Blog Posts - Flaxroots Productions

Refreshing take from a poet

11/11/2021

ngā whakamatuatanga / interludes
by Vaughan Rapatahana

Vaughan Rapatahana’s latest book titled ngā whakamatuatanga / interludes, is a refreshing take from a poet. His vivid thoughts, memories and opinions create an opening into his mind. Unlike many poets whose extravagant words often guard the true feelings of a poet.
Vaughan Rapatahana (Te Ātiawa) writes in multiple genres – chiefly poetry, criticism and commentaries – in both his main languages, te reo Māori and English. He graduated with a PhD (on Colin Wilson) from the University of Auckland and has published several poetry collections both here and overseas.
Vaughan’s latest collection ngā whakamatuatanga / interludes appeared in 2019. It is a sequence of six parts that go deep into human experience, draw upon multiple languages and exhilarating linguistic effects. You move with the sky, rain, trees, from home to home, from the Christchurch attacks to collecting driftwood, to a Waitangi dawn.
  ngā whakamatuatanga / interludes is divided into five sections:
First section, ‘ngā wāhi / places’
Second section, ‘ngā whanaungatanga / relationships’
Third section, ‘te ao tūroa / nature’
Fourth section, ‘ngā tõrangapū rāua ko nga rapunga whakaaro / politics and philosophy
Fifth section, ngā toikupu / poetry
Sixth section, te raro / the underground
Through these sections, Vaughan expresses his feelings, emotions and opinions through poetry.
I enjoyed this poem: (first stanza)
Ko Aotearoa te ingoa o tēnei whenua ātaahua.
land of the long white cloud for many
nestling in a sea of verdant green,
surrounded by a brilliant blue ocean
& where the All Blacks reign.
   This poem, titled Sometimes, made me smile, as it is very relatable…
      sometimes
writing a poem
is like
driving a bus
underwater…
Vaughan won the inaugural Proverse Poetry Prize in 2016, the same year as his Atonement was nominated for a National Book Award in Philippines. He is also represented in New Zealand’s Best Poems of 2017.
Lovers of poetry and people interested in New Zealand life will enjoy this book, especially home-sick Kiwis living overseas. It is a must for every library in New Zealand.
I enjoyed reading Vaughan’s poetry. It was refreshing, seeing the world through his unique eyes. Thank you for sharing your poetry with us.

Review by Renee Hollis

Title: ngā whakamatuatanga / interludes
Author: Vaughan Rapatahana
Publisher: Cyberwit.net, Allahabad, India
ISBN: 978-93-89074-41-3
RRP: $15
Available: from www.cyberwit.net, or from the author rapatahana@xtra.co.nz

Succinct flash fiction, enthralling short stories.

3/11/2021

The Pink Jumpsuit –
short fictions, tall truths
by Emma Neale

A collection of short stories needn’t necessarily be woven together with a theme and in fact The Pink Jumpsuit and the other 27 tales in this book range far and wide. There are threads of weirdness, mutation, tragedy and grit in the face of adversity, but tenderness, hope and humour are there too and on every page, regardless of the story, Neale’s prose sparkles.
“She wanted to fold herself up as small as a love note, ignite and burn away.”
“It hurts to imagine my husband as that broom-thin boy, hair gleaming black as a preacher’s shoes…”
“… it was seduction by punctuation. As if each semi-colon was someone leaning forward, head bubbling with the future…”
“He laughed, and her body cascaded with unbidden sweetness.”
Neale has, to international acclaim, mastered flash fiction, proving that by making every word count, a story can be barely a dozen lines but no less impactful than the longer pieces. This varying of story length, with longer ones interspersed with short and very short ones, adds to the pleasure of dipping into this book: there are delicious bite-sized reads alongside more absorbing ones.
With many of the stories exploring relationships, family dynamics, the past dragged up into the present… the endings can’t always be happy.
How does it feel to fall in love with someone who turns out to be half-sibling?
How creative can a jilted bride be with her discarded wedding dress?
Could two fingers really grow from the scar of an amputated one?
What can possibly go wrong at a 9-year-old’s birthday party?
Why would you carry your handbag in a cat cage? A leopard skin handbag!
Without giving too much away, the answers to these questions are just five of the 28 cleverly told stories in this collection. Each one is proof of Emma Neale’s well-deserved standing as an award-winning author. And each one makes The Pink Jumpsuit – short fictions, tall truths an enjoyable and enthralling read.

