Te Reo Maori

Interview: Steph Matuku and Zak Ātea

Author Steph Matuku and illustrator Zak Ātea of The Dream Factory and Te Wheketere Moemoeā interview each other about their inspiration, careers, and dreams for the future. Zak: What is your most treasured book you used to read as a…

Te Wiki o te reo Māori: Pukapuka reo Māori

There are more and more children’s pukapuka being translated into te reo Māori all the time, and we love seeing them! In honour of Te Wiki o te reo Māori, here is another lot of reo Māori books for your…

The Sampling: Tuahangata tae e whā

Nā Richard Fairgray Nā Komako A. Silver and Alejandra Jensen i whakamāori Richard Fairgray’s Four-Color Heroes (Fanbase Press) is now also available digitally in te reo Māori! You can find it on Hoopla (from 11 September), Comics Plus, Google Books,…

Book Reviews: Te ao Māori pukapuka

We’re continuing our celebration of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori with reviews of five pukapuka centred in te ao Māori, brought to us by Maraea Henare. My First Words About Tikanga Māori, written by Stacey Morrison and illustrated by…

Book List: Reo pukapuka for Te Wiki o te reo Māori

This week, September 11-18, is Māori Language Week, which is all about celebrating one of the official languages of Aotearoa and the language of the tangata whenua of these mōtu. This year’s theme encourages people to “Kia kaha te reo…

Q&A: Linda Tuhiwai Smith on the Whatumanawa Collection

Linda Tuhiwai Smith is renowned in her field – indigenous education – and now has authored a series of picture books dealing with social issues, the Whatumanawa collection, available in both te reo Māori and reo Pākehā. They are serious,…

Reviews: Four New Picture Books

Thalia Kehoe Rowden reviews four new books aiming to help children process their feelings and understand their place in the world.  Pearl in a Whirl, written by Catherine Roberton and illustrated by Fifi Colston A good book for a good…

2023 NZCYA Te Kura Pounamu Award Finalists

Here at The Sapling, we always love a good behind-the-scenes look into our favourite books. So, as part of our coverage of this year’s NZCYA Awards, we’ve asked the authors of the Te Kura Pounamu Award finalists to spill the…

Book List: New Matariki Books

Matariki falls on July 14 this year—the second year Aotearoa has celebrated the Māori New Year as a public holiday. We’ve compiled a quick list of some recent Matariki reads published during The Sapling’s hiatus.   Nani Jo Me Ngā…