Our coverage of the category finalists continues with reviews from a couple of talented tamariki. Elliah and Hineraukura have provided their thoughts on the finalists for the Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award for Te Reo Māori, both in te reo Māori and te reo Pākehā. The Māori reviews are first, but scroll down a bit to get to the English versions. Ngā mihi i ngā kaituhi taitamariki mō tā rāua mahi.
Ngā Arotakenga pukapuka i te reo Māori
Nā Elliah Muntz (tau 8) ēnei arokatenga pukapuka i tuhi.
Te Kirihimete i Whakakorea, nā Huia, nā Isabel Joy Te Aho-White ngā pikitia (Huia)
Ko te tino kaupapa o teenei pukapuka, ka whakaritea ngaa tangata i taa raatou taaone ki ngaa whakaraakeitanga kirihimete. Engari ka tae mai teetahi koorero noo Hana Koko ki a raatou, aa, i whakaaro ngaa tamariki me mahi e raatou te mahi.
Ko ngaa painga o teenei pukapuka ki au nei, ko ngaa kupu hou i ako au i te waa paanui ai te pukapuka. Ka rata hoki ahau ki ngaa puka pikitia noo reira i rawe ki te kite i ngaa tuhinga, aa, he rawe hoki ngaa wahanga o te pukapuka e paa ana ki Aotearoa. Kaaore he koretake ki a au moo te pukapuka nei.
Kei ooku whakaaro he whaa whetuu teenei puka.
Te Kirihimete i Whakakorea
Nā Huia
Nā Isabel Joy Te Aho-White ngā pikitia i tā
Huia
RRP $25.00
Ngā Hoa Hoihoi o Kuwi, nā Kat Merewether, nā Pānia Papa i whakamāori (Illustrated)
Kei reira ko Kuwi raaua ko Huwi e whakataa ana ki too raaua tuurua. Kei te inu kapu tii a Kuwi, aa, kei te takaro taonga a Huwi. Ka takeo haere a Huwi, aa, ka hiahia ia ki te takaro ki te taha o aana hoa. Eengari ka tino kaha toona taakaro, aa, ka hoohaa haere a Kuwi…
Ko ngaa wahanga o te pukapuka nei, i tutuu mai ki au ko ngaa pikitia anoo, aa, he maamaa ki te panui, noo reira he rawe moo ngaa tamariki katoa. Kaaore he wahanga kore take ki teenei pukapuka ki au.
He 4.5 whetuu tooku whakatauranga moo te pukapuka!
Ngā Hoa Hoihoi o Kuwi
Nā Kat Quin (Merewether)
Nā Pānia Papa ngā korero i whakamāori
Illustrated Publishing
RRP $19.99
Arapū Toi, nā Moira Wairama, nā Austin Whincup ngā pikitia.
Kei te whakaatu mai te pukapuka nei i te arapuu Maaori, aa, te tikanga hoki o ngaa kupu i whakamahia.
Ki ooku nei whakaaro, he papai teenei pukapuka moo ngaa pepe/teina i te mea, kei te whakaatu mai teetahi rautaki maamaa ma raatou ki te akona i te arapuu Maaori, aa, i ngaa kupu hou hoki.
He toru whetuu teenei pukapuka mooku.
Nā Hineraukura Gabel (tau 6) ēnei arokatenga pukapuka i tuhi.
Tio Tiamu, nā Kurahau, nā Laya Mutton-Rogers ngā pikitia (Huia)
He pukapuka tēnei e pā ana ki tētahi tipua tāroaroa, ko Tio Tiamu te Tipua tōna ingoa. Kāore tōna iwi e pai ana ki a ia nā ōna waewae tino haunga me Birdy, tōna hoa manu hōhā. E aroha ana a Tio Tiamu ki tōna iwi, nō reira ka tiaki tonu ia i a rātou ahakoa kāore rātou e hiahia ana kia pātata ia ki a rātou.
He rawe ki ahau tēnei pukapuka, nā te mea he pukapuka pai kia whakaatu atu i te aroha o te tangata ki ngā tāngata katoa, ā, he pai hoki ki ahau nā te mea ko te āhua nei, he pūrākau tūturu tēnei. He pai hoki ki a au nā te mea ahakoa kāore te iwi o Tio Tiamu e pai ana ki a ia, ka ngana tonu ia ki te whakahoahoa atu ki a rātou. Ko tētahi mea kāore e tino pai ki ahau, ko te roa o tēnei pukapuka, arā, he āhua roa ki te tae atu ki tōna ngako. Hei tāpiri atu ki tēnei, mōku ake, kāore ahau e rata ana ki te taitara nā te mea kāore e tino whai ana i te wairua Māori.
Kei ōku whakāro, 4 whetū tēnei pukapuka.
