There’s a Tui in our teapot
Author: Dawn, McMillian
Illustrator: Nikki, Slade Robinson
Translator: Ngaere, Roberts
Publisher: Oratia Books
ISBN: 978-0-947506-47-6
RRP: $24.99
Format: Hardback
Date of publication: October 2018
Reviewer's name: Louana McCormack
Reviewer's Job title: Librarian
Reviewer's School Name: Opaheke School
How highly are you recommending this book? Highly recommended
I can’t imagine how I’d react if there was a Tui in my teapot? But with each turn of the page we are introduced to another native New Zealand bird causing havoc in Nan’s kitchen and the Tui in the teapot is just the beginning of the mayhem! The vibrant, detailed illustrations by Nikki Slade Robinson make the birds pop off the page, each bird caught in action of doing something greedy and destructive in the kitchen. I loved the hilarious text, ‘The kitchen floor is slippery.... Kahu has done the splits!’ and makes it a fabulous read aloud. I tripped up on a few of the bird’s names, beside the common Te Reo names that are part of our everyday language, Tui, Pukeko and Weka there are also those that are not so common such as, Putangitangi (Paradise duck), Tauhou (Silver eyes) but after reading this book I am determined to try and add them to my vocabulary.
There is a fabulous two page spread at the end of the book titled ‘Pecks and pieces’ that gives some more information and facts about the birds, ‘Kaka are mainly daylight birds but can be active at night during fine weather of a full moon’. For information hungry readers these pages will be a hit.
‘There’s a Tui in our teapot’ is one of those books I’ll be picking up time and time again to read to classes, it’s bright, funny and a crowd pleaser!