Grandma has another new invention, a dog transformation bracelet. Good timing, too, because everyone’s pets are now missing.
‘Do you think Dr Kane’s involved?’
Considering any time anything out of the ordinary happens in Duck Creek it’s because Dr Kane has some new dastardly plan, I would have said it’s a given that he’s now in the pet-napping business. I would have been wrong.
It turns out that the pets aren’t the only ones MIA in this book. While Dr Kane is using his annual leave, the baddie void in Duck Creek is filled by the Collector from the Rise of the Mythix series. Also making a cameo is the front cover of the first book in the Pow Pow Pig series.
When I find subtle nods to author’s other books in the one I’m reading, I generally find it adorable and usually feel super smart for having found them. The crossovers in Anh Do books aren’t nods anymore; they’re beginning to feel more and more like advertisements.
They don’t even make sense most of the time. The Rise of the Mythix series have an older target audience than Ninja Kid so most readers won’t even know who the Collector is.
I accidentally read the ninth Ninja Kid book before this one so had been wondering how Noodles made their way into the family. I’m glad I know now but the constant crossovers are making me question how much longer I’m going to continue reading Anh Do’s books.
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
Something strange is going on… all the animals in town have DISAPPEARED! But with Grandma’s latest invention, Nelson and Kenny can sniff out trouble by TURNING INTO DOGS! How will they find the pets when they can’t stop PLAYING FETCH?!
I love ghost stories so I was really looking forward to reading this anthology. Including a blend of old and new stories from East, South and Southwest Asia, this should have been right up my alley.
The introduction had me hooked but the stories themselves didn’t give me the scares I was looking for. For me, part of the problem was the order the stories were told in.
While it seems logical to order an anthology alphabetically by author, it meant I was sometimes reading multiple stories by one author, one after another; some began to feel repetitive. I think I would have gotten much more out of the stories if they’d been grouped by country, with introductions exploring the cultural and religious significance of the particular types of ghosts I’d be meeting in each section.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Flame Tree Press for the opportunity to read this anthology.
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
Another deluxe edition of new writing and neglected perspectives. Asian ghosts – from India to Sri Lanka, China to Korea, Japan to the Philippines – can be both terrifying and comforting. Underpinned by strong cultural beliefs in the cycles of life and ancestor worship, the nature of Asian spirits differs from that of their counterparts in other areas of the world. The possibility is more instinctually accepted that ghosts remain with us, as part of the world, whether we can see them or not. Featured here are all kinds of stories from across East, South and Southeast Asia: classic weird tales by the likes of Pu Songling, Rabindranath Tagore, S Mukerji, Im Bang and Yi Ruk, Lafcadio Hearn and Yei Theodora Ozaki, are complemented by stories by Asian writers of today. An egui (the Chinese version of a ‘hungry ghost’) is exorcised, a vicious jiangshi (Chinese zombie-like revenant) is encountered in the night, a Bengali shakchunni (the ghost of an unsatisfied bride) poignantly seeks love with devastating effect, a family is haunted by vengeful Korean gwishin, and the iconic Japanese tragedies of Oiwa and O-Kiku are revisited.
As far as I’m concerned, any book that includes sexual assault could easily be shelved as horror, but this one truly earns that classification. This novella recounts the author’s experience of being kidnapped and raped by two men when she was seventeen. To say that this was a difficult read is the understatement of the year.
Much of the dialogue between Josey and the men come directly from the author’s statement to the police; this added a whole other layer of reality to something that was already painfully real.
If you have experienced sexual assault, you need to know that the sexual assaults described in this novella are brutal. Please take good care of yourself while reading by upping your self care, taking breaks when you need them and ensuring you utilise any supports you have available to you.
I want women to read this and know that no one can take your story from you. It is yours, and you can do whatever you want with it.
Rescripting can be such a helpful tool for sexual assault survivors, particularly in managing flashbacks. Here, the author incorporates tarot and symbolism into her story to rewrite the ending.
“You choose the cards from this point on.”
Thank you so much to Creature Publishing for the opportunity to read this novella.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
Josey Claypool begins the summer before her senior year at a carnival, where a fortune teller with milky-white eyes gives her a foreboding tarot reading. She’s spooked, but nothing could prepare her for the following day when two strange men show up at her front door.
