The Caring Stars of Matariki: Pōhutukawa and Hiwa-i-te-Rangi
 

The Caring Stars of Matariki:                         
Pōhutukawa and Hiwa-i-te-Rangi
Miriama Kamo
Zak Waipara
Scholastic (2026)
Picture book, 32 pages
Paperback
ISBN 978 1 77543 971 4

 

‘Why did Pōua have to die?’ Sam asked.

Grandma kissed his head. ‘Because it was his time,’ she said. ‘Everything and everyone has its time.’

 

Matariki is a time to remember the dead. Out on the windbeaten shore of Te Mata Hāpuku (Birdlings Flat) Sam and Te Rerehua are being comforted by their Grandma, as they recall their late Pōua (Grandfather). They have memories of him catching and drying eels, hunting for agates and teaching them local traditions.

Sitting on a stony bank and looking up at the stars, they listen to Grandma telling them how precious this place is, with its marvellous waves and its view of the stars.

‘It’ll be Matariki soon,’ says Grandma and she tells them of the star Pōhutukawa who guides the dead on their journey to the stars.

They are interrupted by the patupaiarehe (trouble-making fairy folk of Māori tradition) who are hurling their raupō net into the sky. They are trying to capture Pōhutukawa. Why?

The patupaiarehe look defeated, and explain, ‘Because Grandma said that Pōua is with Pōhutukawa.’

Just like the humans, they are missing Pōua and want to bring him back. Grandma is firm with the patupaiarehe and reminds them that when the Matariki cluster of stars rises ‘all those people who have died in the last year will be released into the heavens. Pōhutukawa will guide them.’

‘What then?’

‘Then they will all become stars.’

Sam gets the abashed patupaiarehe to agree never to pull any more stars down.

When Pōhutukawa rises above the horizon a few days later, Grandma, Sam, Rerehua and all the patupaiarehe are waiting on the beach in the darkness. They all join in calling out, ‘Pōua! Pōua!’ as Grandma has taught them, ‘knowing that thousands of people everywhere were calling out the names of their loved ones too.’

The story ends with the mokopuna making their wishes for the year ahead on the star Hiwa-i-te-Rangi, just as the sun rises.

 Once again Miriama Kamo has succeeded in creating a story that conveys the essence of Matariki. She writes simple but powerful prose in the style of the traditional myths and legends. She has succeeded in the challenging feat of writing an appealing account for young readers of the importance of acknowledging the death of a loved one.

‘Memories. They’re just like the waves. Always there, washing up in our minds just when we need them.’

 

As always, Zak Waipara uses dramatic brush-strokes and strong to capture the windswept beauty of the great shingle spit of Te Mata Hāpuku. His pictures of the patupaiarehe are always a delight because he portrays them as truculent teenagers, always keen on mischief. Twinkling diamond symbols float around them as visual reminders of their supernatural powers. His symbolic pattern of the Matariki star cluster , which makes quiet appearances throughout the story, reflects traditional Māori weaving patterns. The pictures complement the story in simplicity and power.

 

With The Caring Stars of Matariki, this series of picture books has achieved its highest level, incorporating traditional beliefs and customs in a lively and interesting story that touches base with some very deep issues.

 

This is the fifth book in the Matariki series by Miriama Kamo and Zak Waipara:

 The Stolen Stars of Matariki (2018)

The Twin Stars of Matariki (2023)

The Kai Stars of Matariki (2024)

The Wild and Windy Stars of Matariki (2025

The Caring Stars of Matariki (2026)

 

Māori language versions of these books are also available:

Ngā Whetu Matariki Whānakotia (2018)

Ko Ngā Whetū Takirua Matariki (2023)

Ko Ngā Whetū Kai o Matariki (2024)

Ko Ngā Whetū Hauhau, Whetū Tarakaka o Matariki (2025

Ko Ngā Whetū Raupī o Matariki (2026)

 

Trevor Agnew  10 June 2026

Review 3842

 

 

 He Ata te Raru ki Tai?                        

