Te Reo Singalong books judged the best te reo resources

Te Reo Singalong books judged the best te reo resources

A self-published non-Māori author has scooped both awards for best resource
in te reo Māori at the CLNZ Educational Publishing Awards.

Sharon Holt’s series of children’s picture books with CDs, called Te Reo Singalong books, was chosen by the judges as the Best Resource in Te Reo Māori. The sixth book in the series, Matariki, was chosen as the winner of the Teachers’ Choice for Best Resource in Te Reo Māori, a new addition to the event. The Hamilton author said taking out both awards was a huge honour, showing that judges and teachers agreed that Te Reo Singalong books were the best resources available in te reo.

“It’s something teachers in primary schools and early childhood centres tell me all the time,” she said. “But it was still a big surprise to hear that we won both awards in that category.”

She started writing and publishing the series four years ago, after realising there were very few te reo resources that mainstream teachers could actually use confidently. “I suspected that marrying simple, repetitive te reo sentence structures with beautiful illustrations and catchy tunes would help teachers

and children to use more te reo in the classroom,” she said. “And this award has proved that to be true.”

It was an even sweeter victory because she hadn’t asked her network of customers to vote for her. “When the finalists were announced, we were told about the new Teachers’ Choice awards and encouraged to spread the word through our networks. However, I didn’t want people to vote for my books because they liked me. I wanted teachers to vote because these books are really making a difference in their teaching.”

During the evening, she was approached by category judge Brenda McPherson, who explained that her team of consulting judges from Te Reo Tuatahi teaching network were really impressed with the books in the series.

“I entered the four books that I had written and published during the awards period. Brenda said they couldn’t choose between them, so they decided to award the prize to the series as a whole. I was very encouraged by that, especially when I found out that they had only looked at the words and illustrations and not even listened to the CDs which turn each book into a song,” she said.

The books are illustrated by Deborah Hinde and sung by singer/songwriter Stacy Walker. There are already 10 books in the series, which also won at the Māori Language Awards in 2013. The next book, Te Wairua o Waitangi, is available in January.

ends

© Scoop Media