Nag Tai Korero means the currents of speech, a reference to the Maori tradition of oral storytelling. This book retells in simple form fourteen Maori stories and myths that have been passed down over centuries.
Traditional Maori Legends
Oceania
Materials from Oceania
One Minute’s Silence
On the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I, David Metzenthen asks, “What is the true meaning of remembering?” This is a powerful and moving picture book for older readers about the “one minute’s silence” observed in Australia on Remembrance Day, and what Gallipoli means to Australians in this context.
How the Sun Got to Coco’s House
While Coco sleeps far away, the sun creeps over a hill and skids across the water, touching a fisherman’s cap. It heads out over frozen forests, making shadows in a child’s footprints, and balances on an airplane’s wing for a little boy to see. The sun crosses cities and countrysides, wakes furry creatures, makes a desert rainbow, and barges into Coco’s room to follow her through a day of play.
Noni The Pony Goes To The Beach
In rhyming text, Noni the pony and her friends, Dave Dog and Coco the cat, spend the day at the beach.
Yak And Gnu
Meet Yak and Gnu. Two best friends who love to row and sing. But who will they meet on their journey down the river? This hilarious rhyming tale is full of adventurous animals and boats galore.
As I Grew Older
An autobiographical picture story book by an Aboriginal artist who recreates his experiences as a child growing up on the banks of the Murray River and surviving, with his family, through traditional skills.
The Bantam and the Soldier
It is wartime. In the midst of the fighting and devastation, an unusual friendship is formed.
Blu’s Hanging
On the Hawaiian island of Molokai, life goes on for the three young Ogata children after the death of their mother and subsequent emotional withdrawal of their grief and guilt-stricken “Poppy.” The eldest at 13, Ivah is now responsible for the safety and well-being of tiny Maisie, vulnerable and mute since their mother’s passing; and for Blu, her uncontainable brother whose desperate need for love has made him vulnerable to the most insidious of relationships.
Black Rainbow
Set in a future New Zealand where only the Citizen who asks no questions can achieve happiness, a renegade hero seeks to rescue his family in the State-sponsored Game of Life.
Potiki (Talanoa)
This compelling novel will resonate for people everywhere who find their livelihood threatened by “Dollarmen” – property speculators advocating golf courses, high rises, shopping malls, and tourist attractions. In ‘Potiki’, one community’s response to attacks on their ancestral values and symbols provides moving affirmation of the relationship between land the the people who live on it.