What’s the Matter with the Sea?        Mij le ábijn dáhpáduvvamin?

 

Author: Rita Sørly
Illustrator:  Malgorzata Piotrowska
Translators: Kanapu Rangitauira (Māori), Are Tjihkkom (Lule Sámi), Maria Nayr de Pinho Correia Ibrahim and Charlotta Maria Langejan (English)
Oratia Books (2026)
Picture book, 48 pages, Hardback
ISBN: 978 1 99 135301 6

 

 

A rare tropical whale is in trouble in northern Norway. Two Māori marine researchers from Otago must sail there, through the Pacific and Arctic Oceans, to find out what has happened. What they discover about the condition of the world’s seas during their journey helps them understand the fate of the stranded whale. Remarkably, this story is told in three languages: Māori, Sámi and English.

 BOOK REVIEW:

He Ata te Raru ki Tai?  What’s the Matter with the Sea?  Mij le ábijn dáhpáduvvamin?

 

‘We could be the first researchers from our iwi to travel by sea to Norway,’ says Whina.

 Whina and Aihe are both Māori and both work as marine biologists at the New Zealand Marine Studies Centre at Portobello on the Otago Harbour. Aihe specialises in studying whales, while Whina is a krill expert. (Krill are tiny shrimps, a food for many sea creatures, especially whales.) The pair are invited to Gamvik, in Norway, for a conference about ocean pollution by plastics. They are to travel there by sea.

 The conference is faced with a mystery. A rare deep-diving tropical whale has stranded near Gamvik. Why was it in the Arctic waters? Aihe says, ‘This whale is a long way from home.’

As their research boat travels northwards, the two researchers sample the sea and dive to check the underwater wildlife. They see turtles, fish and whales tangled in ropes and fishing net debris.

’Is plastic spreading everywhere?’ they ask.

 Further North, they encounter ice. ‘A polar bear and her cub stand on an ice floe, surrounded by bottles, plastic bags and remnants of fishing gear.’

 When Aihe and Whina reach Gamvik, they find that the whale had thirty plastic bags in its stomach. ‘Algae stick to the plastic, so fish and sea creatures think it is food.’

  

CAPTION: One of the English translators, Charlotta Maria Langejan.  

                                                          (Photo: Adrian Svendsen Bensvik)

At the conference they share their findings about the dangers of ocean pollution by plastic debris.    

‘The whale probably thought the shiny plastic bags were tasty squid.’

 Rita Sørly's story concludes with a page suggesting ways to reduce pollution in the sea.

 The Polish-Norwegian artist, Malgorzata Piotrowska, has created richly fantastic colour illustrations for this book. Rather than providing realistic pictures, she has used symbolic representations which clarify what is happening in the story. For example, when the scientists are looking at news of the goose-beaked whale on a computer, the wall of their office has been replaced by an ocean scene featuring a goose-beaked whale. Young readers can work out instantly how it earned its name, as soon as they spot its profile.   

Pedants may complain that Piotrowska’s painting of Otago Harbour distorts the landscape but it emphasises two key aspects of the story: the vastness of the ocean and the birds pecking at plastic netting.                                                  

 Her underwater scenes – and many of the pictures are in or under the ocean – use a subtle range of blues and greens to provide another reminder of how huge the planet’s oceans are. This gives a strong background, directing attention to the various fish and other sea creatures facing the perils of floating plastic.

 The endpaper map showing the voyage of the research boat is amusingly depicted by Malgorzata Piotrowska as a pattern of frothy bubbles on the ocean’s surface. Only Australia will not be amused.

 Another amusing aspect of her illustration work (on page 46) is the inclusion at the conference of Greta Thunberg.

 

A unique feature of this book is that it is written in three languages, two of them belonging to indigenous peoples facing exploitation of their land and sea resources. For this reason, I checked my phone’s translator app on the text to see how it coped with the three.

