Ta te Kiwi 123 Puka Tatau product reviews

Learning the alphabet and counting are among the first skills we learn as children. In New Zealand, with Te Reo Maori as an official language, it is important that we can also count in Te Reo. As a Year 4 teacher, the majority of my students can count to 10 but still have to think and do a quick translation on their fingers. I thought this may be an excellent resource for them to use and become more proficient.

I have not seen the English version, The Great Kiwi 123 Book, but if it's anything like Ta te Kiwi 123 Puka Tatau, it's a great book! The front cover is attractive with bold colours and a large kiwi and sheep... typically associated with New Zealand. Featured inside the front cover are pictures that appear throughout the book with the te reo kupu underneath. We have beautifully illustrated ngata (snail), aihikirimi (ice cream), wheke (octopus) and a noke (worm)! Each page features the numerical number, the kupu in te reo, and then a sentence in te reo, for example, 6 nga hipi tirikohu waehere (6 sheep bungy jumping).

My class loved reading this aloud and we would read the number in te reo and then repeat the sentence. To consolidate our learning, we would count the objects/ animals again until we got to our total. The tamariki absolutely loved the illustrations which were bright, cartoon-like, and fun to look at (I particularly loved the eel's expressions!) I also liked the fact it went up to 20 and didn't just stop at 10. The last page features a class photo of 20 students from all ethnicities which really highlights New Zealand's diverse multi-cultural population. There is humour in the picture with a kid picking his nose, one blowing a gum bubble, and one playing with a yoyo - a typical Primary School class photo!

Overall, this was a hit with my class and my own older children. It had humour, was educational, and was beautifully presented. A must for any New Zealander with kids!

Counting is often the first step to learning a new language. For the child making his first steps into the world of Te Ao Maori, this new publication is an amazing resource. The colourful pages with their bold graphics make the accompanying text easy to follow, and the detail in each drawing means that there is something new to see each time. I shared this book with two of my friend's grandchildren - although Maori, they have grown up in the city and are only now discovering their reo. Their grandmother, who is completely bilingual, welcomed this book as a way to introduce them to their heritage.

Mr Seven, who is able to read simple English texts already, was soon sounding out the words for himself. This was a delightful experience as he was absorbed in the text, showing great pride in mastering the new words. We could almost see the virtual light bulb glowing above his head as he persisted! Mr Five was content to listen to his older brother and look at the words, repeating them to himself.

Both my friend and I loved the illustrated wordlist on the inside front cover. Looking at the pictures with the children made it easier to find the same words within the context of the story. We made a game of it with Mr Five, pointing at the items in turn to see if he could remember the Maori words. There were plenty of giggles as he called the wakakari a taraihikara and then got upset because he thought we were making fun of him. We had to speedily reassure him!

All four of us loved the way that the animals in the book are all part of the Aotearoa New Zealand landscape, whether as introduced farm animals or wild creatures indigenous to this country. Our favourites were the naughty kea at work trashing a car. I have had personal experience of driving in the south of Te Waipounamu (the South Island) and chasing kea from my own car. They are such cheeky birds, and Donovan Bixley has captured their antics to great effect in this drawing.

The last page in the book (rua tekau) was the other page that really caught our attention. It shows a "class photo" of typical kiwi kids which demonstrates beautifully the diversity of our population, both ethnically and culturally. It includes a range of toys, sporting equipment, and other items like a violin and a lollipop. As one might expect, the class characters are in the back row - one picking his nose, one making a cheeky gesture to the photographer, and one with her hand in the waistband of her track pants.

Although this is a book for those learning to read and/or those learning te reo Maori as beginners, it is so creatively designed that it would appeal to children (and adults!) who are already fluent because of its attractive presentation. As a piece of kiwiana it deserves a place on every child's bookshelf and in every primary school classroom.