Whenua: Māori Pūrākau of Aotearoa

'Whenua' is a book that takes a simple concept and executes it extremely well. It is a book about the land of Aotearoa and the pūrākau of how it came to be, how the land was formed and some the first peoples to walk upon it. Isobel Joy Te Aho-White is well known as an illustrator and has won awards for her work. This is her first published book where she has created the whole package and she has proven to also be a wonderful writer.

Whenua is written in English with a heavy smattering of Māori terms. Te -Aho White is writing for a New Zealander audience; she assumes we know a little bit already and she uses inclusive language. The pūrākau are mapped out on the two main islands of Aotearoa at the beginning of the book and the reader travels across the country with each tale.

Each pūrākau is about 5-10 pages long and every single page is beautifully illustrated in a lush palette. Readers will be familiar with some of the pūrākau but the details that Te-Aho White includes are special and make the book feel like a wise family member passing on a secret. She really highlights her historical knowledge with details about the flora and fauna. The details about the food are great, the kumara and coconut that came on the waka from Hawaiki and mashed cabbage tree stem served by giants in a cave. There are a few magical characters, taniwha and tūrehu and patupaiarehe as well as impressive explorers, beautiful and sassy wives, fiery sisters, inquisitive kids and gossipy whales.

Whenua is a treasure for families to keep and collect along with the others she is planning to publish, as this is the first of a set of books of pūrakau that Te Aho-White will be making and putting out with Little Moa.