Review by Carolyn McKenzie

Title: The Pink Jumpsuit
Author: Emma Neale
Publisher: Quentin Wilson Publishing
ISBN: 978-0-9951329-9-3
RRP: $35
Available: paper: bookshops

Home owner’s earthquake account

26/10/2021

You Can’t Rush an Earthquake
Repair, Rebuild, Repeat
by Brenda Greene

2010 was a year not to be forgotten in New Zealand History. My husband and I walked into New Zealand house in London to hear there had been an earthquake in Christchurch. My first reaction was – well, we are not called the Shaky Isles for nothing.
Little did we know at the time how large and how devastating that earthquake was, and how it and the ones to follow would change the lives, the landscape and the people of Christchurch and Canterbury for years to come.
“You Can’t Rush an Earthquake” is written by Brenda Greene, owner of a character home that was close to the epicentre of the 7.1 magnitude quake that hit Christchurch and those that continued to cause damage for months on end. The book documents the owners’ attempts over the next 11 years to have their home rebuilt to the condition that was laid down in their insurance policy. The process became a saga of mistakes, poor planning, rebuilding the rebuild, delays and changing insurance building and council policies.
Throughout those years the Author, with her learned knowledge and a desire to have her home restored, dealt with at least 7 project managers, builders, electricians, plumbers, building inspectors. loss adjusters, quantity surveyors, architects, insurance companies and the Insurance Ombudsman to mention just a few, as she fought to have her policy rights enforced. The meetings were documented, as were the phone calls, reports, and photographs.
Eventually the home repairs the Author and her family were entitled to were completed – but after what a journey! The reader will find it would give a lesser person a headache, equivalent to the original earthquake, to embark on such a rebuild, and to win.
The book describes in detail the effect of being in an earthquake of such magnitude as the later major shake on 22nd February 2011, and those following. She describes the seismic boom, the bulging floors, the feeling of floating and falling, being tossed from one wall to another and the physical effects to her body as she processes her reaction to what was happening. These were so descriptive I felt I was in the kitchen with her.
Throughout the narrative there are respites from the earthquake damage as she describes family events, trips away to the solitude and calmness of national parks as she and her family documented the returning birdlife after trapping pests. These sojourns were a welcome time of rest and recovery.
The book with its many photographs is a tribute to the tenacity of the author and to the thousands of displaced, broken and traumatised people of Christchurch.
It is a great read.

Review by Merilyn Mary

Title: You Can’t Rush an Earthquake. Repair, Rebuild, Repeat
Author: Brenda Greene
Publisher: Brenda Greene
ISBN: 978-0-473-58005-6
RRP: $49.99
Available: Scorpio Books 120 Hereford St, Christchurch 8011
Writers Plot Readers Read, 893 Fergusson Drive, Upper Hutt 5018

Future classroom classic

19/10/2021

Hine and the Tohunga Portal
by Ataria Sharman

Author Ataria Sharman says Māori lore of ancient Aotearoa captivated her as she was writing the book, allowing her imagination to run wild.
“Sometimes, I'll be out in my garden and I'll imagine the patupaiarehe, the fairy people are there, and I mean I can't actually see them but it just feels magical to just imagine they're there.”
Sharman is a writer, editor, social entrepreneur and researcher who advocates for wāhine Māori and has recently published a new book for young readers.
'Hine and the Tohunga Portal' is a fast-paced fantasy adventure. Hine and her brother, Hōhepa, unwittingly step through a portal into an ancient realm inhabited by the atua Māori (Māori deities), Kea bird tribes, patupaiarehe (fairy people), moa and giant eagles. This world is in turmoil as evil sorcerer Kae has built a cursed army and intends to rule this world and everything in it. He sees the opportunity to dominate the modern world as well, by kidnapping Hōhepa and using his life force to reopen the portal between the worlds. This sets Hine on a quest to learn ancient knowledge from the goddesses Hineteiwaiwa and Mahuika and her ancestors, find the medicine to revoke the curse on the warriors and gain the support of the Kea and patupaiarehe to fight Kae and rescue Hōhepa.
The weaving of Māori iconography and beautifully incorporated reo is impressive. I found the use of te reo and concepts of manaakitanga useful in extending my knowledge. I would recommend this book be bought for school libraries and for teachers interested in furthering children’s knowledge of te reo. I would read it to a class and have a list of Māori words they can use to look up the meaning. It was what l did when l read the book.
Multiple narratives take the reader between the two main characters of Hine and Hōhepa as they traverse this magical environment separately.
'Hine and the Tohunga Portal' would make a superb Read Aloud for Year 6 students and up, with all the topics that could turn into their own studies – NZ flora and fauna, extinct native birds, Māori legends, traditional Māori foods, and even the Treaty of Waitangi. It is easy to see this becoming a classroom classic in the near future.
This land’s forests are full of the patupaiarehe – brave and fierce fairy warriors when their forest home and animals are threatened. There are kea armies, serious about their lands and any trespassers who dare enter into it. Animals too are drawn up into the battle between good and evil.
Sharman feels that her editorial work helped her to become a better writer, and she hopes that ‘Hine and the Tohunga Portal’ will ultimately become a seven-book series to inspire rangatahi, similar to Harry Potter.

