Shelley Burne-Field
Allen & Unwin

Poto is the perfect fledgling – the apple of her father's eye and a natural at hunting and flying. Anything a kāhu is supposed to be good at, Poto can do it best of all. She can't understand why her sister Whetū gets cross with her – it's not her fault she's good at everything! As for her baby brother Ari, he's so weird and annoying.

After their mother is killed by a flock of magpies, Poto and Whetū have to get an injured Ari to safety before a deadly foretold earthquake arrives, unleashing a flood and destroying their home. 

Will they make it to safety in time?

Linda Tuhiwai Smith & Isobel Joy Te Aho-White
Huia Publishers

Since he was born, Riwia’s baby brother, Tawa, has been in Auckland Hospital, and his family has come to stay in Auckland. While Riwia goes to school and Dad works as a cook, Mum stays with Tawa. Their Aunty Sue’s house is full, and renting is expensive, so Riwia and her parents live in a van, the Stargazer, in the park. Sometimes it’s scary at night when people shout at them in the park, but the weekend is good when they go to Aunty Sue’s and Dad cooks a boil-up and they all have a shower. But Tawa is getting sicker, and he dies. The family travels back to Te Teko, taking Tawa to the marae for his tangi and burial. Riwia learns about the journey Tawa’s spirit will make to farewell Aotearoa and join the waka of stars that gathers the spirits of the dead. And at Matariki, the family remembers Tawa and gathers to see his spirit burning brightly as a star.

This book is written in te reo Māori.

Chemutai Glasheen
Fremantle Press

This enticing collection of contemporary fiction is a celebration of our ubuntu: the invisible ties that bind us all together.

From ancient forest guardians to modern cultural warriors, from grappling with age-old traditions to championing hair identity, these evocative stories explore the duality of Kenyan life and how to find a way between two cultures, both of which are yours.

Chemutai Glasheen’s unforgettable characters are drawn from her early life in Africa with all its richness, diversity, and complexity.

Melanie Koster & Monica Koster
Scholastic

Tama is down at the lake with his sisters and grandparents. When his sisters tease him about a taniwha being in the river, Tama hesitates to go in, and questions whether taniwha are real. His sisters keep teasing that the taniwha will nibble his toes and eat him. Grandma is already in the water and encourages him to come in. As he wades deeper, his sisters keep telling him not to, saying that the taniwha is close by. Tama takes a deep breath and dives in anyway. While he is under the water, we see the outline of something – or someone (could it be Grandma?) – tugging at the toes of the sisters on their inflatables. The girls rush to shore in a panic, thinking there actually is a taniwha in the water. Meantime, Tama meets up with his grandmother out in the lake and the two of them spend the afternoon playing in the water. Tama gains confidence, enough to start teasing his sisters to come back into the lake – but warning them that the taniwha likes big sisters the most!

This book is written in te reo Māori.

Angie Belcher & Lily Uivel
Scholastic

Enter to win both the English and te reo Māori editions of Pipi Dance!

Shuffle to the left, then shuffle to the right. Twist your hips from side to side, with all your might. 

Wriggle and shuffle along with Mumma and Bubs as they do a happy pipi dance to gather kai from the moana for their picnic dinner with the whanau.

Trudie Trewin & Lavanya Naidu
Scholastic

We share a hug, with shiny eyes. ‘I love you, house,’ I cry. We all hold hands and walk through the door ... 

One home can tell many stories in this heartwarming, reversible tale about family, togetherness, and moving on to new beginnings.