Josey is kidnapped at gunpoint and brought to a pink cabin in the woods where she is held prisoner. In her darkest moment, the fortune teller appears and gives her a deck of tarot cards, which she must cast and interpret in a fight for her life.
In this work of speculative autofiction, award-winning author EV Knight reclaims the narrative of her own past in an exploration of trauma, agency, and survival.
It’s been twenty years since the bombs fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The big ryū disappeared soon after the war. Ten year old Kohei is convinced that if he can find them, he’ll be able to make Ojiisan, his grandfather, smile again.
Kohei lives with Ojiisan, who spends his time drinking and being angry, and his Mama, whose subscribes to what is referred to as ‘shikata ga nai’, meaning “there’s nothing to be done – move on, carry on, and don’t brood over things that can’t be helped.” This is a really polite way of saying she doesn’t actually ever deal with anything.
Kohei’s father died when he was three years old. Although I didn’t get to meet him, his words resonated with me.
‘Do not quit. You must keep trying to make things better, Kohei, because there are always good things you can do.’
While the blurb piqued my interest in this family, I’ll be honest: I was mostly here for the dragons. The little ryū were absolutely adorable.
I knew I’d love Yuharu, Kohei’s little ryū, as soon as I discovered she was fluent in sarcasm, but I loved all of the ryū I met. They have unique personalities and quirks, and they talk! I definitely need one to adopt me.
Even though I wanted to dragon-nap Yuharu, the standout character for me was Isolde, Kohei’s new neighbour. She’s yearning to find a place where she can feel like she belongs. She’s capable of standing up for herself when she needs to and she has a heart of gold. She’s also wise beyond her years.
‘Because talking helps. Things always seem simpler when you say them out loud. And eventually, you stop talking, and you realise that if your sentence can end, so can your troubles.’
While the dragons were everything I’d hoped they’d be, at its heart this book is about the legacy of war. Although the children in this book haven’t personally experienced war, their parents and grandparents have.
The lasting impact of this trauma is clearly shown by what the characters talk about and what they don’t, what emotions are expressed and which remain hidden. Despite the difficulty of many of the issues that arise for the characters, there is also hope.
Things that hurt were able to heal.
Thank you so much to Allen & Unwin for the opportunity to read this book.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
Kohei Fujiwara has never seen a giant dragon in real life. The big ryū all disappeared from Japan after World War II, and twenty years later, they’ve become the stuff of legend. Their smaller cousins, who can fit in your palm, are all that remain. And Kohei loves his ryū, Yuharu, but he has a memory of the big ryū. He knows that’s impossible. In his mind, he can see his grandpa – Ojiisan – gazing up at the big ryū with what looks like total and absolute wonder. When Kohei was little, he dreamed he’d go on a grand quest to bring the big ryū back, to get Ojiisan to smile again.
But now, Ojiisan is really, really sick. And Kohei is running out of time.
Kohei needs to find the big ryū now, before it’s too late. With the help of Isolde, his new half-Jewish, half-Japanese neighbour, and Isolde’s Yiddish-speaking dragon, Cheshire, he thinks he can do it. Maybe.
From debut author Emi Watanabe Cohen comes a story of magic, a mysterious family legacy and the lengths to which we’ll go to protect the people we love.
Once upon a time, Lady Zinnia of Ohio met Princess Primrose of Perceforest and together they fucked with the fairytale.
Zinnia has spent her entire life living with the fact that she’s dying. On the night of her twenty-first birthday, which statistically will be her last, Zinnia finally finds a use for her impractical degree after accidentally multiversing her way into Princess Primrose’s story. Together these Sleeping Beauties plan to bend the arcs of their narratives.
I don’t know about the moral arc of the universe, but our arcs sure as hell don’t bend toward justice.
Unless we change them. Unless we grab our narratives by the ear and drag them kicking and screaming toward better endings. Maybe the universe doesn’t naturally bend toward justice either; maybe it’s only the weight of hands and hearts pulling it true, inch by stubborn inch.
I fell in love with this Spider-Verse Sleeping Beauty the first time I read it but my own once upon a time rudely interrupted me before I could wrangle my thoughts into sentences. I almost always plan to reread books when the release of their sequel is imminent and this time I actually followed through!
