Matariki-The Star of the Year

“Matariki ki tua o ngā whetū-Matariki of endless possibilities”

— Dr Rangi Matamua

Dr Rangi Matamua says the first and foremost purpose of celebrating Matariki is to acknowledge tīpuna. The mauri and the wairua of those gone from this world before us, both in the year past and their ancestors too, right back to the beginnings of whakapapa. Ensuring their memory in the stars. With Matariki-The Star of the Year Dr Matamua confirms the work of generations of his ancestors. Timi Rāwiri passed an incandescent legacy via a line of tohunga kōkōrangi, to his grandson Dr Matamua, after 20 years of his own study, he shares that knowledge now in this captivating and important book.

It is not an imposing tome, at just 100 pages I consumed it in an evening (the night I received it, the day after ordering-thanks Huia-tino pai tō mahi!). Matariki-The star of the Year explains much of the astronomical science of Matariki in a straightforward manner which demystifies the kaupapa and makes it accessible. At the same time Dr Matamua retains the spellbinding allure of astrology, the stars and the legends they shelter. I loved reading the names of the stars, learning their ancient identities, making the stellar connections from their world to mine.

The history of Matariki traditions are presented, their loss examined. Again its straightforward stuff, told without regret. We learn about kai, weather, navigation. Our ancestors based their lives on a Lunar calendar while we now observe the Solar calendar, explaining the mysteries of modern day Matariki timing. Ideas for getting it right are thankfully proposed.

I feel empowered by this book to install some modern day Matariki custom with my whānau and I think that's just the point. Dr Matamua advocates a collected and directed approach to modern day celebrations. He hopes we can all understand the concepts of Matariki. And looks forward to a time when Kiwis take firm hold of the meaning of Matariki and make it our own unique national celebration. Ka wani kē!

Matariki-Star of the Year-Dr Rangi Matamua, Huia, 2017, $35

Paku whānau review Reo Pēpi!

A couple of months ago we called for whānau reviewers. With 7 tamariki under 7 we knew the Paku whānau would be pīwari perfect to trial Rua-Series 2. Ōtautahi powerhouse māmā Olivia Paku sent us this tino atāhua report on their experience of our pukapuka.

Above: The Paku whānau enjoying Reo Pēpi pukapuka!

Olivia Paku: What a pleasure to recieve Reo Pēpi – Rua in the post! A delightful package to receive.

Initially I left the books on the bench in the kitchen at my home and waited to see what the reactions were going to be with these flash new books on display – primarily waiting for the children to come over pick them up and have a look but to my surprise it was the adults in my whare who showed interest in wanting to read them first before the children! Some wanting to know how easy/hard the reo would be (and if they would be able to read it to the kids) and second - learning new words!

Once our tamariki got hold of them there was definite division! The boys enjoyed Ngā Tae as it had all the insects in the book and their mission after reading the book was to go out into the garden and try find all the insects in the book to confirm they were the same colour as the pictures!

For our younger girls (2-3 years) they enjoyed Te Kaute as they are right at that age where at kindy/kohanga they are starting/learning to count.

Miss six loved Nga Āhua as she found it most enjoyable to copy the pictures out of the book and also cut the shapes out of her scrap booking materials.

Even our youngest whānau member (4 months) enjoyed looking at the pictures whilst at the change table or being read to by other whānau members. Never to young to start learning our reo.

So there were favourites amongst all different ages which lead into creative activities/ideas which kept them entertained during the school holidays! Thank you!

Our kōkō of the whānau also enjoyed learning both individually and with the kids as they helped him and vice versa – was nice to hear our tamariki encouraging their kōkō and laughing when he got it terribly wrong but his goal for 2017 is to start to learn te reo and what better way than with these books and his mokopuna to help.

Absolutely wonderful books, thoroughly enjoyed at all ages. Kia pai tō mahi korua! Ka wani ke! Mauri ora!

