Going on a 'Māori' Bear Hunt

21 November 2012

Going on a 'Māori' Bear Hunt

The classic children's picture books 'We're Going on a Bear Hunt' by Michael Rosen and 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar'by Eric Carle have now both been released in te reo Māori by Huia Publishers.

Both books contain the same original illustrations while the text has been translated into fun, rhythmical te reo Māori. 'We're Going on a Bear Hunt' is now titled 'Te Haere ki te Rapu Pea' and 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' is now titled 'Te Anuhe Tino Hiakai'.

'There has been a demand for us to produce some of the more popular children's books in te reo Māori for a while' said Huia's Managing Director Robyn Bargh, 'so we began a conversation with the respective publishers and authors of these books and they were very interested. The Very Hungry Caterpillar has been translated into over 40 languages.'

'We're hoping the familiarity and popularity of the books will help attract more children to learning te reo Māori' said Robyn. 'We've also made these books available to Books in Homes to help them in their effort to engage more children in reading, and especially reading te reo Māori.'

'Finally we've included read-along versions to help people with pronunciation. We printed a QR code on the back of the book which takes readers to a free audio download on our website of a fun translation read by one of our staff, Riria Hotere' said Robyn.

'Te Haere ki te Rapu Pea' is available now in all good bookshops and from the Huia website. 'Te Anuhe Tino Hiakai' is due out on 7 December in time for Christmas.
ENDS

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