Rereading this novella today has only deepened my love for it. It was a timely reminder that no matter what your once upon a time looks like, your choices have the power to shape your ever after.
“I chose a different story for myself, a better one.”
I’m still convinced that Charm, Zinnia’s best friend, needs to be in charge of every PowerPoint presentation until the end of time.
No matter what’s going on in my life when I begin reading something Alix has written, I know I’ll feel better afterwards. What that better looks like might change slightly with each new read but invariably there’ll be hope and renewed determination to bend my own arc. And if my swear to non-swear ratio runs a tad higher in the days following the read, then all the better.
I think: oh, shit. I say, “Oh, shit.”
My preorder of A Mirror Mended arrived while I was finishing this reread and I can’t decide how to feel about starting it. I’ve waited for so long to see how this duology ends but therein lies the rub. Duology means both yay, there’s another one! and dammit, there won’t be another one after that.
While I ponder whether to power through the next one as quickly as possible to get my fix or drag it out to make it last, I’ll leave you with some fairytale wishes:
May fortune gift you a forever friend like Charm.
May you have the courage to love and be loved.
May help always come swiftly when you ask.
May your ever after outshine your once upon a time.
May you always have cause to speak in exclamation points!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
It’s Zinnia Gray’s twenty-first birthday, which is extra-special because it’s the last birthday she’ll ever have. When she was young, an industrial accident left Zinnia with a rare condition. Not much is known about her illness, just that no one has lived past twenty-one.
Her best friend Charm is intent on making Zinnia’s last birthday special with a full sleeping beauty experience, complete with a tower and a spinning wheel. But when Zinnia pricks her finger, something strange and unexpected happens, and she finds herself falling through worlds, with another sleeping beauty, just as desperate to escape her fate.
There was a time before and there will be a time after. I cannot imagine it, Mother, but there will be a time after this one.
Four women who seemingly have nothing in common all live in the new building on Bedford Road.
Penny in 1B remembers a time when leaving her home didn’t feel impossible. Penny has agoraphobia.
In 1A, on the other side of Penny’s wall, Carla is doing her best to raise fourteen year old Mary Rose and twelve year old Daniel while experiencing coercive control.
Frequently knocking on both of their doors is the building’s resident Jehovah’s Witness, Mable from 3B.
Then there’s Woman, who resides with the building’s owner and his family in 2A-2B. Woman hasn’t had an identity since she left Home Country. The promise of Better Life was a lie. Woman has been trafficked and is now a slave.
Told from the perspectives of the four central women and a few others whose lives intercept one or more of them, this story primarily takes place over the course of a year, beginning in January 2020. Written during lockdown, Little Prisons explores the lives of these four women both before and during lockdown, and how acts of kindness, some that don’t cost much and some that cost much more, change their lives.
Some really difficult life experiences are explored in this book and at times I really felt the weight of that. The perseverance and courage of the women gave me hope though and I quickly became invested in their lives.
Initially I had trouble believing that the four women dealing with all of these monumental problems were all living in a building that only had space for nine residences. Then I stepped back and thought about it. I realised that you don’t know what you don’t know and that’s the point.
We rarely know what’s happening behind the closed doors of people’s lives. People experiencing what the women in this book are are silenced, their traumas invisible.
I loved that these strangers, who just so happen to live in the same building, became important to one another. Sure, they don’t necessarily like one another initially and, let’s face it, have no reason to place their trust in anyone, but gradually they let themselves be seen. That’s so powerful.
There was a little ugly cry that took me unawares but my takeaway from this book is hope. I love found family stories and find strength in reading about people who have every reason to give up but keep getting out of bed every day and trying again.
While I understood that this wasn’t their story, a part of me really wants to know more about the man in 1C, the young couple in 3A and the three girls in 3C. What were their stories and how much of what was happening in their building were they aware of?
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Two Roads, an imprint of John Murray Press, for the opportunity to read this book.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
When you can’t get out, let kindness in.
In a non-descript building in a gentrifying corner of London, Penny is doing daily battle with her mind. She is convinced that the world beyond her door is too dangerous for her, though her heart knows it isn’t. Penny’s neighbour, Carla, an American expat and single mother of two teens, has lived in a coercive relationship for many years, too worn down by her controlling husband to escape her situation. Mable, Penny’s upstairs neighbour, an elderly Jamaican pensioner and devout Jehovah’s Witness, has sacrificed everything for her faith, including her relationship with her family. And Woman, the housekeeper and nanny on the second floor, has been trafficked. When she is not cleaning and cooking, she works in the laundrette the landlord owns on the ground floor, a hidden slave in full view of the public.