Review by Renee Hollis

Title: Hine and the Tohunga Portal
Author: Ataria Sharman
Publisher: Huia Publishers
ISBN: 9781775506348
RRP: $25
Available: paper: bookshops

Refreshingly original novel

12/10/2021

[Lure the lie]
by Cat Connor

At one point towards the end of this novel, one of the main protagonists describes its setting as ‘sleepy Upper Hutt’. And indeed, Upper Hutt can be said to be an essential part of the plot. Its streets, its pubs, its brewery, its restaurants, its retail outlets (particularly a bookshop) and many other actual establishments become minor features and give the story a remarkable authenticity.
Most of the major protagonists in the novel are, however, anything but ordinary people going about their ordinary lives. This is a story of mystery and intrigue, of international spies, of a behind-the-scenes world of personal danger and even of threats to humanity’s existence. It involves a panoply of characters including foreign mercenaries, an Australian bikie gang, home-bred thugs, a small group of elderly women in a Rest Home (who are given the name ‘The Cronies of Doom’), a greyhound called Romeo and a number of individuals whose motives are muddied, to say the least, and who learn to trust or mistrust each other as the plot moves along.
Technology is another element that plays a huge part in the plot. This reviewer, being something of a technophobe, found much of it surprising, and more than a little scary. But these are the tools of the spies and missing-people hunters that provide the essential story. They are multi-faceted, these central characters. In some cases they are also apt to have more than one name. There are a number of significant players, but Ronnie (Veronica) and Crockett (Crocker) drive the plot along as they search for answers to the disappearance of a woman whose identity and loyalties are not clear. It all (or mostly!) does become clear in the end, but to give more away would spoil the story.
There are also welcome elements of humour throughout the book, and of romance. The dialogue is mostly snappy, though at times it is required perhaps to carry rather too much of the plot. The reader does get to know the key characters well, though, through their interactions. But the reader should also be aware that any assumptions they make as to whether or not a particular character is on the side of the angels may well prove incorrect as the plot unfolds.
It requires close attention to follow the plot’s twists and turns, but such close consideration is worth the effort. Could ‘sleepy Upper Hutt’ really be the nursery for such nefarious goings-on? If so, then any other corner of the country could be the same. Not only is this a thrilling story of modern-day spies and their methods, it is a reminder that like it or not, New Zealand is part of the international world in which they operate.
This is a refreshingly original novel, and a cracking good read.

Review by Tony Chapelle

Title: [Lure the lie]
Author: Cat Connor
Publisher: 9mm Press
ISBN: Print: 978-0-473-57154-2. ePub: 978-0-473-57155-9. Mobi: 978-0-463-57156-6
RRP: paperback $33.00; ePub and Mobi: $3.37
Available: paper: Universal Purchase Link: books2read.com/lurethelie
Paperback: Amazon and www.writersplot.org.nz