 The English version of the text has Whina saying, ‘Floating plastic is destroying life in the ocean.’ The Māori equivalent seemed perfect. ‘E patua ana ngā koiora moana e te kirihou mānu,’ which came through my phone as ‘Marine life is being killed by floating plastic.’ No problems for Kiwis there.

 My phone then took the Sámi equivalent (‘Ábijn fievve plastijka biejssti nuore iellemav’) and rendered it in English as, ‘I’ve never seen a plastic bag in my young life.’ Further attempts produced, ‘I’ve had a lot of plastic in my young life.’ And ‘Plastic surgery has changed the lives of young people.’ I went to Google Translate and got even stranger results. (‘Abijn five plastic beast young life.’)

 I suspect the Sámi input into the translation app vocabulary banks is a work in progress. Human translators are still the best.

 The importance of its message, as well as the recognition of the value of storytelling in all cultures, certainly justifies all the creative work that went into the publication of He Ata te Raru ki Tai? What’s the Matter with the Sea? Mij le ábijn dáhpáduvvamin?

 

Note. The University of Otago’s Marine Studies Centre website is at:

NewZealand Marine Studies Centre Home, New Zealand Marine Studies Centre |University of Otago

A Sámi people website is at:

Sápmi - IWGIA -International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs

 

 

BACKGROUND:

He Ata te Raru ki Tai?
What’s the Matter with the Sea?
Mij le ábijn dáhpáduvvamin?

 Author: Rita Sørly
Illustrator:  Malgorzata Piotrowska

Translators: Kanapu Rangitauira (Māori), Are Tjihkkom (Lule Sámi), Maria Nayr de Pinho Correia Ibrahim and Charlotta Maria Langejan (English)
Oratia Books (2026)
Picture book, 48 pages, Hardback
ISBN: 978 1 99 135301 6

 

A rare tropical whale is in trouble in northern Norway. Two Māori marine researchers from Otago must sail there, through the Pacific and Arctic Oceans, to find out what has happened. What they discover about the condition of the world’s seas during their journey helps them understand the fate of the stranded whale. Remarkably, this story is told in three languages: Māori, Sámi and English.

  

BACKGROUND  TO THE  BOOK:

He Ata te Raru ki Tai? What’s the Matter with the Sea? Mij le ábijn dáhpáduvvamin?

This handsome hardback picture book needs some prior explanation, because it has an interesting history. In Norway in 2020, the Professor in Social Work and Director of the Arctic Youth Research Programme of Nord University, Rita Sørly, wrote a bilingual book Ábiid plástihkat – Plasten i havet [Plastic in the Sea]. The illustrations were by Malgorzata Piotrowska, a Polish-Norwegian writer and illustrator.  The striking feature of this book was that it was bi-lingual, written in both the Norwegian and the Lule Sámi language.

 

Caption: The author, Rita Sørly, is a professor in social work, and director of the Arctic Nord Youth Research Center at The Arctic University of Norway. She lives in Tromsø, northern Norway.

 The Sámi people are the indigenous people of the Arctic region of Scandinavia (once known as Lapland) with a population of about 100,000 spread across northern Norway, Sweden, Finland and parts of Russia.  The publication had a double aim: to illuminate an environmental issue and to provide a book that young Sami people could read in their own language.

                                       Lule-Sámi translator, Are Tjihkkom. (Elena Paulsen / NRK Sápmi.)  

The success of Ábiid plástihkat – Plasten i havet led directly to the creation of He Ata te Raru ki Tai?  

 Several staff from Nord University were involved in the venture, including Rose Martin, Dean of the Faculty of Education and Arts. Originally from New Zealand, Rose Martin is strongly committed to Sámi and Indigenous issues. She saw the parallels between the Sámi and Māori cultures and languages.

