Tamatea Toa

One thing I noticed from going to the Pacific Champs league games was how many children and young people were at the games repping their national teams. I saw Tongan children chanting the words of the Sipi Tau and Samoan children doing the same with the Siva Tau. This really inspired me to think of…

The first book in Reading Warrior’s new series Oceania Heritage is Niue, published in 2024 to mark the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Niue Constitution Act 1974. Written and illustrated by children of Niue who live in Aotearoa, Niue and other parts of the world, these are, in the children’s words, their expressions of…

Our Normal is a series of intimate and honest conversations with some of New Zealand’s most talented Paralympians. The athletes tell us about the books, food, music, people, places and taonga they love. They share the challenges they face living with disabilities, and the ways disabilities enrich their lives. And they talk about the assumptions and…

I just found out that Black Magic has been shortlisted in the 2025 NZ Children’s Book Awards. That’s cool man! Not because I’m after awards but because it means more children will read this story which is an important story for Kiwi kids to know. The book is illustrated by Munro Te Whata and we’re…

Today I received an awesome message from David Ackery, librarian at Waitakere College. “I finally got around to getting a copy of The Reading Tribe. What a great book! So unique, and so NZ. And so much material there for librarians to use to drive reading engagement. We made it into a  feature display at…

Today we launched a new book called Hood Heroes, written and illustrated by children at Flat Bush School, Ōtara. It’s such a beautiful feeling when you see the pride of the children knowing they’re achieving the dreams their families have for them. You can take a look inside the book and buy a copy here…