Ōtara Heroes

Amazing day celebrating Solomon Islands culture and stories with the launch of 5 bilingual children’s books by Mary Polosovai illustrated by Chad Robertson. I met Irene Tufuga, Pasifika Librarian, who said it breaks her heart when children of minority groups come to the library asking for books about their own cultures and she has to…
Awesome time at Kedgley Intermediate School today celebrating A Piece of Myself – a book written by these talented young people. The kaupapa of our pukapuka is to praise our beloved home South Auckland.
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 was invited to attend the World Final of the Kids Lit Quiz today. Canberra Grammar (Australia) won the final. In the evening we had a dinner and I sat with one of the Australian families. The dad went to buy us a drink and I began talking with the mum. “What kinds of…
This week I launched a new book Fanene Peter Maivia: Son of Samoa. It’s the first in a new series called Reading Legends. These are picture biographies of legendary Kiwi and Pasifika heroes.
The Reading Tribe is a new book I’ve made where I ask some of New Zealand’s most successful people to share the books that have travelled with them through life. UFC champion Israel Adesanya found safety in the school library from bullies when he was younger and he was inspired to dream big by reading…