Tama and the Taniwha product reviews

Mr Four's favourite song at his kindy is "I Saw A Taniwha" but this is the first time he has actually seen a book about one. He and his sister, Miss Five, were enchanted by the cover picture and there was a long discussion as to whether this Taniwha might be friendly or just plain scary! It was not long before Miss Five decided that the Taniwha was actually Grandma because she could see some similarities in the descriptions.

Mr Four thought that Tama's sisters were really mean and it was nasty of them to try to scare their brother. Miss Five agreed. The two siblings get on well, and neither approved of the way the girls were teasing Tama. Hopefully this attitude will continue as they get older! They were both delighted when the "Taniwha" scared the girls so they had to get out of the water, and they could not stop laughing. Mr Four was pleased that Tama was able to have a good time playing in the water with his grandma. He loves to spend time with his own grandmas, so could relate to Tama.

Both children liked the way that words in Te Reo were used throughout the book, and appreciated the translations at the foot of each page. Although Mr Four knew most of the words already, he was in fits of giggles when they encountered a new word (kumu). This is now one of his favourite words!

Miss Five continues to gain in confidence with her reading. She was able to read most of the story with minimal assistance, much to her delight. However, when she did encounter a new word, she was confident enough to ask for help. The layout of the book is conducive to effortless reading; the background colours are muted so they do not clash with the fonts used, and the lettering is reasonably big so a beginning reader can make out the words without difficulty. As for the illustrations, they mirror the water theme nicely, making it easy for children to visualise what is happening.

I liked the way the tables are turned on the sisters as they gang up to tease their little brother. In the end he gets the last laugh as he is able to turn things around and tease them instead! Teasing is normal in any family, but sometimes it goes too far and a smaller child may end up frightened and reluctant to take part in an activity because it might be scary. This story puts that teasing in perspective when an adult reassures the child that he has no need to be afraid. This is a delightful story for any young child who has a brother or sister prone to give him a hard time!