Waimārama Writers

  Today I had an amazing experience at Kelston Boys High School in Auckland. I was asked to speak to two classes of year 13 boys about the awesomeness of reading. I started with my pepeha – “Tuhituhia te kite, kia marama rawa ki nga papa …” and I saw one of the boys sit…

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…

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…

‘No matter what challenges we face, whether its natural disasters, economic struggles, or even personal hardships, Filipinois always find a way to rise above and support each other.’ (Akisha) Last project of the year working with Filipino young people at Tangaroa College. What a great blessing learning about Filipino culture from these inspirational youth and…

Today I shared about how reading changes people’s lives with children at Grey Lynn Primary School.

I’ve been doing a project with these Writing Warriors from Dawson Primary School in Ōtara. We’re making a pukapuka together in which they star as superheroes. These tamariki are creative, clever, imaginative, inspiring!