Novel is a gripping read

27/9/2021

Cold Wallet
by Rosy Fenwicke

This book is a gripping read, the plot twists and story bends were sufficient to capture me, making it hard to put down.
Jess is a New Zealand doctor working in Auckland Hospital and just finishing her specialist qualification, when she marries her crypto-currency expert fiancé, Andrew, and goes on honeymoon with him to one of the world’s most exclusive resorts in the Yasawa group of Fiji.
Andrew is taken ill while there and after some quite graphic illness scenes, he dies, is cremated and Jess brings the ashes back to New Zealand. She learns that Andrew has left his company, Vaultange to her, cutting out his partner and closest friend, Henry.
Jess attempts to open Andrew’s laptop, but succeeds only to introduce malware onto the computer, rendering it useless. This is the real thrust of the story, as the password required to unlock the Vaultange cold wallet is now useless.
Vaultange is not a storage for currency, but an exchange so that people wanting to buy or sell Bitcoin or other currency, can do so for a small commission. There is no check on who the users are, no banks or police are involved and the transactions are heavily encrypted. Inevitably, criminal elements become involved, as well as the public who know that they have bitcoin held in the transactions stored on Vaultange and now want to access their funds. After complaints, the police are involved, and everyone suspects that Jess knows the key, but is planning to keep it all for herself. So now she has police, criminals, and users pressuring her to unlock the Cold Wallet.
There are revelations about Jess’s past, and her relationship with the hospital where she works.
The book shows how these issues are resolved, but there are many sub plots and unexpected turns to the story, that you will need to read for yourself. Just read carefully as clues are there cleverly planted by the author.
This book is a sophisticated and engaging story, that I can recommend fully. The book is set in Auckland, but could be any modern city. The final chapters move very fast and have an unexpected ending.
There are some issues I had with the book. Jess has a hangover and grabs several aspirin tablets for her headache. I find it difficult that a New Zealand trained doctor would ever take aspirin in such circumstances, all would take paracetamol.
Another issue is that the story is told from multiple characters’ points of view, and often it was not obvious who was speaking, so I had to go back to try to find clues to the narrator’s identity. This could easily be overcome by simply starting a section with the name of the narrator.
Overall a really good read.

Review by Harold Bernard

Title: Cold Wallet
Author: Rosy Fenwicke
Publisher: Wonderful World
ISBN: 978-0-473-55940-3
RRP: $36.50
Available: bookshops

Three poets, three distinctive voices

16/9/2021

AUP New Poets 8
by Lily Holloway, Tru Paraha, Modi Deng.
Anna Jackson (Ed)

This is the latest compilation in a series, which provide a good foundation for Aotearoa New Zealand poets to – all going well – have their own collections published later.
From my experiencing this compilation, the only thing the three poets have in common is that all are young, articulate, and intelligent women, as witnessed in their toikupu here. Which, however, is divergent even in their individual pieces, as well as among the three poets. Holloway and Paraha in particular, can be classified as experimental poets in the way that much of the former and all the latter’s work is a faaaaaaaaaaaar cry from ‘traditional’ verse/stanza layout, while Deng also displays a measure of innovation with her prose poems and in tabulated work like lessons.
What I noticed about the ambience of Holloway’s mahi – titled a child in that alcove – is that there is a consistent mood of dark thoughts, depression, self-effacement, which is more manifest than latent. Take for example these lines from as the tide (p. 9), where ‘I’ has become ‘i’,
i look out to that expanse,
      bare now to the beaks of grey herons,
      which i realise is me
      in this metaphor
Elsewhere, as her/their poems develop across the pages of the anthology towards found poetry and  w i d e  o p e n  spaces, Holloway casts herself with lines such as,
The quietest panic attack happens when my heart is a small dog (from stocktaking during venlaxafine discontinuation p. 13)
      And,
      I am a dog so it doesn’t matter much    (from Is any of this relevant? p. 17)
There is a consistent inner turmoil and torment here, as the poet eerily unravels herself in poems with revealing titles such as you are my night terror i hope i am yours (p. 12) and moirai (pp. 23-26).
Images return again (the title of a poem on page 11) here and there too, in a sort of Plathean frenzy, among them a Four Square carpark and supermarkets, as the poems as presented in this book deconstruct and yet reconstruct in a whole new way/Holloway.
In her introduction, editor, Anna Jackson writes about the work of Paraha, ‘These poems are not easily read for narrative or scene-setting and it would be possible to feel a little lost, as a reader’. Āe, tika tēnei kōrero. There are no titles. There are few if any verses. Words and letters throw themselves across and around a page, spill in a
s  p  r  e  a  d  e a  g  l  e  d  manner in two interspersed tongues, te reo Māori rāua ko te reo Ingarihi.
Paraha is deliberate in this depiction of our cosmos. It is a massive never-ending, perhaps never-able-to-end and ongoing process, paradoxically full of lacunae. Her work is a set of paintings to be perceived and experienced on a screen, on a wall, as a video behind a melee of dancers. Paraha is sui generis, hers a whole new poetry planetarium. She is enmeshed in Te Kore, va, ki tua (beyond) as splayed over pages 49-51, in a complete dismantling of language, of the inherent straight-line concept(s) we generally associate with any given word. My pātai becomes, when watching this star trek, ‘where does the end begin?’  in my darkling universe, the artist cannot reply, as no one can. Rather, she flirts here and there with possible cogent universe ‘meaning’ as with the words made up from highlighted letters torrented down a page – ‘hone’ and ‘alistair’ – while having fun inhabiting te hinengaro me te tinana of a cannibal in wheniwasacannibal with compressed lines like,
iwaswaitedonhandandfootsotospeak. (p. 71).
This cosmic stuff does not/cannot suit a book. I look forward to witnessing Paraha at work/play across other media.
Modi Deng returns the reader (nearly) to planet earth with her structured verse, her less abrasive, comforting words – an wei. Witness this poem with the same title, here in its entirety,
When light pooled in,
  the camber of your palm
   and your quiet laugh dipped a reprieve, a catching net,
   fullness to cheek hollow –
   I couldn’t help it. Your candour was
   embodied/your words fading/
   our rhythm softly a morning moon.    (p. 81).
In the 17 poems included here, Deng writes about (mis)communication with her mother, love affair(s). music, the UK, where she is a postgraduate student at the Royal Academy of Music. Hers is a gentler cadence, rather an innocence surrounding,
      …my
      soft (read weak) heart      (from lightning courses (p. 92).
The standout piece for me is Euston Road, where the poet systematically relates her medical event, and the aftermath,
      leaving behind the paranoid clinical
  attendants, all the pear-nurses and
      the requisite burnt soya coffee     (p. 95).
Three poets, three distinctive voices sampling on a wide – perhaps endless - continuum of topoi and technique. After all, ‘There is no end to possible meanings’ (from Holloway’s Is any of this relevant? pp. 17-19).
     Tēnā koe mō tēnei raupapatanga.

