How Maui Fished up the North Island (#1 Tales of Aotearoa)

Author(s): Donovan Bixley; Darryn Joseph

Picture Books

In this fresh retelling of How Māui Fished Up the North Island, Donovan Bixley applies his unique twists and trademark humour to this much-treasured story. Māui is reimagined as a cheeky younger brother, on the type of hilarious fishing trip with the whanau that will be familiar to many Kiwi youngsters. “I wanted my book to focus on the part of Māui who is tinihanga and pōtiki – the smallest brother and cheeky trickster. He’s the type of character a lot of children can connect with and I hope they are going to really love reading this book because it has a lot of attitude in it,” says Donovan. Underneath the fun, is a real desire to honour the cultural significance and importance of Māui. Donovan worked under the guidance of Dr Darryn Joseph, who also translated the te reo edition, along with Keri Opai.  


Product Information

Donovan Bixley is an illustrator and writer based in Taupo. Donovan has numerous bestsellers to his name, including the recent Much Ado About Shakespeare. Donovan created Pussycat, Pussycat (2015), Little Bo Peep(2014), The Wheels on the Bus (2010)and Old Macdonald’s Farm (2011) and The Great Kiwi ABC (2016). Dr Darryn Joseph is a lecturer in te reo at Massey university. He has authored over 23 books; mainly textbooks and chapter books for Māori immersion education. He has won the Huia Short Stories Award for te reo Māori and the LIANZA Librarian Te Kura Pounamu Award for “most distinguished contribution to literature for children and young adults written in Te Reo Māori. Keri Opai is a life-long educator, teaching Māori language and culture in kōhanga reo (under 5 language nests), primary and secondary school, polytechnic, wānanga (Māori university) and mainstream university as well as community-based organisations. He is a licensed interpreter and hold a Master’s degree in Māori knowledge systems.

General Fields

  • : 9781988516189
  • : Upstart Press
  • : Upstart Press Ltd
  • : August 2018
  • : books

Special Fields

  • : Donovan Bixley; Darryn Joseph
  • : Paperback
  • : Donovan Bixley
  • : English
  • : 398.20993
  • : 24