 

 CAPTION: Rose Martin, Dean of Faculty
of Education and Arts at Nord University. 
The standard is the Sámi flag.
 (Photo: Bjørnar Leknes)

 Two researchers and translators at the university, Maria Nayr de Pinho Correia Ibrahim and Charlotta Maria Langejan, translated Rita Sørly’s original Norwegian text into English as What’s the Matter with the Sea?.  Are Tjihkkom provided the Lule Sámi translation, Mij le ábijn dáhpáduvvamin?. Two publishing companies became involved – Davii Girji in Norway and Oratia Books in New Zealand. The translation into Māori was provided by teacher and translator Kanapu Rangitauira (Te Arawa, Ngāti Porou, Te Whakatōhea) as He Ata te Raru ki Tai?. Once again, the illustrator was Malgorzata Piotrowska

 

Thus, this tri-lingual picture book was created - the first to combine te reo Māori, Lule Sámi and English. In 2026 it was the central feature of Norway’s display of books at the famous Bologna Children’s Book Fair, where Norway was the official guest-of-honour. A recording of Kanapu Rangitauira and his whanau reading the Māori text was played as part of the book’s international launch at the Fair on 13^th April 2026. 

“This is an inspiring example of how collaboration across languages, cultures, and Indigenous contexts can create new spaces for visibility, recognition, and learning," said Rose Martin.  

(In New Zealand the book’s publication date is 11 June 2026, in the same week as World Oceans Day on 6 June.)

Caption: Translators Charlotta Maria Langejan (left) 
and Maria Nayr de Pinho Correia Ibrahim (right) 
at Nord University (Photo: Private)

 

Researcher and translator, Maria Nayr de Pinho Correia Ibrahim, said, ‘Bringing these languages together reflects a desire for greater understanding, curiosity, and empathy in a world that sometimes feels cruel. I hope that in classrooms worldwide, this book builds intercultural and linguistic bridges for Indigenous and minority cultures.’

 

Her co-translator, Charlotta Maria Langejan, believes that for a language to survive and develop it must be used.  She says, ‘When children and young people can read books in their own language, it strengthens confidence, pride, and a sense of belonging. Children have the right to learn and read in their own language.’

 

The last word goes to the author, Rita Sørly, ‘The aim of the book is both clear and ambitious: to strengthen Lule Sámi and Māori, with English as a bridge. At the same time, it is intended to give children and young people access to new perspectives on language, culture, and identity.’

 

Source: Press Release by Bjørn Olav Leknes of Nord University, on Science Norway website: ttps://partner.sciencenorway.no/books-indigenous-people-language/this-unique-picture-book-features-two-indigenous-languages-and-english/2637304 [Accessed 5 Jun 2026]

 

Trevor Agnew 6 June 2026

[Review 3834]

 

 

 

Kekeno: Curious Explorer 

Katie Furze
Illustrated by Ned Barraud

 

 

Kekeno: Curious Explorer                

Katie Furze
Ill. Ned Barraud                                
Scholastic (2026)
Non-fiction Picture Book
34 pages, Paperback
ISBN 978 1 77543 967 7

 

‘Baby Kekeno sniffs the salty air,

Shakes his flippers and looks around.’

Kekeno is the Māori word for seal, and the young hero of this book, a fur seal pup, is certainly a curious-minded explorer.

Katie Furze’s lively verses follow Kekeno from his summer birth through his first year on a rocky coastal shore, so the book can be read as an interesting and sometimes exciting seal biography. Most pages also carry a text box by Katie Furze, which offers extra details or explanations, so the book can also be read as a non-fiction work describing the seal life-cycle, habitat and food sources. (It also describes some of the perils facing seals, especially the curious ones.)

 

Regularly fed by his mother, Kekeno grows in size and curiosity. He plays in pools with the other seal pups, while their mothers are away catching fish. The fact box explains, ‘Fur seal pups spend a lot of time playing. This helps them to develop strength and agility.’’

 

Ned Barraud’s cover illustration shows Kekeno as a cute youngster with appealing eyes. I have often met pups playing on the mole at Aramoana and I can confirm the cuteness of those eyes. What Ned Barraud’s other illustrations confirm is that eyes on the front of the head identify a predator, an eater of meat. Sure enough, by autumn Kekeno is catching fish and in winter he gobbles his first squid. ‘Seizing it with his sharp teeth, he swallows it whole.’