Through grocery deliveries, glimpses through windows, and overheard conversations in the stairwell, the women come to know each other. Their small acts of compassion help them each find a way to mend the broken paths in their lives.
This may well turn out to be my read of the year. I was initially fascinated by its premise but intimidated by its length. Give me two 300ish page novels to read and it’s likely I’ll ask you for another. A single book that exceeds 600 pages? It’s going to need to deliver pretty quickly or I’m probably going to abandon it.
Never fear! I was hooked from the get go and at no point did I think to myself, ‘Are we there yet?’ Despite its length, there were no wasted words.
Before I’d even made it halfway I’d searched out and purchased a signed copy, already knowing it was destined to become a favourite. I’ve recommended it to everyone I’ve spoken to since I started it and can’t see that changing anytime soon. Now I’m telling you… READ. THIS. BOOK.
The worldbuilding was phenomenal. Not only could I clearly see every location, I could feel it. Don’t be surprised if, like me, you start Googling words like drughr, keywrasse and orsine because, while a part of you will be convinced they were created specifically for this world, you might just begin to wonder if you’re wrong.
All of the characters felt real to me. I got to know their backstories and experienced their defining moments alongside them. This enabled me to understand how they were behaving and why they were making specific decisions in the moment.
I had favourite characters (Brynt and Ribs both stole my heart) but there wasn’t a single character I didn’t want to spend more time with. I absolutely adored their complexities.
Clear-cut heroes and villains aren’t easy to find here. The people you think are good may actually have dark intentions. Those you think you’re going to love to hate will be so relatable and real that even when they’re doing something truly detestable, you’ll understand where they’re coming from and you might find yourself cheering them on. At times, two characters will be at odds and you’ll want them both to get what they want, even though that’s not possible.
So, I’ve gotten this far into my review and I’ve told you nothing about the plot. Despite making copious notes about characters, locations and themes as I was reading, intending them to form the bulk of my review, this is one of those books that I’d recommend you know as little as possible about before you dive in. The only thing I absolutely have to say is that I think I’ve now met the best cat ever. Oh, and I love bonebirds!
I need someone to make movies or a TV series of this trilogy. While I’m definitely satisfied with where I’ve had to leave all of my new favourite people (for now), if someone was inclined to sneak a copy of the sequel to me in maybe the next half an hour or so, I’d start reading it immediately.
‘We cannot change what we are. Only what we do.’
Thank you so much to Bloomsbury Publishing for the opportunity to fall in love with this book.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
The first in a captivating new historical fantasy series, Ordinary Monsters introduces the Talents with a catastrophic vision of the Victorian world, and the gifted, broken children who must save it.
There in the shadows was a figure in a cloak, at the bottom of the cobblestone stair, and it turned and stared up at them as still and unmoving as a pillar of darkness, but it had no face, only smoke…
1882. North of Edinburgh, on the edge of an isolated loch, lies an institution of crumbling stone, where a strange doctor collects orphans with unusual abilities. In London, two children with such powers are hunted by a figure of darkness – a man made of smoke.
Charlie Ovid discovers a gift for healing himself through a brutal upbringing in Mississippi, while Marlowe, a foundling from a railway freight, glows with a strange bluish light. When two grizzled detectives are recruited to escort them north to safety, they are confronted by a sinister, dangerous force that threatens to upend the world as they know it.
What follows is a journey from the gaslit streets of London to the lochs of Scotland, where other gifted children – the Talents – have been gathered at Cairndale Institute, and the realms of the dead and the living collide. As secrets within the Institute unfurl, Marlowe, Charlie and the rest of the Talents will discover the truth about their abilities and the nature of the force that is stalking them: that the worst monsters sometimes come bearing the sweetest gifts.
‘There are those that hunt monsters to harm them and there are those that hunt monsters to help them.’
Miss Mary-Kate Martin has much better shoes than I do, red sparkly ones. She also has the strawberry-scented notebook and glitter pens I desperately need in my life and the anxiety I’d like to return for a full refund.
