Hastings Boys’ High students are readers

I’m really proud of this book because it celebrates some of the greatest athletes from the islands of Oceania! You’ll be inspired by Valerie Adams, the unstoppable Tongan-Kiwi shot putter. You’ll cheer for Jerry Tuwai, the two-time Olympic gold medallist from Fiji. You’ll be amazed by Lisa Carrington, the first Māori woman to win an…

I’m working on a children’s book about UFC champion Israel Adesanya. The illustrator is the amazing Ant Sang and you can see more of Ant’s work here: http://www.antsang.co.nz/. This is a sneak peek from the drafting stage, can’t wait to see the final artwork!

Here’s an interview I did with Radio NZ about the Silent Witnesses project: https://www.rnz.co.nz/life/people/it-was-beautiful-to-see-the-friendships-growing

I’ve spent the last two days in Napier and Hastings encouraging young people to believe in themselves and find out who they are  through reading. Finished at Hastings Boys’ High School whose motto is Ākina. This motto was given to them by local iwi and is a call to paddlers who may be losing energy…

When I grew up in Māngere we weren’t taught the stories of the people who lived here before anyone else – the Waiohua iwi. We thought Māngere just meant “lazy” and it had a negative association. It wasn’t until recently that I learned the full name of the whenua we lived on is Ngā Hau…

I’m making a new book about Black Ferns Sevens try-scoring machine Michaela Blyde. It’s called Strike Hard! The illustrator is Sarah Trolle and Sarah is a teacher too! The korero that goes with this particular picture is that the Black Ferns Sevens team see themselves as a waka, that leaves mana in its wake. “The…