Hastings Boys’ High students are readers

I’m working with the team at Mahi for Ukraine to make a book of encouraging messages and pictures by Kiwi young people for the Ukrainian young people who will soon be arriving in NZ with their families, fleeing the attacks from Russia. You can read a bit more and see a Seven Sharp report about…

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…

Today we celebrated the launch of Stand Your Ground, a book I did with young people at Sancta Maria College. This was the first book I made sponsored by the Oceania Literacy Trust which is a trust a few of us started to help improve literacy and wellbeing in our young people. “The students who…

I had an incredible week in Raro this week. The Cook Islands Ministry of Education invited me to come and share in their literacy week celebrations. I visited lots of schools on Raro, talking to young people, and being inspired by them. This photo comes form a writing workshop I did with children at Nukutere…

This year Chad Sta-Krucial Robertson and I have been working on an awesome project with the Tuvalu Auckland Community Trust. We made 8 bilingual Tuvaluan children’s books, one representing each island of Tuvalu, and today the books were launched as part of Tuvalu Language Week celebrations. Each book comes with an audio version as well…

I’ve been thinking of ways to use young peoples’ love of their cultures and rugby league to help them with their literacy – so my goal this World Cup year is to make a lot of books that are rugby league-themed to help kids with their reading. The series is called “Light It Up!” I’m…