Giant wētā stars in new picture book, and in a young girl's gumboots ...

 Koro Wētā

Heather Haylock

Illustrated by Sarah Trolle

Māori translation by Ngairo Eruera

What happens when a girl and a wētā find they both like to use the same gumboots

From bestselling children’s author Heather Haylock comes a bilingual tale of a girl and a giant wētā that will both entertain and educate young Kiwi readers.

It tells the story of a girl whose favourite footwear is her trusty gumboots. But every time she leaves them outside at night, a giant wētā decides to use them as a hiding place. 

 

What to do? Her parents encourage her to care for the wētā, whom they christen ‘Koro’ (Grandpa), and help her to fill the gumboots with newspaper to dissuade him. It doesn’t work, and nor does leaving Dad’s smelly socks inside. 

Readers will have to pick up the book to find how girl and wētā manage to get along — and they’ll be swept along by Heather’s words in English and Māori, with Sarah Trolle’s fun illustration and Ngairo Eruera's te reo translation.

A page of fun facts about the amazing wētā awaits at the end of this delightful picture book, out in good bookstores now. A free teacher resource will be available for download from the Oratia Books website 

  

The author

Heather Haylock is the proud author of several picture books, both fiction and non-fiction, including the bestselling Granny McFlitter series. She lives with her family in Auckland; see https://www.heatherhaylock.nz 

The illustrator

Sarah Trolle is a primary school teacher and illustrator who works in a range of media. She has illustrated books by authors including David Riley and Erin Munro. She lives with her family in Nelson.

The translator

Ngairo Eruera is a senior lecturer at The University of Waikato and Te Wānanga o Aotearoa in Tauranga. A registered translator and advocate for te reo Māori, he lives with his whānau in Katikati.

Publication: 8 July 2025  |  ISBN: 978-1-99-004269-0 | RRP $22.99

Paperback, 270 x 210 mm portrait, 32 pages, colour