Pāti! Pāti! Pāti! Reo Pēpi launch Rua-Series 2

Wawanei! What a big day for us! Launching Reo Pēpi Rua-Series 2!

We started with a much coveted spot on te reo irirangi-the radio! Spacestaion Kiwi with Capt. Cornflakes and the beautiful Rainbow Rosalind!

We were so excited to present our new pukapuka to te ao marama! The University Bookshop was the pīwari perfect location. Bright, colourful and warm. Ngā mihi Bronwyn, Clemency and the whānau at UBS! Thank you to all the mātua and tamariki who came along on a brisk Ōtēpoti morning for waiata and stories from us.

After the formalities (and a karakia) we all enjoyed some keke together. This tino nui Reo Pēpi cake was crafted by Sarah from Portobello Treats and Sweets-a favourite haunt of certain tamariki we know!

Here is one of the many tīpare that were created at the mahi toi table by the diligent crafters at the pāti! Ka rawe Layla!

Following our launch pāti we whipped home to Reo Pēpi HQ for a whānau friendly photo shoot with pēpi, mātua, kai, more keke and plenty of snaps by the amazing Isabella Harrex-watch out for new and beautiful pikitia coming soon! For now though here are some more shots of our special launch day-there are so many! Aroha mai, aroha atu!

Rua-Reo Pēpi series 2!

E hika! We are pleased to announce Rua-Reo Pēpi series 2! Ngā Tae-Colours, Te Kaute-Counting and Ngā Āhua-Shapes. Our new set of pukapuka are out now! Our launch pāti is on Saturday April 8th at the University Bookshop-11am please do come along-Nau mai, tauti mai! We have been working over the past year to produce these books on new kaupapa and concepts our tamariki have been reaching for.

Each pukapuka comes with a handy new sentence in Te reo Māori and English for use in everyday situations and lots of kupu (words) we all need to know! These books utilise play for read aloud sessions, so you and your tamariki can work together to find the shapes, guess the colours and count along with Reo Pēpi.

He aha te tae o te pītara? What colour is the beetle? Ngā Tae-Colours

Kirsten has been loving her work as you will see in the gorgeous, bright illustrations. My Tama's favourite is Ngā Tae with its colourful pikitia of ngārara (insects), I love finding the shapes hiding in Ngā Āhua and our papa (the maths geek) is intent on mastering Te Kaute.

Each of our 2nd set of pukapuka come in our signature board book format, with a glossary and phonetics guide at the back. For these subjects we have also added visual glossary pages which show the numbers, shapes and colours.

Tirohia-Check out this rawe independent review of our new pukapuka from wonderful Striking Keys reviewer Angela Noelle. Reo Pēpi Rua review.

E hia ngā waka atea? How many rockets? Te Kaute-Counting

“Nice work from these Dunedin mothers! Big, bold pictures and clear concepts for early learners. I hope they do more!” John McIntyre-Wellington Children’s Bookshop

Rapua ngā Porotītaha! Find the ovals! Ngā Āhua-Shapes

Reo Pēpi ki Raumati-Summertimes

Our tamariki have been enjoying a long, warm raumati at their respective ends of the motu!

 Kirstens whānau have had a proper pā kid existence, camping nearOkia Reserve on the stunning Ōtākou peninsula. You can imagine the mischief possible with this choice group haututū kids around! Swimming, playing and soaking up some sunshine-Ngā mihi nui tama nui te rā!

Meanwhile Tama and his whānau have been exploring Pōneke-Wellington on a haratei in the big smoke. We have been to Te Papa-E hia ngā toro? How many visits? E rima ngā toro! 5 visits! We have been staying in Island Bay, overlooking Tapu te Ranga island. Spending lots of time at Shorland Park which was once Te Mupunga Kainga-a mīharo place to stand...and swing;)

Heoi anō-Enjoy the rest of the good weather. Ngā mihi aroha, Reo Pēpi. x

Having a baby? You’ll need (kiwi) books!