 

The illustrations are, as always with Ned Barraud’s work, both striking and beautiful. They are also accurate representations, especially the images of Kekeno raising himself on his flippers and galumphing across a football field.

 

At a year old, Kekeno is shown exploring an estuary and then crossing a busy road into a small town. Here he startles a cat which escapes through a cat-flap in a door. Ned Barraud uses a set of smaller pictures to depict the variety of surprises which follow, as Kekeno seeks a little shade to sleep in.

 

The conclusion of this book is satisfying, with Kekeno making his own escape and tumbling:

‘into the inky depths

of the cool wet ocean.

At last, he’s home.

 

With its easily-read text and dramatic illustrations, this is an ideal book for young readers and researchers.

A valuable bonus is the pages of information on New Zealand fur seals and their history at the back of the book. The Māori name for the seal, kekeno, literally means ‘look around’ which is certainly what seals always do. (Those eyes again, although the whiskers are sensitive too.)

 

Kekeno: Curious Explorer is thus a book which deserves a place in home, school and library.

Other books in this talented pair’s handsome series of Non-fiction Picture Books are Tuatara: A Living Treasure (2023) Ruru: Night Hunter (2024) and Pekapeka: Secret Forest Bat (2025).

There are Teacher Notes by Janine Scott for all four titles on the Scholastic website at: https://www.scholastic.co.nz

 

Trevor Agnew 

29 May 2026 [Review 3837]

 

Does Daniel Wilmott Tell Lies?  Juliet Martin  Ill. David Johnstone

 

Does Daniel Wilmott Tell Lies?

Juliet Martin  Ill. David Johnstone
Hazard Press, Christchurch (1991)
Picture Book, 34 pages, Paperback
ISBN 0 908790 23 6

 

Daniel’s friends looked at each other, heaved their shoulders and shouted, ‘Daniel Wilmott. You tell lies!’

 But does Daniel tell lies? This classic New Zealand picture book lets readers answer that question as Daniel keeps his friends guessing.  On a country walk, Daniel’s friends, Elliott, Alice and Nancy, join him outside an isolated house Daniel tells him that the empty, run-down building belongs to his Aunt Johanna.

‘Where’s she gone?’ they ask.

‘W..e..e..l,’ said Daniel, tilting his head, squinting his eyes and crossing his fingers, ‘She’s gone to the moon and she’s late coming back because … they tied her up with green string.’

Every time the four walk past the empty house, Daniel is asked the same question.

‘Where’s your aunt today, Daniel?’

Juliet Martin’s writing neatly captures the suspicious mood of Daniel’s friends and their cheerful repetition of their accusation. ‘Daniel Wilmott. You tell lies!’

 Daniel’s answers always have some plausible detail. Aunt Johanna is late getting back from underground exploration because somebody burgled her torch batteries. She’s late getting back from the jungle because she was chased up a banana tree. She’s late getting back from the desert because they made her join a camel train.

Finally, the day comes when the children see that the house has been put to rights, the lawn has been mowed and the chimneys repaired.

‘GREAT!’ cried Daniel, ‘My Aunt Johanna must be back.’ And he vanishes into the house.

 David Johnson’s colour illustrations bring the four children to life, from Daniel crossing his fingers to Elliott picking his nose. While they wait for Daniel, they swing on the gate, a wonderfully realistic reminder of kiwi kids just mucking about.

Then comes the surprise ending. Daniel emerges with gifts from Aunt Johanna: ‘some green string, a dead torch, a ripe banana and a picture of a camel.'

The final page of the text offers the only possibly comment:

                                                 ?

 

 

Note: In 2026 a picture book, Lillian and Lionel, written by the late Juliet Martin and illustrated by David Johnstone, was published by Quentin Wilson Publishing.