Mary-Kate is about to accompany her mother, Professor Martin (but we call her Prof), on an archaeological dig for the first time. Because Mary-Kate isn’t that good at beginnings or endings, she’d much prefer to stay at home with Granny, but Granny’s recently discovered the joys of bus trips so she’s off on her own adventure.
So, it’s time for a train ride (facing forward, of course) to the sleepy village of Woolington Well, which, incidentally, has a well.
While Prof is busy investigating some bones recently found in said well, Mary-Kate will be conducting her own investigation into why saucers of milk have been placed in front of every doorstep. Because Mary-Kate has an inquiring mind, she quickly becomes caught up in a century’s old town mystery.
This was the strangest place she’d ever visited.
Mary-Kate likes facts, red sparkles and infomercials. She doesn’t like complicated sandwiches, brown colouring-in pencils, small talk or mismatched clothing.
Her personality is complimented by new friend Lady Arabella Woolington, a bubbly, chatty local girl with an unforgettable hairstyle.
During the course of her investigation, Mary-Kate also meets a pony who just wants to get on with their meal and some townsfolk who may have the answers to Mary-Kate’s questions about ‘the you-know-what’.
‘The legend says it likes children.’
I loved the way anxiety was portrayed in this book. Mary-Kate is almost ten and she has a counsellor, Meg, who has taught her very helpful ways to manage her anxiety, including grounding, distraction and breathing techniques.
Mary-Kate is a kind and compassionate girl. She not only notices when other people are struggling themselves but is able to suggest coping strategies to them based on what she’s found helpful.
I admire Mary-Kate’s determination and bravery, and love the creativity she uses in categorising her bad days with her “H scale of Horrid”.
At the beginning of each chapter, you’ll find a quote from P.K. Mayberry’s Complete Guide to Monsters of the Northern Hemisphere. These quotes invariably provide a clue about the chapter’s contents but also made me want to meet P.K. Mayberry.
My favourite Mayberry quote was:
Monster hunter Professor Lavinia Lightfoot famously once said, ‘People who have seen a monster are usually a lot more interesting than people who haven’t.’
Freda Chiu’s illustrations are so much fun, regardless of whether they’re emphasising Lady Arabella Woolington’s halo of hair or capturing the disinterest of Pickles the pony.
I absolutely adore Mary-Kate. I want to learn more about Prof. I really hope Lady Arabella Woolington finds a way to insert herself into at least one of Mary-Kate’s future investigations.
I know it’s still early days but I’m confident I’ve found a new favourite series. I can’t wait to go monster hunting again!
The Rule of Monsters states that people who have met one monster are statistically much more likely to meet another.
Thank you so much to Allen & Unwin for the opportunity to read this book.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
There are those that hunt monsters to harm them and there are those that hunt monsters to help them. Which one are you?
Dressed in sparkly red shoes and carrying her strawberry-scented notebook, Mary-Kate is accompanying her archaeologist mother to the tranquil English countryside to investigate some interesting bones found in an old well. But once they arrive, they realise that the village of Woolington is not as peaceful as it seems. Mysterious noises, earth tremors and a terrifying legend have the locals frightened.
Could there be any truth in the myth of the beast who lives in the ancient well? And if so, why would it return? Mary-Kate might be anxious, but she is not afraid to get to the bottom of this monstrous mystery.
Illustrations – Richard Pritchard & Sierra Pritchard
Spoilers Ahead! (marked in purple)
Meet Wylah (pronounced Wheel-la). She is confident in her artistic ability but not so much in the skills you’d find in the average warrior. Her claim to fame to date has been winning a throwing competition (she was the only competitor because everyone else was sick that day).
Wylah is going to need to find the warrior within though because the dragon army have stolen her Tribe and their animals, and it’s up to Wylah to save them.
‘You can do this, you can save our people, Wylah, the Koorie Warrior. Rise up, rise up within.’
To do this, Wylah and Po, a fellow artist, will need to find the five Guardians.
‘Guardians are the protectors of Tribes and the lands they live on. Powerful creatures that reside inside Totems’
When I was growing up there were an abundance of books available with characters I could easily identify with so I can’t imagine what it must be like to not have that. The first in a new series, Wylah is the Indigenous hero that’s been missing from the shelves for too long.