Posted on Booksellers NZ on October 27, 2016

By books, I don’t mean books telling you what to do when you have a baby, though a couple of them might be a good idea early on in the pregnancy. Really, don’t look at them later though as it’s a sure way to convince yourself you’ll never be good at this parenting gig. I’m not going to suggest titles of pregnancy/ parenthood books, but Kaz Cooke is amazing and I keep seeing stuff around about Constance Hall’s Like a Queen, and um did you know Emily Writes has a book coming? Anyway.

What is really important, is starting your new bump’s very own library. Your first stop is going to be school fairs – think Spot, Dr Seuss, the eponymous Golden Books. And make sure you have plenty of board books – not only are they tear-proof for destructive-minded toddlers, but they are easier to hold with one hand while breastfeeding. And your second stop – bookshops, of course. Perhaps for Bookshop Day this Saturday 29 October?

All of these essential first kiwi books are available in board book format.

1. The Noisy Book, by Soledad Bravi (Gecko Press)
Nothing beats it. My boys have destroyed two copies of this – the only notable change in the second edition being a PC-ism of Spinach – it was just ‘Yuk’ now it goes ‘Yuk Yum’. Possibly for the American market?
2. Hairy Maclary Touch & Feel, by Lynley Dodd (Puffin)
Your baby will love touch & feel books, and be disappointed with any books that don’t have this function, right until they are around 2.5 years old. This is a favourite, with lots of fuzzy, soft and velvety dog fur.
3. ABC, 123 and Colours, by James Brown and Frances Samuel (Te Papa Press)
These books are gorgeous and genuinely inventive. A may be for Apples, but they are big, shiny Billy Apples – we get relevant letter-meanings, gorgeous countables and the most wonderful artwork in Colours. Just brilliant.
4. Duck’s Stuck, by Kyle Mewburn and Ali Teo (Scholastic NZ)
So you don’t believe that a tiny baby discovers their literary taste literally on the boob? Think again! This book was my bedside book while I fed my little baby to sleep, and is still now a fallback when every other book is rejected. Thank you, Kyle – this is a gift he gave me when still pregnant with number 1, and it’s still going strong.
5. Roadworks, Demolition and Construction, by Sally Sutton and Brian Lovelock (Walker Books) – available now in a box set.
These are must-haves for the machine-mad child. This was so popular with my older boy when he was 2 there were thoughts of “losing” it for awhile…
6. The Wheels on the Bus (Hachette), The Great Kiwi ABC Book (Upstart Press) and Old McDonald Had a Farm (Hachette), by Donovan Bixley
Okay, you may think once you’ve seen one version of these classics you’ve seen them all, but Bixley’s richly detailed, characterful illustrations make sure this isn’t the case with these books.
7. My Big Book of Words and Pictures, by Ole Konnecke (Gecko Press)
My first child, age 2, insisted that we made up stories based on the pictures on each of the pages of this book. Every Single Night. It was wonderful, most of the time. But seriously, this is a top-of-the-line word learning book, with a bit of a story on each page to help the tired parent’s mind. This could, admittedly, be a first birthday present.
8. Stomp! By Ruth Paul (Scholastic NZ)
Ruth Paul’s Stomp! is a great first dinosaur adventure, where small turns the tables on big when it’s their turn to lead the pack. Subtle, effective illustrations make sure there’s something to discover on every re-read. And there will be plenty.
9. Piggity-Wiggity Jiggity-Jig, by Diana Neild, illustrated by Phillip Webb (Scholastic NZ)
One of the best rhythmic books out there, this is the first in a series about Piggity, with the slightly awkward name. A huge favourite with no 1 kid, it didn’t really work for no 2, and fair warning it is a little long when you have a small baby; maybe one to jiggle the cot to for a night-time read.
10. Kākahu – Getting Dressed; Kararehe – Animals; and Kanohi – My Face, by Kitty Brown and Kirsten Parkinson (Reo Pepi)
Essential first Te Reo titles, teaching the very young some essential first words in Te Reo to begin their understanding of New Zealand’s own language.

