Hey guys I hope you’re coping okay with everything that’s going on. I just wanted to share some words of encouragement. During the summer I read a book called The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday. I took lots of notes and I’m so glad I did because it’s helping me navigate through this…
My family went to Tokyo, Japan in the holidays. Everyone was excited to go see Tokyo Disneyland and Takeshita Street shopping, and the Shibuya Crossing. My only request was that we go and see live Sumo wrestling. I didn’t know anything about Sumo apart from it being two massive guys wrestling each other. But after…
What could we say to those who built a foundation for us while we still can? Rocky ‘Soul Man’ Johnson, father of Dwayne Johnson, passed away suddenly last week. “Say something good about me.” That’s what Dwayne thought his dad would want from him at his funeral. Here’s what he might have said … and…
The New Zealand government announced earlier this year that it will soon be compulsory to teach New Zealand history in our schools. Every child in Germany learns about the Holocaust – the terrible atrocities which Hitler and the Nazis did to the Jewish people. “We teach every chapter of German history,” a German friend of…
It’s Tongan Language Week and I want to share with you a little about one of Tonga’s favourite heroes – Queen Salote. And how there are young people around us showing the same qualities Salote did … every day. Queen Salote is one of the most beloved leaders the Pacific has known. She was born…
This week sees the NZ release of the new Fast & Furious film, Hobbs & Shaw, starring Dwayne Johnson and his cousin, Roman Reigns. I’d like to share an amazing story with you about Roman, real name Joseph Anoa’i. I’ve just written a new book for young people about Joseph because his life story is…
It’s mental health month in Aotearoa and I’m thinking about mental strength as I read the children’s book, “The White Mouse”, with my daughter. It’s the story of Kiwi nurse, reporter and spy, Nancy Wake. In this week’s reading we learned about Nancy’s resilience and selflessness. Here’s a list of the things that happened to…
It’s mental health month in Aotearoa and I’m thinking about mental strength as I read the children’s book, “The White Mouse”, with my daughter. It’s the story of Kiwi nurse, reporter and spy, Nancy Wake. In our first reading we learned that Nancy’s husband was forced to join the French army to defend France from…
May is Mental Health Month in New Zealand and such an awesome theme to focus on. I’ve just started reading a book called “The White Mouse” with my daughter. It’s about Nancy Wake, a Kiwi nurse, reporter, rebel and spy who fought with the French Resistance during WW2. This is an inspirational lady, with incredible…
We’re nearly halfway through term one of the school year and it’s a good time to remind the young people we live and work with, and ourselves, that being successful isn’t about talent or gifts. It’s about learning, working with the right people and hard work. Kemba Walker is a basketball player. Kemba led his…
My youngest daughter enrolled in Auckland Libraries’ summer reading program back in early December. We started off well, reading every day for 20 minutes as a whole family 🙂 But then Christmas came and New Years and holidays away and we stopped reading as a family for a while. I’ve just finished reading two books…
Hey guys sorry about that last post – I thought I found a snazzy way to share a link but it came out all wrong! Anyway, happy new year to everyone. I started an open group on Facebook called The Reading Tribe. It’s a place where we can share the love of reading, whether it’s books,…
Do you guys sometimes get Impostor Syndrome? That’s that feeling you get when you start doubting yourself, about whether you can really do something and you’re just waiting for someone to catch you out and say “Faker!” To be honest, I get these thoughts sometimes when it comes to writing. I say things like this to…
Hey guys today I want to talk about something important we can learn from Goosebumps, Lani Wendt Young and the Tongan rugby league team. I went with my family to see the film Goosebumps 2 today. The effects were cool, the story was interesting and it featured my favourite Goosebumps villain, Slappy. But there was…
Some people think the only place you’ll see women at a racetrack is dressed in bikinis, waving start flags and spraying champagne on the winners. You won’t find Jodie Donovan doing any of that. She’s been drifting for more than a decade and is one of the best female drifters in the world. Jodie rode…
It’s Cook Islands Language Week and we’re celebrating by sharing a little about some of the inspirational people featured in my book Cook Islands Heroes. The aim of this book is to inspire Kuki Airani young people and anyone else who loves reading stories of people who overcame great challenges to achieve their goals in life. Today’s…
It’s Cook Islands Language Week and we’re celebrating by sharing a little about some of the inspirational people featured in my book Cook Islands Heroes. The aim of this book is to inspire Kuki Airani young people and anyone else who loves reading stories of people who overcame great challenges to achieve their goals in life. Today’s…
It’s Cook Islands Language Week and we’re celebrating by sharing a little about some of the inspirational Cook Islanders featured in my book Cook Islands Heroes. The aim of this book is to inspire Kuki Airani young people and anyone else who loves reading stories of people who overcame great challenges to achieve their goals in life….
