruku! Kei raro ia, e kite ana au.
Ānō he kairuku whai tāka hāora, me tana miru kī pai i te hau.’

 Dawn McMillan is back with another of her bilingual celebrations of the natural environment. Readers of such favourites as There’s a Crab in my Castle and There’s a Tui in our Teapot will know what to expect. In There’s a Rainbow in my River, Nan is on a walk beside a bush stream with her granddaughter and both of them are interested in the inhabitants of the aquatic world at their feet. The mokopuna tells us what they are looking at in verse, both in English and Māori.

 While the pair are hoping to see a rainbow trout, their first observations are of a water spider (pūwerewere wai), followed by a water boatman (hoehoe tuarā), some diving beetles (tātaka ruku), a freshwater lobster (kōura), several freshwater shrimps (kōuraura nonohi), the long-finned eel (tuna kūwharuwharu) and the giant bush dragonfly (kapokapowai).  No wonder this book comes with a droll health warning which is very reassuring for sensitive readers:

‘And nobody gets eaten in this book!
Kāhore hoki tētahi e kainga i tēnei pukapuka!’

 Dawn McMillan is very good at pointing out the distinctive features of the various river-dwellers. For, example the freshwater lobster (kōura) is vividly introduced:

‘Someone is waving feelers and flashing beady eyes!
He hihi e piua ana, he karu ka pūkanakana!’

No child who has caught a kōura will ever forget those protuberant eyes.

 Nikki Slade Robinson’s colour illustrations give a very clear idea of each creature and its special features. Thus, we see the water spider both swimming and then walking on the surface of the water. The koura is shown walking on its eight legs and making a fast exit with a flick of its tail. Best of all, the longfin eel is shown in several sinuous poses:

‘With every move she’s long and smooth, a gymnast at her best.
Ka roa, ka tau tana hanga, he kaipītaka angitu.’

Her depiction of the eel’s head also deserves credit for its benign expression. Eels are often demonised for their snake-like appearance and it’s good to see that smile.

 The Māori translation is by Stephanie Huriana Fong. The design is by Cheryl Smith.

 A two-page section, ‘Splishes and Splashes,’ provides more technical information on each featured creature. This section promises to be a real help for adults who are asked to identify wildlife in ponds and rivers. Thus, to take only part of one example, readers will find that the giant bush dragonfly (kapokapowai) is the largest of our ten dragonflies, with a 130 mm wingspan and it once helped Ngāti Rongomai to win a battle! It also eats bees, wasps, cicadas and butterflies ‘capturing them on the wing after a burst of speed.’ Sorry, nervous readers.

  There’s a Rainbow in my River provides a lively introduction to freshwater creatures in both English and Māori. Nervous readers, as well as readers with nerves of steel, will enjoy it.

 Trevor Agnew
6 Oct 2026  [Review 3871]