Born and raised in Pātea, Airana Ngarewa (Ngāti Ruanui, Ngā Rauru, Ngāruahine) is the author of the bestselling novel The Bone Tree. He won the short story and poetry competitions at the Ronald Hugh Morrieson Literary Awards in 2022. His writing has also been published by RNZ, NZ Herald, Newsroom and Landfall.
Pātea Boys / Ngāti Pātea
Is a lively and playful bilingual collection of stories about growing up in Pātea.
Interlinked and full of recurring characters, these stories are about growing up in small-town Aotearoa – sneaking away during cross country or doing bombs while the lifeguard isn’t looking.
The collection is designed to bridge a gap between children’s books in te reo and full-length literary works. With each story featured in both English and te reo Māori, it’s the perfect resource for those on their reo learning journeys as well as for readers who enjoyed The Bone Tree.
One Response
We loved reading chapter 1 of the Bone Tree at Selwyn! Many readers grew up in the country & related to the free range wild life of country kids. Jumping in rivers, climbing trees & going home for meals only. Mum kicking you out of the house for the day! We felt sad that modern city kids are not as free to dam streams or enjoy exploring the bush without adult supervision. Many readers have little siblings & we shared some funny stories about protective or destructive older siblings! ( trigger warning – a teddy bear may have been harmed / flattened by a pram )