Te Kura Huna o te Aranga / Easter Surprise

“Mehemea ka moemoeā ahau, ko ahau anake. Mehemea ka moemoeā tātou, ka taea e tātou.”
- Nā Te Puea Kirihaehae Hērangi

Koinei te ngako o te pukapuka nei ki ahau. Ko te aronga ki te mahi ngātahi, ki te manawanui hei oranga, hei hāpai i te whānau whānui. Ahakoa te uauatanga o te mahi, ka haere tonu te punua rāpeti ki te awhina i tōna Māmā, ā, ka rongo ia, ka kite ia, ka whiwhi ia i ngā hua nā tāna mahi auaha.

Ko te pukapuka ‘Te Kura Huna o te Aranga’ he pūrākau anō nā te punipuni puka ‘E oma, Rāpeti’. He pukapuka reo rua tēnei. Kāore anō ahau kia kite i ētahi pitopito korero nā te kaiwhakaputa, mā ngā kaiako hei hoa haere mō te pukapuka nei. I whakamahi te kaitā pikitia, a Kimberley Andrews, i te pūmanawa tautono Procreate me Adobe mā ngā whakaahua, ā, he ātaahua hoki, he tino pīwari ērā. He āwhina nui ngā whakaahua ki te hāpai i ngā kare ā-roto, te pārekarekatanga o te pūrākau. Kei te tino pai te pukapuka nei ki ngā tamariki e hiahia ana ki te rapu taonga, ki te tākaro tahi, ki te hia hēki tiakereti hoki!

He tauira pai te pūrākau nei mā te whakatauki ‘Poipoia te kākano kia puāwai.’ He pūrākau mīharo tēnei mā te katoa o ngā whānau kia whakaohooho i tō tātou momo ahurea manāki. Anei taku mihi mahana ki te kaituhi, ki a Norah Wilson, kia piki taku ngākau nā te pūrākau nei. Nā Paania Papa i huri te pūrākau ki te reo Māori, ā, ko tētehi o ngā rerenga āna, he rawe tonu ki a au, ko tēnei ‘Kia mahi tahi tāua’.

‘Easter Surprise’ is the latest book in the Run, Rabbit series of books. It is a bilingual story following the adventures of a very sweet, very cute, very relatable young rabbit. Kimberley Andrews uses Procreate and Photoshop for the illustrations. These pictures add whimsy, and beautiful detail throughout the book helping us see and feel the expressions of each of the characters. This story particularly appeals to young readers, to young children whom enjoy scavenger hunts, having fun and chocolate eggs!

The main themes of this story for me are how much joy we bring to our lives and how much we can achieve when we work together, when we do things for our collective wellbeing, when we help each other and how much fun we have along the way. Exactly the type of culture we strive for in our collective communities. A fun and uplifting story with simple language and beautiful illustrations.