Correcting common errors in te reo Māori for all levels of students and speakers

Ngā Hapa Reo: Common Māori Language Errors
Hona Black and Te Aorangi Murphy-Fell

Bilingual addition to Oratia’s te reo reference series explains and corrects common errors in Māori

Māori language teachers and consultants Hona Black and Te Aorangi Murphy-Fell hear a lot of common errors in te reo, not only in the courses they teach but also among fluent speakers. 

That motivated the pair to write Ngā Hapa Reo, making readers aware of common Māori language errors and how to right them, so that the reo can flourish in the future.

 

From choosing between awhi and āwhina, to the importance of tohutō (macrons), to whether to address a friend as ‘Hēmi’ or ‘e Hēmi’ — the new book deals with word choice, grammar, interference from English and more. It profiles more than 150 common errors, with explanations about how to correct them.

Chapter openings are in Māori on left-hand pages and English on the right, while examples are profiled on one page, making this bilingual book accessible to readers of all levels of fluency.

 

Ngā Hapa Reo adds to Oratia's language reference series, which includes Hona's books He Iti te Kupu: Māori Metaphors and Similes and Te Reo Kapekape: Māori Wit and Humour.

Published in time for Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, this new work fills a gap in the market for language resources. 

The authors

Hona Black (Tūhoe, Te Whānau a Apanui, Ngāti Tūwharetoa) lectures on teaching for Māori medium schools at Massey University, Palmerston North. This is his third book about te reo Māori. Hona lives in Porirua with his partner and their son. 

Te Aorangi Murphy-Fell (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Apa) is a Māori language and education consultant for Haemata Limited. He has a keen interest in governance and holds several directorships. Te Aorangi lives in Whakatāne with his family.

Publication: 2 September 2024 | ISBN: 978-1-99-004259-1 | RRP $39.99

Paperback, 210 x 148 mm portrait, 196 pages, b&w

Homegrown graphic novel takes the Duffy Books in Homes message to young readers

Duffy and the Bullies
Jeff Szusterman
Illustrated by Ant Sang

Every year the Duffy Books in Homes theatre group visits hundreds of Kiwi schools, sharing the messages It’s Cool to Read and Cool to Achieve while building a keen following for the show’s hero, Duffy. 

It's part of the outstanding work Duffy Books in Homes has done for 30 years to connect children with books.  

Now one of those plays comes to the world in a graphic novel, the trendy reading format for children and teenagers worldwide.

Actor and director Jeff Szusterman reworked Lauren Jackson’s  Duffy and the Cloakroom Bully play into a story told in speech bubbles with graphics created by legendary cartoonist Ant Sang. 

There’s bullying at school, where the jealous and troubled Ashlee is picking on the lonely, luckless 11-year-old Marama. Into the fray steps Duffy, the cool Māori kid who’s captain of the school rugby team, as well as a keen reader.

By sharing wisdom from his book of the moment, The Hallowe’en Hassler (which features in Ant’s designs) — and encouraging Marama’s talents on the rugby field — Duffy helps to create an unlikely friendship between Marama and Ashlee.

Duffy and the Bullies hits the bookshelves early in school term 3, coinciding with the 30^th anniversary of Duffy Books in Homes.

The authors

Jeff Szusterman is an actor, director and teacher. For the past decade he has developed and directed theatre shows for Duffy Books in Homes. This is his first book. Jeff lives with his family in Waitakere, Auckland. 

Ant Sang is a cartoonist based in Auckland, who has authored award-winning graphic novels that have published internationally. He also works  in film, TV and theatre, and was lead designer on the TV show bro’Town. 

Lauren Jackson is a playwright, filmmaker, drama tutor and actor who has written many plays for Duffy Books in homes. This book is based on her play Duffy and the Cloak Bay Bully.

Publication: 6 August 2024 | ISBN: 978-1-99-004256-0 | RRP $25.99

Paperback, 229 x 160 mm portrait, 88 pages, colour

From Hawai'i to Aotearoa, new book shares the joy of Pacific toes in English and Samoan

Island Toes
Tamatama'i Vae o Motu

Christin Lozano
Illustrated by Mariko Merritt
Translated by Suzie-Jo Rasmussen

Toes are toes wherever you go, but toes around the Pacific Islands have even more things in common. 

 

They may be flipper toes or jandal toes, clean toes or highchair toes, snorkel toes or swimming underway toes — all around the Pacific, you know that you have island toes. 

This colourfully illustrated book takes young readers on a journey around the South Pacific — no shoes needed! 

First published in Hawai’i by Bess Press, Island Toes now reaches the South Pacific in Samoan as well as New Zealand English. 

Auckland teacher Suzie-Jo Rasmussen completed the Samoan translation for this, the newest addition to Oratia’s Moana Oceania series of books about the Pacific. 

And in honour of its US origins, the book is publishing on 4 July.

