New Nanny Mihi book shares gardening wisdom with kids ahead of Matariki

 

Publishing ahead of Matariki, Nanny Mihi's Harvest/Te Hauhake a Nanny Mihi is the perfect book to learn about growing a garden, harvesting, and sharing food — letting tamariki (kids) and whānau (families) explore the significance of harvesting for the Māori New Year.

 

When her mokopuna arrive for the spring school holidays, Nanny Mihi enlists their help to plant seeds in her garden. 

As they return each season, the kids see their labours bear fruit, helping Nanny harvest, cook and preserve all the produce. 

When a gardening disaster strikes, in Winter, the hard work they put in earlier means that there’s still enough kai for a soup that tastes like ‘Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter’. 

Author Melanie Drewery shares the values of growing our own food, informed by respect for the Maramataka (Māori lunar calendar).

 

With this fourth book, the fast-growing Nanny Mihi series is becoming a perennial for Kiwi kids. 

Like the previous story, Nanny Mihi’s Medicine/Ngā Rongoā a Nanny Mihi, this new release is fully bilingual, beautifully illustrated by West Auckland-based artist Suzanne Simpson and superbly translated by Rotoiti-based Kanapu Rangitauira. 

A teacher resource is available at this link to assist with reading in class. 

The authors

Melanie Drewery (Ngāti Māhanga) works as a potter and writer from her home in Māpua, Nelson. She is an established children’s writer with over 20 titles to her name, including Nanny Mihi and the Rainbow and Nanny Mihi and the Bellbird. 

Suzanne Simpson is an artist who has illustrated numerous picture books and educational texts for children. She lives with her family in Titirangi, Auckland. 

Kanapu Rangitauira (Te Arawa, Ngāti Porou, Te Whakatōhea) is a registered translator and teacher of te reo. He lives with his whānau in Rotoiti, Rotorua. 

Publication: 4 June 2024 | ISBN: 978-1-99-004257-7 | RRP $21.00

Paperback, 230 x 215 mm portrait, 32 pages, colour

The story of Ratana retold to the present day in smart illustrated book

Ratana the Prophet

Keith Newman

 

Timely revised edition of Ratana biography highlights lasting legacy of the church and movement he founded

When politicians descend onto a small pā near Whanganui every January to kick off the political year, the Ratana name is on everyone’s lips. 

The prophet T.W. Ratana

Yet the life of Tahupotiki Wiremu Ratana, and the history and workings of his church and movement, are less known.

At a time where co-governance and The Treaty of Waitangi are at the centre of political debate, the revised edition of Ratana the Prophet is a timely publication. 

Keith Newman tells Ratana’s life story, from his early days as a hard-working farmer, heavy drinker and gambler to the ‘divine’ encounters where he picked up the mantle of earlier Māori prophets, turning the people from fear and superstition and healing them physically. 

 

Between the two world wars he travelled the country and the world championing Māori mana, and the restoration of Te Tiriti o Waitangi/The Treaty of Waitangi as Aotearoa New Zealand’s founding document.

One of the superb Ans Westra photos that illustrate Ratana the Prophet

Newman carefully traces the activities and influence of the Ratana movement from its foundation in 1918 to the present-day community of around 40,000 followers, and offers a comprehensive account of the lasting impact of Ratana’s spiritual, social and political vision.

 

Based on more than 20 years of research and interviews, this revised edition of the original 2009 publication is updated to take in the events of the 2010s and early 2020s. It includes previously undisclosed material, much of it translated into English for the first time.

For more information and commentary, check out these reports on the book from Te Ao Māori News and E-Tangata. 

The author

Keith Newman is a writer with 50 years’ experience across mainstream, trade, business and music media. He began his research into the life of T.W. Ratana in 1986, leading two decades later to his books Ratana Revisited (2006) and the original Ratana the Prophet (2009). Keith has two children and six grandchildren, lives with his wife Paula in Haumoana, Hawke’s Bay.

Publication: 7 May 2024  |  ISBN: 978-1-99-004258-4 | RRP $45.00

Paperback, 230 x 153 mm portrait, 284 pages, colour and b&w