I loved that when most of the characters were introduced I learned the meaning of their name. There’s also a glossary in table form at the end of the book that tells readers both the English and Peek Whurrong words for names, their meaning and how to pronounce them. For the animal characters, their species is also included.
Without a doubt, Wylah’s name meaning has the most significance. Wylah comes from the word Wilan and means yellow-tailed black cockatoo. This is absolutely perfect because the yellow-tailed black cockatoo is author Jordan Gould’s tribal totem.
Wylah doesn’t immediately fully embrace her new role as the Koori Warrior, which made her more relatable. She has doubts about her abilities and she doesn’t magically become skilled in all of the areas she will need to be. It’s especially evident when she’s training that this isn’t going to be a success only journey.
Despite her lack of experience, Wylah has the heart, courage and determination of a warrior, and I’m keen to watch her grow into her new role as the series progresses.
I’m interested in finding out how old Wylah is. This would have been important to me as a kid as I preferred to read about kids who were my age or older.
I liked all of the animals (even the dragons) but my favourite was Bunyip, who’s not quite as fearsome as they may like to think they are. The Guardians spoke and some other animals did as well. However, some didn’t and I’m not quite sure yet what the distinction is between those who speak and those who don’t.
I really enjoyed the illustrations. The megafauna are realistic and the people are expressive.
The chapters where we follow Wylah were told in first person and had a boomerang picture above the chapter numbers. Those that focused on what was happening with the rest of the tribe were in third person, the pages were grey and the picture above the chapter numbers changed to an amulet. The boomerang and amulet were both appropriate design choices and the distinctions prevented me from ever having to wonder what perspective a chapter was being told from.
As I’d expect in a book that’s introducing a series, the premise was set up and I met some of the characters who will be important in future books. Some answers were provided but there are multiple plot points that will be ongoing.
I did have questions about a particular event in this book that weren’t answered. Why did Livingstone ask the people from Wylah’s Tribe where their home was when they’d just been taken from there by the dragons? Couldn’t the dragons have taken him to it?
Thank you so much to Albert Street Books, an imprint of Allen & Unwin, for the opportunity to read this book.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
Meet Wylah: warrior, hero and friend. Her adventures have been 40,000 years in the making!
Wylah is brave, clever and strong-willed, and all her best friends are giant megafauna animals. But she isn’t a warrior. Not yet, anyway.
Then comes the day when her family is stolen by the dragon army, and her life is forever changed. She must find the courage to set out on a journey to save them. What will it take for Wylah to become a warrior, like her Grandmother before her?
Introducing an unforgettable cast of characters, Wylah the Koorie Warrior is a heart-stopping and imaginative adventure, inspired by First Nations history and grounded in culture.
I love learning about different cultures. I’d never heard of Matariki before so I was especially keen to get my hands on this book.
The blurb tells you that it “explores the nine stars of Matariki” but assumes you already know what Matariki is. I didn’t, so I asked Google.
I learned that “Matariki is a special occasion in the New Zealand calendar which marks the start of the Māori New Year.
Signified by the Matariki cluster of stars reappearing in our night sky, this is a time to reflect on the past year, celebrate the present, and plan for the year ahead.”
I found this quote, along with an easy to understand introduction to Matariki.
Armed with this new knowledge, I delved back in. If you already know about Matariki, this book provides readers with specific ways they can honour and celebrate this time.
The cover image, which represents Pōhutukawa, was my favourite illustration.
I would have appreciated a small section at the back of the book that told me how to pronounce the names of the stars so I didn’t need to rely on Google.
Thank you so much to Allen & Unwin for the opportunity to read this picture book.
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
How can we celebrate Matariki? Let’s look to the stars!
Maumaharatia: Remembering our past Tiakina te taiao: Caring for our environment Te whakawhanaungatanga: Connecting with our people
Me pēhea tātou e whakanui i a Matariki? Tirohia ngā whetū!
Maumaharatia te onamata Tiakina te taiao Te whakawhanaungatanga ki ō tātou iwi
Explore the nine stars of Matariki in rich, detailed imagery and bilingual text. Dive into the meanings of the stars and Matariki itself. Encourage whānau to remember, celebrate and reflect at this important time of year.
Schizanthus Nerd 