Review by Vaughan Rapatahana

Title: AUP New Poets 8
Author: Lily Holloway, Tru Paraha, Modi Deng. Anna Jackson (Ed)
Publisher: Auckland University Press
ISBN: 9781869409456
RRP: $29.99
Available: bookshops

A different view of our country

3/9/2021

Crimechurch
by Michael Botur

I was not aware of this author before agreeing to review Crimechurch. Apparently he has achieved quite a bit in his 37 years – the preparatory pages of the book work hard, too hard, to convince the reader of his literary credentials. I don’t read them. I don’t want to be told what to think – a book should stand on its own.
So, straight into the story this novel tells.
The language and the references are contemporary and set the scene for a section of society that few want to believe exists, in Christchurch or anywhere in this country.
Crimechurch, as the title suggests, is about the underside, criminal element of Christchurch society. Not limited to one culture, the characters involved are South African, Chinese/Samoan/Tongan, Maori – varied ethnic groups and mixtures.
Each of the main characters tells his or her story separately, in first person narration, though all are connected.
Marty, 15, intelligent, more privileged than some, is aware he has not made a dent in the world and  wants to make the world more aware of him. He’s hungry for something real gritty, something spicy and dangerous. He’s not alone in this.
Jade has been broken by a harsh and judgemental upbringing that leads him to see himself as an agent of retribution.
Mona, tells the female counterpart of such young lives. “Court honestly sux – and I’m going to change it. God, if you’re listening: that’s a promise.”
Chong, a very hard-liner, is on probation in the care of a Mormon agency. “if I have to pretend to be some kinda Jesus freak to get probation off my back, shit, sign me up.” But not before he tests it to the extreme – “I’ll have to let them know: I’m a new breed.”
Winston, acts the good son to gain credit while rebelling against his parents’ upper-middle class way of life. He want to do something big – bigger than his brother, bigger than his parents, “bigger than this whole tight-arse city.”
Mama Ta’a, the “absolute gold” corrections worker for young offenders, is praised for reducing crime in the city, though she is unable to reform her own son.
Selling weed fudge is at the very bottom of the scale of offences these young dissidents commit. Drug-dealing, alcohol abuse and the details of personal and gang-violence are not only hard to read about, but enough to shake the stability of the very city. “We’ve made God mad. We’ve bumped the pillars. The temple is toppling.”
     When the intensity of Christchurch is too much, there are places of escape – Nelson, Thailand, Australia “where Kiwis go to unfuck their lives” – but they are temporary, the city always calls them back. “This city, man. This island. This country. Like an Alcatraz planted out in the middle of the god damn Southern Ocean. There’s nowhere to go.”
Reading Crimechurch is challenging because of the subject matter, especially so for women, and the sense of hopelessness it invokes. The vocabulary also confronts, but it is always vibrant. It is fittingly colloquial, though more variation between characters would improve the whole.
     After the challenges, the last section, Aftermath, is unexpected, though there is an earlier clue that supports the change, and it comes as welcome relief.
This reader’s judgement then – the self-promotion at the beginning of the book is not necessary, Michael Botur proves he can certainly write.
Where there could be much improvement is in the quality of the publication itself. The publishing standard is a step or two below professional. It could be improved by layout with wider margins and better formatting, stronger proofreading and developmental editing. And putting that promotional content, if it must be included, at the back.
However, hats off to this author for showing us a different view of our country. I am sure we will see more writing from him.

