How you doin'?

Book Review 

Duncan, T.  (2008).  Kei te pēhea koe?  How do you feel?  North Shore, New Zealand: Puffin Books.

               ‘Kei te pēhea koe?  How do you feel?’  Tracy Duncan asks.  After reading this book, you would be able to answer that question in Māori, and if you relished this book as I did, then likely you would reply ‘Kei te pai rawa au! I feel fantastic!’

This simple picture book is an example of a ‘total entity’ which brings together the elements of illustration, text, and design to create a stunning work or art.1  The vivid and evocative illustrations use water-colour and ink, together with a combination of traditional Māori design and modern styling, to skilfully capture the various emotions and feelings.  Each emotion is presented on a two page spread with the text in Māori and English on one page, and the illustration on the other.  Behind the text is a colour block which complements the colours and mood of the illustration, and small details from each illustration are duplicated beneath the text.  In this way the design and illustrations are used together to expand on the concept of the book. 

The text of the book is very simple, and is accessible to Māori and non-Māori alike. The subject matter is one that young children will easily relate to.  Although the book has no plot, there is still a slight build up prior to the conclusion.  This is accomplished by the repetition of the question “How do you feel?” before the final feeling is presented.  In Kei te pēhea koe? Duncan has managed to avoid the contrivance of ‘self-conscious direction towards a particular market’2  found in some New Zealand children’s books.  The bilingual picture book Tutu Taniwha Fun by Robyn Kahukiwa is an example of a book where the desire to write a book with Māori content has resulted in a book that is didactic and self-conscious.   

Te reo Māori is a significant part of New Zealand cultural identity, and of the New Zealand school curriculum.  ‘By learning te reo... Māori students strengthen their identities, while non-Māori journey towards shared cultural understandings. All who learn te reo Māori help to secure its future as a living... language.’3  Although bilingual books are rare4 they assist teachers who are not confident at korero Māori to incorporate te reo into their classroom programmes.  According to the 2006 census, 23.7% of Māori, and only 4.1% of all New Zealanders, are able to converse in Māori.  Not only would Kei te pēhea koe? be useful for junior school teachers wishing to further the school goal of integrating te reo into their classroom teaching, but it would also be a valuable book for children to share with their whanau.

Kei te pēhea koe? was listed in the Storylines Notable Books List in 2009.

Notes

1: Hunter, quoted in Open Polytechnic, 2011a, p21

2: Gilderdale, 1982, p. 2

3: Ministry of Education, n.d.

4: Open Polytechnic, 2011b, p. 15

References

Gilderdale, B. (1982). A sea change: 145 years of New Zealand junior fiction. Auckland, New Zealand: Longman Paul.

Ministry of Education. (n.d.). Official languages. In The New Zealand curriculum online. Retrieved April 22, 2012, from http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/‌Curriculum-documents/‌The-New-Zealand-Curriculum/‌Official-languages

The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand. (2011a). Module 1. In 72276 Literature and information resources for children and young people. Lower Hutt, New Zealand: Author.

The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand. (2011b). Module 2. In 72276 Literature and information resources for children and young people. Lower Hutt, New Zealand: Author.