From the 275!

I’m working on a new children’s book about Ibrahim Omer who is the first person with African heritage to be a member of the NZ parliament. Ibrahim grew up in Eritrea but then he became a refugee in Sudan before being relocated to Aotearoa. It’s an inspirational story and I can’t wait to share it…

The Reading Tribe has won a Storylines Notable Books Award. Massive thank you to designers Misterwolf for generously doing the design for free because they believe in encouraging young people to read. Thank you Storylines! Awards are important for independent publishers like me because they help people trust my work, and therefore get the work…

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…

What a blessing to work with these beautiful Tongan children making a book about how proud they are to be Tongan. The book is bilingual (Tongan and English). The stories they’ve written demonstrate their immense pride in being Tongan. You’ll read about the importance of family and lotu, their favourite Tongan foods and clothing, their…

This year I was blessed to do a project with young people from Pacific Advance Secondary School in Auckland. I helped them to share stories of the people, cultures and places that make them who they are, bring them joy and inspire them to be excellent. ‘I appreciate those cultural teachings because they’re part of…

I always love sharing stories with young people about how reading can literally save and change your life. Today I was at Wesley College – blessed and inspired by these talented young people.