Sharing Our Stories books back in print, with new Teacher Resources online

The second and third books in Malcolm Paterson's Sharing Our Stories books are now back in print.

The Tunnel in our Backyard tells the story of heritage in the Mount Albert, Owairaka and Point Chevalier areas of Auckland. 

The Taniwha in our Backyard focuses on the southern Kaipara from Helensville to Muriwai. 

The reprints join the latest in the series, The River in our Backyard (published in 2022) and the first, The Castle in our Backyard (2010). 

Sharing Our Stories began life as a project by the Future Auckland Leaders programme, aiming to show young readers the rich heritage that lives 'in our backyard'. 

The stories follow cousins Tui and Jennifer and their whānau on adventures in various locations around Auckland.

Malcolm has developed Teacher Resources for both the reprinted books, which can be downloaded for free from the new, dedicated page on the Oratia Books website. 

While the stories are situated in Auckland, the themes of environmental care, value of Māori and Pākehā histories, respect for other cultures and active recreation resonate wherever children might need persuasion to drop their devices and head into their backyards. 

The Tunnel in our Backyard | ISBN: 978-0-947506-04-9

The Taniwha in our Backyard | ISBN: 978-0-947506-46-9

RRP $22.99 Paperback, 284 x 208 mm portrait, 32 pages, colour

Book giveaway: The Tunnel in our Backyard (2016)

There have been many book launches during Oratia’s 10 years of publishing but to date only one has taken place underground. 

On a crisp night in June 2016, suitably attired guests joined author Malcolm Paterson and illustrator Hana Maihi to launch The Tunnel in our Backyardin a subterranean lava tunnel in the Auckland suburb of Mount Eden. 

Malcolm (second from left) and Hana (centre) with supporters at the launch

The book was the second in the Sharing our Stories series, which Malcolm and a group of emerging Auckland leaders initiated with the 2010 picture book The Castle in our Backyard to connect young readers with the heritage around them. 

The Tunnel in our Backyard follows two young cousins, Jennifer and Tui, as they discover the history around them with their whānau, and trace the footsteps of Māori and European ancestors (including the lava tunnels around Mount Albert). 

Malcolm, who belongs to Ngāti Whātua of Auckland and the Kaipara, authored a third in the series with The Taniwha in our Backyard (2018), which is based in the Kaipara region. 

He will be appearing at the Going West Writers Festival on Sunday 8 September. 

Visit our Fb Page to be in to win a copy of  The Tunnel in our Backyard. Prize available to New Zealand residents only. 

Competition closes on Tuesday 22 July, and winner announced on Wednesday 23 July.