Pukapuka

'Pukapuka' is the latest book by author/illustrator Vasanti Unka, published in association with Auckland Council Libraries. This is a book designed to introduce children to the concept of libraries and everything they have to offer. Because of this, it worked great as a read-aloud when welcoming classes to our school library at the beginning of term 1.

I love that this book is bilingual, with readers having the choice of reading it in either te reo Māori or English. The book is light on text, leaving the pictures to tell the story. The illustrations are bright and colourful, representing people from a range of cultures, abilities and ages, and they supplement the story well.

The story is written entirely in conversation between 2 unnamed children, as child A and their family introduce child B to their local library and the things you can do there – both literal (“Clap, stomp dance, and sing!... Or, you can be quiet.”) and metaphorical (“Travel the world in your mind”). Children will recognise the covers and titles of other books they may already be familiar with in the illustrations.

While this book is great for talking about libraries, it could also be used as inspiration for an art project, or when discussing simile and metaphor.