(Wuuu! Huuu!)

11. Colours, and Animals, by Donovan Bixley (Hachette NZ)
A similar concept as above, including Te Reo first words, with Bixley’s usual cast of animated characters, which will be familiar to anybody who has read his Old McDonald’s Farm or Wheels on the Bus stories.
12. Mrs Wishy-Washy, by Joy Cowley, illustrated by Elizabeth Fuller
Mrs Wishy-Washy is an enduring favourite for my youngest boy, though I will admit that sometimes when he has nightmares they appear to include Wishy-Washy and Grandma (possibly related to that one time we left him to go to sleep with Grandma: the trauma!) The words trip off the tongue, and you’ll have it memorised in no time. Joy Cowley is a national treasure.

Now, a disclaimer that will be familiar to anybody who has had the pleasure of being at The Children’s Bookshop in Kilbirnie when John McIntyre hosts a parents night. Before you buy your library, go to the library – with your child, if they are already born! Every child is different – my boys have very few of their preferred books in common – but all of these books are quality. Writing, production & everything: brilliant.

So here’s the sell: It’s NZ Bookshop Day on 29 October: what better chance to go out and get your little ones some quality kiwi (and translated, in the case of the Gecko Press) books! Most of the bookshops participating will be giving out books to kids who come in-store dressed up, and there are children’s authors popping up in bookshops all over New Zealand. Here’s the event calendar, so get your skates on!

by Sarah Forster

IBBY 2016

IBBY or International Board on Books for Young People is the only international organisation that works to connect writers, illustrators, publishers, librarians, educators and academics with the common focus of bringing literature to tamariki all around the world. More than that IBBY as a representative body is internationally engaged as a protector and advocate for children. The successful bid to hold the biennial IBBY congress here in Aotearoa was made in 2014 by Dr. Libby Limbrick and Rosemary Tisdall and this year we saw the results of 2 years mahi culminate in a tino ataahua event held over four stunning days in Tāmaki Makaurau for over 500 manuhiri from all corners of the globe.

Hiamo-Thrilled Day 1

Kirsten and I were honoured to be part of the IBBY Congress. Our heartfelt aroha to Te pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu who made sure our stories were represented there! Thanks to them Reo Pēpi had an exhibition space at IBBY where we displayed our pukapuka, illustrations and some examples of new whakaaro. We shared the responsibilities of our display so each of us could enjoy as much of the programme as possible. One of us would kōrero with the people, while the other would be immersed, in one of dozens of fascinating congress sessions curated by a rawe team of kiwi oragnisers and presented by an international host of experts, enthusiasts and characters committed to children and books and words. We felt closely related to our IBBY associates through our love for children and beautiful books, we were blown away by the stories we heard.

·         A Japanese writer with her career as a cultural anthropologist on hold indefinitely. A result of being completely overrun by award winning stories refusing to be held back!

·         A Turkish librarian crying passionate tears at the state of children’s literature in her country. Where on average children read for just one minute per day as opposed to spending an average of six hours in front of a screen.

·         An Anglo-Australian working as a scribe-providing resources for Aboriginal children who would otherwise have no access to books written in their own languages.

·         An Inuit librarian from Greenland where there are only TWO children's books published in the indigenous language of that land!

Ira! Reo Pēpi on the meet and greet :)

The theme of IBBY was “Literature in a multi-literate world” but it seemed to me that an alternative theme ran concurrently and apparently inadvertently alongside this. As the event went on this sub-theme surfaced again and again.

“As a tribal people-if we stop telling our stories we foreclose on our culture.”

— Witi Ihimaera

Witi Ihimaera our own literary hero, treasured story teller, award winning laureate opened the congress with an evocative message-With seemingly insurmountable challenges on every front-environmental, Geo-political, climate, social and cultural "we need to inspire our children so that they can save this world!"

