Island Toes: Tamatama’i Vae o Motu 
Christin Lozano   Mariko Merritt

 

Island Toes: Tamatama’i Vae o Motu 
Christin Lozano, Ill. Mariko Merritt
Oratia Books (2024)
Picture book, Paperback, 32 pages
ISBN: 978 1 99 004245 4

 

‘My toes, your toes.’

‘O o’u tamatama’i vae, o ou’tamatama’i vae.’

Whose toes? This bi-lingual picture book was published in Hawaii in 2015. It was originally presented in Hawaiian and US English. It has now crossed the Pacific Ocean to become a Samoan – New Zealand English picture book.

Island Toes: Tamatama’i Vae o Motu begins with an array of toes.

‘Flipper toes, jandal toes.

Tamatama’I vae sulu, tamatamaivae e se’e.’

The text and pictures match up my toes, your toes and clean toes, stinky toes, before introducing ‘I can’t touch the floor yet toes’ belonging to a small girl in a big chair. The variety of footwear, skin colour and nail decoration is amazing. ‘Bare toes, painted toes.’ There are also thought-provoking examples, such as ‘wheelchair toes,’ which will be good conversation-starters. Animals get in with a dolphin declaring, ‘Dolphins do not have toes.’

Then the focus moves to family and the reader has an array of relatives’ toes to study.

‘Baby toes, grandma toes.’ Even doggy toes are included. The final question is ‘Who has ten toes?’

All this, of course, is also presented in Samoan as well as English, so reading can be done in whichever language is appropriate.

The original creators of this picture book, writer Christin Lozano and artist Mariko Merritt, both live in Honolulu. This Samoan language edition features a Samoan translation by Suzie-Jo Rasmussen an Auckland bi-lingual specialist teacher.

There is an illustrated Glossary [Fa’asoloaiga o ‘upu] for those wanting to clarify just what ‘toes on the nose’ refers to. (Clue: surfing.) Two pages have also been set aside for readers to add their own footprints or toeprints.

Island Toes: Tamatama’i Vae o Motu will be read with pleasure all across the motu.

 

Trevor Agnew 

15 July 2024  [Review 3673]