Ko Flit te Tīrairaka me Ngā Hēki Muna, nā Kat Merewether, nā Ngaere Roberts i whakamāori (Scholastic)
He pakiwaitara tēnei e pā ana ki tētahi manu tīrairaka, ko Flit tōna ingoa. He manu hīkaka a Flit, ā, he manu pīpī hoki ia. Ka ngana a Flit ki te rere atu i tōna kōhanga, engari kāore anō ia kia ako me pēhea. Ka taka ia mai i tōna kōhanga, kātahi ōna hoa ka āwhina i a ia ki te hoki atu ki tōna kōhanga i mua i te hokinga mai o ōna mātua mai i te rapu kai.
He pai ki ahau ngā hoa o Flit nā te mea i hiahia rātou ki te āwhina i a ia ki te hoki atu ki tōna kōhanga, ā, he pai hoki ki ahau ngā mea i mahi rātou hei āwhina i a ia. Ki ōku whakaaro, he pai tēnei pukapuka mō ngā tamariki rima tau te pakeke, nā te mea he wairua pārekareka i roto, ā, he pai te rahi o ngā kupu ki ia whārangi. Ki ōku whakaaro tērā pea ka pai ake mēnā ka whakamutua te pukapuka nei ki tētahi kōrero whakakatakata.
Kei ōku whakāro he 3 whetū tēnei pukapuka.
Ko Flit, Te Tīrairaka me Ngā Hēki Muna
Nā Kat Merewether.
Nā Ngaere Roberts ngā korero i whakamāori
Scholastic
RRP $20.00
Book reviews in English
These reviews are by Elliah Muntz (year 8).
Te Kirihimete i Whakakorea, by Huia, illustrated by Isabel Joy Te Aho-White (Huia)
The brief summary of this book is that the folks are setting up the town for Christmas but all of a sudden they hear news they didn’t expect from Santa. The kids decided that they needed to take matters into their own hands.
What I liked about this book is all the new words I learnt while reading. I also liked all the pictures drawn throughout the book, and I really liked that they based the Christmas season on New Zealand time. There is nothing I didn’t like in this book.
In my opinion, this book gets a four-star rating.
Ngā Hoa Hoihoi o Kuwi, by Kat Merewether, translated by Pānia Papa (Illustrated)
This book is about two kiwi called Kuwi and Huwi. They were just in their little burrow relaxing. But Huwi decided he wanted to go play with his friends. It gets a little too loud for Kuwi and she doesn’t like it…
This was a good book to me because the pictures are well illustrated and it’s an easy book to read which means it’s perfect for all kids. I have no dislikes about this book!
I give this book a 4.5 star rating!
Ngā Hoa Hoihoi o Kuwi
By Kat Quin (Merewether)
Translated by Pānia Papa
Illustrated Publishing
RRP $19.99
Arapū Toi, by Moira Wairama, illustrated by Austin Whincup.
This book shows kids how the Maaori alphabet works and also shows the meanings of the words used in the book.
I think this book is an excellent book for little kids because it will help them learn the Maaori sounds and build their vocabulary.
This book gets a three-star rating!
Hineraukura Gabel (year 6) wrote these reviews for us!
Tio Tiamu, by Kurahau, illustrations by Laya Mutton-Rogers (Huia)
This is a book about a tall, smelly giant and his name is Tio Tiamu te Tipua: (The Smelly Giant). His tribe doesn’t like him because of his big, smelly feet and Birdy, his annoying pet bird. Tio Tiamu loves his tribe very much so he looks after them and helps them even though they don’t want him near them.
I really like this book, because it’s good to show kindness to everyone and I also like it because it’s kind of realistic. Another thing I like about it, is even though The Giant’s tribe doesn’t like him, he still tries to befriend them. One thing I don’t really enjoy is the book’s length, because it’s very long to read and it takes a while to get to the main theme. Another thing that could be better is the title because it’s not really Māori, it’s more of a transliteration.
I give this book four stars.
Ko Flit te Tīrairaka me Ngā Hēki Muna, by Kat Merewether, translated by Ngaere Roberts (Scholastic)
This is a story about a fantail, whose name is Flit. Flit is an eager bird and he’s a baby bird. Flit tries to fly away from his nest, but he has not yet learnt how to. He falls from his nest, then his friends help him get back to his nest before his parents get back to their nest from collecting him food.
I like Flit’s friends in this book because they all wanted to help him get back into his nest. I also like the things they did to help Flit. In my opinion, this is a good book for children around the age of five, because of its fun vibe and there’s a reasonable amount of words on each page. I felt that the ending could’ve been improved by being a bit funnier.
I think this book gets three stars.
Ko Flit, Te Tīrairaka me Ngā Hēki Muna
By Kat Merewether
Translated by Ngaere Roberts
Scholastic
RRP $20.00
Check out our coverage of the other Book Awards for Children & Young Adults categories:
The Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction Finalists – publisher takes
The Picture Book Finalists – Tara Black illustrates her reviews of the finalists
The Young Adult Fiction Finalist authors explain the story behind their stories
The Book Awards 2020 Book Quiz
The NZCYA finalists announcement, including reckons from editors Sarah, Nida and Simie