Can it be that simple? Just look after and inspire children? Witi and I believe so.

But how do we get to them? What if they are not reading books? Witi’s inspired response-“Chase those mokopuna! Chase them and catch them up!” He urged his peers to embrace the many different modalities of storytelling now available and use them to “send the stories” after the children. Stories that tell them about where they come from, stories where they will recognise themselves and their people.

“Don’t be afraid of children empowered by stories-Indeed our world has little hope without them! ”

— Sheryl Clark, NZ

Sheryl Clark of Victoria University-An international fairy tale expert lamented the trepidation in publishers around dark tales for children. Stories where children are faced with fear and adversity but overcome darkness with resilience and spirit. She advocated for fantasy in our lives as an antidote to the challenges of real life and as a tool-real and effective.

Markus Zusak author of international best seller The Book Thief appeared as the concluding key note speaker. He shared with us, how his parents childhood stories, would mean he was armed to one day write a book that meant everything to him. He urged parents and grandparents to tell their stories to children, to arm them with tales which might aid them throughout their lives in ways yet unknown and unfathomed.

This quote comes from Dr. Darryn Joseph of AUT who spoke on the powerful role of storytelling in his relationship with his son. It does the best job of summing up the serendipitous (and totally unofficial) yet truly remarkable sub-theme of IBBY. These were the words he used to dedicate one of his own stories to his children.

“Wawatahia he ao pai ake i tēnei-Imagine a world better than this one”

— Dr. Darryn Joseph

Te haerenga pūtumu-The slow moving journey

Kia ora! Tino nui changes have been coming for our Reo Pēpi whānau. You may have been wondering how we have been managing to spend time in CHCH as much as Dunedin just lately. While Kirsten and the whāanau keep the ahi kaa stoked in Ōtēpoti. Dan, Tama and I have begun a long awaited haerenga around Aotearoa. Our motivations for this are:

1. Tāima-Time. Our lives move by so swiftly as we navigate the day to day. We hope to find a slower way for the couple of years we have before Tama begins kura.

2. Mātauranga-Education. We want to see people and places old and dear, new and fresh. Find new ways to live in communities other than our usual and own. Expose ourselves to new ways of being and thinking. Store up some ideas and skills for our future.

3. Aroha-Connection. We never see enough of certain people and places. Slowing down will allow us more time to spend that we don't usually have when were at home or on holidays.

You can read more of our paki o te pahi here at timetraveling :)

Heoi anō-and so...the journey has begun. As a choice consequence of all this, Reo Pēpi is also hitting the huarahi with us! Publishing is a seriously portable mode of mahi and so far so good, we have been enjoying Ōtautahi-Christchurch for the past six weeks. We haven't missed a beat in the daily grind for Reo Pēpi and best of all we are making connections with new bookshops, kōhunga, ECE's, whānau and libraries.

We swapped some pukapuka for some rawe sticky tohu with Steve from Afix Graphics to complete our new homes look and karanga to the country-Reo Pēpi is on the way!

We plan to see as much of Te Waipounamu and Te Ika a Maui as possible so if you would like a visit please let us know-we are on a very flexible schedule and were happy to make detours for Reo Pēpi fans anytime.

The wiki that was...

Ākina te Reo was the theme for 2016 Te wiki o te Reo Māori. It was a week of Mauri ora, positive vibes and having a go with our Reo. We thought it was mīharo (awesome) to be part of something everyone in Aotearoa seemed to be celebrating. We had some hard case confusion around deciphering the weather reports everynight. We heard some intimate shared stories of struggle and triumph from prominent Reo Māori Pou (Māori language leaders). We had heaps of fun using the reo out on the sports feild cheering on our tamariki and it all felt ka pai.

Kia kaha e hoa ma! Lets go team!

Kirsten and I were honoured to be asked along to present at a couple of Te wiki celebrations. I practised my pakiwaitara (stories) for the tamariki in Ōtautahi while Kirsten mesmerised whānau in Ōtepoti with her winning waiata.