 Trevor Agnew 

30 May 2026 [Review 3840]

Lillian and Lionel  Juliet Martin                  David Johnstone
 

Lillian and Lionel                                     

Juliet Martin
Illustrator: David Johnstone
Quentin Wilson Publishing
Picture book, 32 pages (2026)
Paperback
ISBN 978 1 991354 07 5

 

‘Lillian looked out at the stars and dreamed of years to come,

when she would be a lion-trainer and Lionel a lion.’

 

It is a delight to welcome one more story from the talented pairing who brought us the beloved New Zealand classic Does Daniel Wilmott Tell Lies? (1991).  Lillian and Lionel is a gentle fable with a sting in its tail.

 

Lillian is an idealistic young girl with strong ambitions, not only for herself but also for her cat.

Lionel is Lillian’s cat although he would reject any suggestion of being owned. An independent feline, Lionel’s dream is to do a bit of quiet sleeping in the sun. In fact, Lionel is sound asleep in almost every picture in the book.

 

Juliet Martin’s cheerful tale, told in smoothly-paced verse, has Lillian working hard at turning Lionel into a full-blown, circus-performing lion. She teaches by demonstrating circus-lion behaviour: climbing, frowning, dancing, roaring and creeping.

 

‘Lillian crept a cunning creep, for that’s what lions do,

and then she turned to Lionel to see what he could do.

“Creep! Lionel, creep,” she said. But Lionel would not.’

 

Not only will Lionel not creep; he also will not climb, frown, dance, or roar. The recurring chorus of ‘But Lionel would not’ greets every effort by Lillian, whether she is roaring in the bathtub or leaping from a tree.

Lillian finally concedes defeat but there is a delightfully witty twist at the end of the story.

As Lionel puts it, ‘There’s a future for us two.’’

 

This book’s large format gives David Johnstone a splendid opportunity to portray this battle of wits. Lillian dominates each picture with her enthusiastic portrayals of lion behaviour, flouncing, snarling and frowning with gusto. Even better are Lionel’s displays of feline dumb insolence. When he is not sleeping, he is gazing out at the reader with disdain.

 

The detail in each richly coloured illustration adds to the fun. Lillian’s room is decked with circus posters and she even has a trumpet ready under her bed. Lionel’s dream of mice and cream floats in a thought-bubble above his comatose head. When Lillian bellows, birds rocket up into the sky. Every picture is an exaggerated delight.

 

Lillian and Lionel is a perfect pairing of words and illustrations, ideal for reading aloud - if you can keep Lionel awake.

             

Trevor Agnew 

6 June 2026  [Review 3838]

 

 

 

Sauniga O Le ‘Ava Samoa:
The ‘Ava Ceremony of Samoa
Tauanu’u Perenise Tapu Sitagata
Ill. Ani Huia Ligaliga

 

 Sauniga O Le ‘Ava Samoa: 
The ‘Ava Ceremony of Samoa
Tauanu’u Perenise Tapu Sitagata
Illustrator: Ani Huia Ligaliga
Oratia (2026)
Non-fiction, 32 pages, Paperback
ISBN: 978 1 991353 07 8

 

  

Sauniga O Le ‘Ava Samoa:
The ‘Ava Ceremony of Samoa                            

‘The ‘ava ceremony is a Samoan custom that welcomes visitors to a village. It is also a ceremony where the village elders give blessings to new matai in a family.’

This book is a colourful and clear introduction to an important Samoan traditional custom. ‘Ava, known as Kava in other parts of the Pacific, is the official drink at Samoan welcoming ceremonies. Tauanu’u Perenise Tapu Sitagata, a Samoan-born teacher from Auckland, has written a readable and interesting guide to the ‘ava ceremony in Samoan and English.

 

A double-page colour illustration by Ani Huia Ligaliga shows the ceremony in progress with people seated on mats arranged in an open square in the centre of a fale (house). Each person’s role is indicated. The tulāfale (orators) sit at the front, with the party of visitors on their left and the host villagers on their right. At the back are the chief’s daughter who will mix the ‘ava and the young men who will serve it.

 

The text begins by explaining the importance of the ceremony, then introduces the participants in order. The first up is the village orator who explains the purpose of the meeting and calls for the ‘ave sticks to be brought forward.

