With an exciting storyline and vibrant illustrations, this is perfect for children of all ages.
Kupe left Hawaiki to find more fish for his people because the seas were emptying of food and they had nothing to eat. He discovered that a huge and fearsome wheke (octopus) was taking all the fish.
So Kupe chased that wheke across Te Moana-Nui-a-Kiwa (the Pacific Ocean). After a long time, they reached Aotearoa – the land of the long white cloud – so named by Kupe’s wife, Hine-te-Aparangi.
Kupe chased the wheke all along the coast of the country, until there was a massive battle in Te Moana o Raukawakawa (Cook Strait).
Kupe won that battle and went on to have many other adventures in Aotearoa.
Author Biography
Mat Tait is a South Island-based illustrator of European and Māori descent. He gained a BFA in painting from Ilam School of Arts and now lives and works in the Motueka area.
He’s the author of Te Wehenga, which won the Margaret Mahy Book of the Year at the 2023 NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. He illustrated The Adventures of Tupaia, written by Courtney Sina Meredith, for which he was the recipient of the Russell Clark Award for Illustration at the 2020 NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults.
His comics work has been published widely both locally and internationally, including The Heading Dog Who Split In Half with writer Dr Michael Brown.
Mat is a fluent speaker of te reo Māori. He tutors under the kaupapa of Te Ataarangi, and continues to learn.
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