E hika! After attending many Wā kōrero in this special place I was honoured to be the kaikōrero for Te wiki o te Reo Māori at New Brighton Library. Tama sat right up the front and heckled me all the way! Tautoko!

Ka mau! Kirsten made the papers with her performance at Te kete wānanga o Ōtepoti.

There is no audience tougher than 30 or so under 5's! Thanks Alpha Learning Centre hope you enjoy those pukapuka!

Wish it was te wiki all the tāima? Us too. We were inspired by our Reo Māori community and what others do to whakamana (revitalise) the reo on the daily in their lives and with their whānau. Here are some of our favourite inspirational resources found last week for Te wiki o te Rēo Māori!

A pono report on how its done (give it a go and learn from mistakes) by Julian Wilcox

10 tips to keep the Reo going in your home-By the nēnene (funny Nadine Miller)

Ngā pikitia ka wani kē-Flash cards and household images to stick errwhere! From the kings of tautoko-Lets learn Māori

Phrases to whakamana te mīharo (spread the wonder!)

Reo Pēpi visits Te rōpū kura kohungahunga at Otago University

Kirsten and I were fortunate to be invited along to meet the whānau at four of the Otago Universities Early Childhood Education Centres last month. We took along pukapuka, a suitcase of games and our guitar, and we had a great tākarokaro (fun and play!).

We sang waiata, read aloud, played dress ups and shared plenty of laughs. The tamariki were very engaged-way more than we even hoped for! They all showed us superb manaakitanga and even sang us some waiata too.

Our favourite part was visiting the pēpi in Te Maioha-they were truly mesmerised by our waiata māori so we sang and sang and sang :)

Ngā mihi nui to the tamariki and kaiako at Te rōpū kura and also to the wider whānau who support these tino ataahua centres! You all have a great wairua there.

Booksellers NZ Review

Booksellers NZ Reviews:

Kākahu–Getting Dressed, Kararehe–Animals; and Kanohi–My Face By Kitty Brown and Kirsten Parkinson

Posted on May 24, 2016

Available now from selected bookshops nationwide.

I have reviewed lots of books for Booksellers NZ now, and I know that it’s a good one when I go and talk to our school librarian Sam about them. We both love reading good novels and share recommendations; we also enjoy great children’s books, and Sam, bless her, will often take my recommendation from a review and order a copy for school.

I took these three books straight to Sam to ask her to order a set. I’d just read them to three 5 year-olds in our Te Reo Māori immersion class to test out an age level for them. Being board books, even though they were really engaging to me as a reader and language learner, I wondered if our youngest learners would think they were babyish. They most definitely did not.

My three young friends – all learning to read and speak Te Reo Māori – really loved the books. They enjoyed using their own knowledge of reading to work out the phrases by looking at the pictures and matching the words. They spontaneously acted out some of the phrases. They were excited to be able to actually be able to read new books.

Because these books are bilingual – Te Reo Māori and English – they will be accessible to most readers in New Zealand. It’s a great idea to make some simple vocabulary and phrases available to readers who only have a smattering of Te Reo Māori with the English translation underneath, and there’s a really helpful pronunciation guide with phonetic spelling at the back to help.

The illustrations are just gorgeous. The children look like real Kiwi kids, cheeky and mischievous and full of spirit; you feel like you could stroke the animals. And being board books, they are robust enough to grow with a baby or toddler into a child’s first year of school; although I think the books are too lovely to be chewed on!

I will be buying these books as gifts for newborns, and for early birthday presents – I think they’d be great for children who are up to 5 and a half. I think these are such a valuable addition to the wonderful pantheon of homegrown books that speak of New Zealand; every early learning centre should have the set. I really hope that Kitty Brown and Kirsten Parkinson will produce more!

Reviewed by Rachel Moore (New Entrance teacher)