‘The orator for the visitors lets everyone know what kind of ‘ava sticks the village brought.’

 

After a speech of welcome and a reply, the Tufu ‘Ava (Caller) announces the names of those who will drink at the ceremony. The ‘ava drink is mixed and served. Gifts are exchanged and a meal is provided by the villagers.

One page describes the etiquette observed in the ceremony and there is also an account of the origins of the ‘ava ceremony and some of the traditions surrounding it.

‘Before drinking from your cup, a little ‘ava is poured for God, to thank Him for his love. ‘Ava can also be poured for God’s blessing on everything we do.’

 

The beautiful colour illustrations on every page, by Hamilton artist, Ani Huia Ligaliga, are a vital part of this guide, showing each stage of a typical village ceremony. Each person’s role in the ceremony is clearly indicated and the various implements used – cups, mats and bowls - are depicted. The gifts exchanged, including food and mats, are also shown.

 

I like to think of the ideal readers of this book as young people who have been told they will be taking part in the ceremony as the Tautu ‘Ava (serving people their ‘ava drinks) or as the Ta Fau (cleaning the strainer). The author and artist have done them a service by creating this guide.

 

With so many Samoans living in other countries, books like Sauniga O Le ‘Ava Samoa also have enormous importance for young people wishing to know the proper way to observe the customs of their homeland. At the same time, books such as The ‘Ava Ceremony of Samoa, are equally important for the rest of us who would like to understand the significance of customs like these. By bringing the two together in this bilingual account, Oratia have created a useful resource for every school and library, not to mention many homes.

 

Trevor Agnew

18 May 2026 (Review 3833]

 

  

 

Piano Rock: A 1950s Childhood  Gavin Bishop

 

Piano Rock
A 1950s Childhood
Gavin Bishop 
Random House (2008)
Memoir, 120 pages, Paperback
ISBN 978 1 86979 010 3 

 
 

The entry for Gavin Bishop in the Continuum Encyclopedia of Young Adult Literature begins: A steam train is travelling across a golden tussock plain. Inside its freight van is a family with their furniture. Seated on their own kitchen chairs, the family look out through the van’s open doors at the passing mountain scenery. Piano Rock starts with the same scene, etched in white on black. It portrays one of Bishop’s earliest memories, travelling by train from Invercargill to the tiny lakeside settlement of Kingston.

In Piano Rock Bishop, whose brilliant art work means his skills as a writer are sometimes overlooked, evokes the years he spent there (1949 to 1954) in a world of coal ranges, school concerts, Tilley lamps, wash-house coppers, vegetable gardens, Guy Fawkes bonfires and jam-making.

Those interested in Bishop’s artistic development will learn how he was inspired by a visiting art-teacher at their 12-pupil school, and by a visiting sign-writer who took time off from a pub mural to paint Mickey Mouse figures on Bishop’s gumboots.

The illustrations show how Bishop is continually developing his style, or in this case styles. He uses black-and-white scraper-board for the dramatic train illustrations and the evocative endpapers. A touch of colour enlivens his stunning picture of migrating eels seen at sunset and his self-portrait walking through a frozen landscape in his painted gumboots and home-knitted balaclava. Many of the other illustrations are in colour, including a perfect re-creation of an illustration from the Janet and John readers.

Piano Rock is a superb evocation of growing up in the 1950s.

Trevor Agnew

 

  

 

 

Maui and the Sun: A Māori Tale 
Gavin Bishop

 

Maui and the Sun:                                

A Māori Tale
Gavin Bishop
North South (1996)
Picture book, 32 pages
Paperback
ISBN 1 86943 381 9 [English language edition] Maui and the Goddess of Fire
ISBN 978 1 86943 381 9 [English language edition] Maui and the Goddess of Fire
ISBN 1 86943 519 2 [Māori language edition] Ko Maui raua ko te atua o te ahi

 

Maui, the mischievous trouble-maker, is a popular figure in Māori and Polynesian traditions. In this retelling by Gavin Bishop, Maui and his brothers find the day is too short to complete their fishing.  Maui plans to slow the sun down to give them more time. He shows his brothers how to make ropes and nets from flax. They then trap the sun as he is sleeping. Maui beats him fiercely until he learns the sun’s secret name Tama nui te Ra (Great Son of the Day) and thus is able to slow him down.