Review by Kauri Wood

Title: Crimechurch
Author: Michael Botur
Publisher: Rangitawa Publishing
ISBN: 978-0995116665
RRP: $30
Available: Amazon.com, RangitawaPublishing.com, NZshortstories.com
Contact: mike@michaelboturwriter.com

YA novel a lovely read

27/8/2021

Just Remember
by Donna Blaber

Em Rogers’ life changed forever when she got her first after-school detention. If she’d known Dad would die in a traumatic accident on the way to pick her up and Mum would suffer a nervous breakdown, she would never have talked in class that day. Was it her fault? After losing friends, confidence and hope, Em moves north to Matapouri to live with Nan and finds a future with the help of new friends, a mermaid and a magic rock.
This is a lovely read. A New Zealand fairy story with strong characters and well written dialogue. I would have loved this as a young reader and have to say, I enjoyed it as an adult.
I noticed an edit miss on p 25 – a lapse into first person but that was all. Apart from that the chapters flowed nicely and their short length made it a very easy read.
There was good depth to the storylines, too with a great bit of detective work as Em chases down a criminal. If I have a complaint, it’s that Jessie and Mia’s own stories are brushed away in one paragraph. I’d have liked to have their stories told about these magical happenings too. At 106 pages, ‘Just Remember’ isn’t a challenging read lengthwise and I felt these stories would have added more about these two who become so important in Em’s new life.
I received this as lockdown hit again and it was a lovely escape.
A heart-warming and life-affirming read. Much thanks, Donna.

Review by TJ Ramsay

Title: Just Remember
Author: Donna Blaber
Publisher: Lighthouse Media Group
ISBN: 978-1-927229-72-9
RRP: $22
Available: print from https://aotearoabooks.co.nz/just-remember

A real kiwi hero

20/8/2021

Batkiwi
by Melinda Szymanik
pictures: Isobel Joy Te Aho-White

Celebrating another Scholastic Publication by New Zealand author Melinda Szymanik.
This story focuses on helping friends in need, or at least trying to. Sometimes we are unable to do what we really want to, simply by being too short or too round or, in Kiwi’s case, having tiny wings. That’s when we might need a friend to assist us.
One night, as the moon rose high, a call came over the bush telegraph,
     tweet by tweet, from tree to tree. “Help! Emergency! We need a hero!”
Kind-hearted Kiwi wants to rescue any forest friend in need, but he can
  never quite make it on his own. Who will help Kiwi be a hero?
     Melinda’s writing is to the point and graphic. It includes many of New Zealand’s forest creatures, highlighting that what one can do another maybe cannot.
     So this is a story about accepting who we are and helping others to the best of our ability, including asking for help too. A great learning perspective for youngsters.
     The cover art immediately captures the reader’s attention; Isobel Joy Te Aho-White’s pictures are vivid and the expressions and emotions shown draw the reader into the pictures.
     I’m unsure what age group this book is targeting. Some of the words and expressions suggest an older group while the simplicity of the story and pictures indicates a younger group.
     It is also available in Te Reo as Pekakiwi.

Review by Susan Tarr

Title: Batkiwi
Author: Melinda Szymanik, pictures by Isobel Joy Te Aho-White
Publisher: Scholastic
ISBN: 9781775437116
RRP: $19.99
Available: paper: bookshops

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