Te Kai Kōhua Nui

Ko te kaupapa o tēnei pukapuka, ko tērā kai rongonui, ko te Kai Kōhua! Nā te pakiwaitara nei ka whakaako a Māmā me pēhea te tunu i te kai kōhua. He pai tēnei pukapuka hei whakaako i ngā kupu o te kāuta, me pēhea te hauhake, te whakarite hoki i ngā kai. Ko tētahi mea tino pai ki ahau, he kai hauora ēnei kīnaki katoa.

Nā Zak Ātea ngā pikitia whakaari ātaahua, e whakanui ana i te mahi tunu kai. E hapū ana te māmā i roto i ngā pikitia – kāore e tino kitea ana tērā i roto i ngā pukapuka whakaahua. He pikitia hoki o ngā mahi māra, mahi hauhake me ngā mahi mahinga kai. He muramura ngā pikitia, he rerehua.

He rauemi pai tēnei mō ngā whānau reo-Māori, ngā Kōhanga Reo me ngā kura. He pukapuka pai hei pānui i te wā tunu kai. He pukapuka pai hei tāpiri ki tētahi kaupapa ako tunu-kai, kaupapa ako hauora rānei i te kura, i te kōhanga reo. He kuputaka hoki kei muri i te pukapuka hei āwhina i ngā whānau ki te ako i ngā kupu hou. He rawe te pukapuka nei!

This book is a celebration of that kai-classic – the boil-up! Through the narrative, Māmā teaches her daughter how to prepare a boil-up. This book is great for learning the vocabulary of cooking and delves into food preparation. I really appreciate how the ingredients of the boil-up are all healthy foods.

The illustrations by Zak Ātea are lovely and celebrate the act of cooking. I really like that the mother is depicted as being pregnant – we don’t often see depictions of pregnant women in stories. The illustrations also include pictures of gardening and food gathering practices. The colours are bright and attractive.

This is a great resource for whānau reo-Māori, kōhanga reo and schools. This would be a great book to read while actually cooking. It could easily be used in a kohanga or classroom as part of a unit about cooking or health.
There is also a glossary in the back of the book to help whānau to expand their reo. He rawe te pukapuka nei! What a fantastic book!