The sun now travels too slowly and causes a long drought, so Maui ropes him and fastens him to the moon. As a result, when the sun sets, the moon rises. The sun’s speed is corrected. So from then on, Maui had light both night and day.

This is a good book to read and a great book to show to a class. Gavin Bishop’s prose is simple and clear, giving a sense of drama to the story. His pictures are skilful and dramatic, with the huge sun dominating the double-page spreads of the battle. Māori themes and motifs appear in many of the illustrations. Maui, his brothers (and the sun) all wear moko tattoos appropriate to their high rank.

Gavin Bishop, who both retold and illustrated Maui and the Sun based his version on one told to Governor George Grey in the 1840s by Wi Mahi te Rangi Kaheke of Rotorua. Maui’s trick of fastening the moon to the sun comes from a Ngati Awa tribe version.

 

A companion volume is Gavin Bishop’s Maui and the Goddess of Fire: A Māori Tale (1997)

Trevor Agnew

 

 Maui and the Goddess of Fire: A Māori Tale

Gavin Bishop

 

Maui and the Goddess of Fire:                    

    
A Māori Tale
Gavin Bishop
Scholastic (1997)
Picture book, 32 pages
Paperback
ISBN 1 86943 381 9 [English language edition] Maui and the Goddess of Fire
ISBN 978 1 86943 381 9 [English language edition] Maui and the Goddess of Fire
ISBN 1 86943 519 2 [Māori language edition] Ko Maui raua ko te atua o te ahi

 

Produced in a similar format to Gavin Bishop's earlier Maui and the Goddess of Fire, is a retelling of Maui’s greatest feat when, like Prometheus, he brought fire to people. As well as retelling a favourite folk-tale of the South Pacific, Gavin Bishop has also created dramatic (and sometimes amusing) illustrations.

 Maui, the trickster, puts out all the village cooking fires to see what will happen. Soon nobody can cook food. Maui’s mother gives Maui instructions to go to the home of his grandmother Mahuika, the fire goddess. (Everybody else is too frightened to go near her.) Mahuika gives Maui fire, in the form of her fingernail. He throws the fire into a stream and goes back to ask Mahuika for another nail. Maui does this again and again, but when he asks for her last nail, the fire goddess curses him and sets everything on fire.

 

Maui escapes the angry flames, first as a bird and then as a fish. When the sea begins to boil, Maui begs for help from Tawhiri-matea, the god of wind. He provides a rainstorm which puts out the fire, and Mahuika flees back to her home, tossing her last fire-seeds into our trees. And so, fire became available to all.

‘The people of Maui’s village soon discovered the seeds of fire hiding in some of the trees in the forest. And from that day on, the fire was released by rubbing together dry sticks from the totara, the patete, the pukatea and the kaikomako.’

Gavin Bishop’s pictures, like his stories, are delightful adaptations from traditional Māori material, enlivened by his professional skills. Look, in particular, at the double-spreads showing Maui tossing away the fire-nails (pages 14-17) for their subtle repetition. The transformation of Mahuika from granny-figure (page 11) to bird-headed monster (page 18) to all-conquering supernatural force (pages 20-23) and back to granny (page 28) is brilliantly done.

Gavin Bishop has based his version on the story told to Governor George Grey by Wi Mahi te Rangi Kaheke of Rotorua. He says, “It is very similar to the versions told by the Māori people of the Ngati Awa and Waikato tribes from the North Island of New Zealand from which come some of my ancestors”.

In 2001 a Māori language edition, Ko Maui raua ko te atua o te ahi, was published by Scholastic.  The Māori translation is by Katerina Mataira.

 

Trevor Agnew