It’s Cook Islands Language Week and we’re celebrating by sharing a little about some of the inspirational Cook Islanders featured in my book Cook Islands Heroes. The aim of this book is to inspire Kuki Airani young people and anyone else who loves reading stories of people who overcame great challenges to achieve their goals in…
It’s Kuki Airani (Cook Island) Language Week and to celebrate I’m going to share some stories with you from my book Cook Islands Heroes. To start our week, have you heard about the awesome conservation work of former Cook Islands and Kiwi rugby league player, Kevin Iro? Kevin played for the Warriors and Manly in…
In the NBA there are a few megastar players like LeBron James, Steph Curry, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant. The kinds of players that every team wants and will do all that they can to keep. And then there are players like Ish Smith of the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons are the 11th team that…
Hey everyone, we’re well into 2018 and I wonder how we are all doing with the goals and dreams we have for this year. I read, saw and heard lots of inspiring stories of achievement during the summer and I want to share some of them with you as an encouragement to keep going with…
“When I play for New Zealand I play for my country of birth. But when I play for Tonga, I play for my heritage and my family.” (Tongan captain, Sika Manu.) Tonga was introduced to rugby league through the 1986 Pacific Cup in the Cook Islands. They won their first Pacific Cup in 1994. Since 1995,…
Everyone knows how great Fiji are at rugby union, especially the sevens game. But Fiji have also made their mark in the world of rugby league. Players like Josefa Levula were stars in English rugby league in the 1960s. A domestic competition started in 1992 and is known today as the Vodafone Championship Cup. Twelve…
The Kiwis have designed a new jersey for this year’s Rugby League World Cup. The jersey reflects the team’s cultural heritage and has cultural patterns on the back and sleeves. The jersey was designed by the Kiwis’ cultural advisor, Ora Kihi. Some of the patterns come from the players’ tattoos. “It’s always special to wear the…
The Women’s Rugby League World Cup is also on this year. It takes place in Sydney, Australia from 16th November to 2nd December. Here’s a little info about the history of women’s rugby league in New Zealand. Women’s rugby league goes back to 1921 in New Zealand when a team from the Hornby club formed…
The New Zealand rugby league team have been known by many names over the years: the Professional All Blacks and the All Golds were early names. Almost from the start, their uniforms featured a kiwi standing above a silver fern. But they weren’t known as the Kiwis yet. Before 1938, they were known officially as…
Albert Baskerville was a young post office worker, living in Wellington with his mother and seven siblings in the early 1900s. His father had been killed in a work accident and Albert was the only income earner for the family. He also enjoyed playing rugby and even wrote a book about it. But there was one…
The Rugby League World Cup is coming! To celebrate, I’m going to share some of the amazing and inspiring history of rugby league with you. Day 1: The people’s game Rugby league is unique among major world sports because it was founded on a principle: that everyone should have the opportunity to play sports, not…
Today at the Storylines Hui, legendary children’s writer, Joy Cowley, told an inspiring story about The Silent One, her first novel. It was rejected by every publisher she sent it to, so she put it away in a drawer. Eight years later, a publisher said to Joy, “You should write a junior novel.” Joy said, “I already…