The authors

Christin Lozano began her career as a teacher and then became a children’s librarian. Having read hundreds of stories about kids in other places themes, she decided to write her own story for Pacific children.  A long-term resident of Hawai’i, Christin now lives in San Diego.

Mariko Merritt is a Hawaiian artist, book illustrator and graphic designer. Mariko works in a Honolulu bookshop, while making art, ceramics and picture books.

Suzie-Jo Rasmussen is an ESOL/bilingual specialist teacher. A resident of Oratia, Auckland, Suzie has been translating books and creating Samoan resources for children in bilingual education for more than 20 years. 

Publication: 4 July 2024 | ISBN: 978-1-99-004245-4 | RRP $21.00

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

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

Oratia Books Catalogue 2024 out now

The Oratia Books Catalogue 2024 is out now in print and digital form.

This year we're delighted to profile 16 books alongside a growing backlist, as the introduction below outlines.

Thanks once more to Cheryl Smith for the catalogue design, and Simon and team at Haysom Print for the print job. 

Click here to view or download the PDF, or to request a print copy please email info@oratia.co.nz

Welcome to this catalogue for Oratia Books’ new titles for 2024 and our growing backlist of published works. 

Here are authors, illustrators and stories that resonate wherever you read. To take a sample: Richard Wolfe traces the culture of ‘kiwi’ and ‘Kiwi’, Melanie Drewery and Suzanne Simpson share Nanny Mihi’s gardening wisdom, while Jeff Szusterman and Ant Sang serve up a graphic novel with a message. 

Diverse views speak from our first release — the ebullient Rere Atu Taku Poi! Let My Poi Fly! — through to the landmark Ngāi Tahu history of the West Coast, Poutini (an image from that book features on the cover). 

From our base in Oratia we continue to explore internationally. Two additions to the bestselling New Bum! series are publishing globally as well as Down Under, while the Moana Oceania series brings content in Fijian and Samoan as well as English. 

Bilingual te reo Māori and English is the standard for many books, including the new language resource Ngā Hapa Reo. 

Thanks for reading on.

Bologna Children's Book Fair 2024 expands international reach for Oratia authors and illustrators

What an outstanding four days it has been at the Bologna Children's Book Fair 2024. 

Oratia Books again joined colleagues from around Aotearoa on the New Zealand collective stand in Hall 25 of this major meeting ground for children's books — alongside over 1500 other exhibitors from around the world.

Bologna, the bustling capital of Italy's prosperous Emilia-Romagna region, turned on great weather for all but one day, accompanied by its superlative food and wine for business dinners late into the evenings.

The Bologna fairgrounds were packed, especially on Tuesday 9th, and the Aotearoa NZ stand led by PANZ member services manager Katherine Shanks was a busy scene of enquiries and encounters. 

The Aotearoa New Zealand stand, ably managed by PANZ's Katherine Shanks (at work at bottom right)

Stand set-up and social meetings occupied the weekend, with the fair proper running from Monday to Thursday.

Our experience confirmed the Bologna Children's Book Fair (BCBF) analysis, that the fair and the children's book trade are back to levels not seen since the Covid-19 pandemic. 

There were 31,735 professional visitors across the four days, an increase of 10% on last year (this video gives a snapshot of the busy, global traffic on the opening morning).

For Oratia Books I completed about 40 meetings during the fair days (helped by organisational whizz Juliet Dreaver), with most of our major partners, agents and suppliers covered plus some exciting new discoveries. 

It was also a thrill to walk the halls with Maria Leonardi, the Rome-based publishing expert who is now helping Oratia with its international rights activity. 

With Maria Leonardi – a great publishing friend and, like me, a dual Italian and New Zealand citizen

Slovenia was this year's guest of honour, showcasing on its children's authors and also (following the fair's traditional focus on illustration) with a major exhibition of art in the main lobby. 

There is no substitute for meeting face-to-face to make and renew business relationships, and no better way to present books (a 3D, tactile product in which content is but one factor) than around a table. 

It's gratifying to see how with fair attendance each year, our authors, illustrators and creative team gain more recognition internationally, and sales potential expands.

Clockwise from top left: celebrating the success of Dawn McMillan and Ross Kinnaird’s New Bum series with our US partners, Patty Sullivan (left) and Betina Cochran of Dover Publications; with querido amigo and our Latin American agent Pablo de la Vega; catching up with Latvian illustrator Elīna Braslina and US-Spanish author and translator Lawrence Schimel, creators of our board books Bedtime, Not Playme and Early One Morning; and meeting one of the courageous Ukrainian contingent, Olha Pisotska (centre) of Ranok Publishing, alongside New Zealand’s Juliet Dreaver. 

Now to the weeks of following up with exchange of materials and ideas, and the months of exchanges and negotiations that will be approaching conclusion by the time of the next big event on the publishing fair calendar, the Frankfurt Book Fair in October. 

Arrivederci Bologna, until next year

— Peter Dowling, Publisher