Whetū Toa and the Magician

Description

Title: Whetū Toa and the Magician
Author: Steph Matuku
Illustrations: Katharine Hall
Publisher: Huia Publishers, Wellington, 2018
Format: Paperback
Condition: Excellent — as new
Price: $15.00

Description:

Whetū and her mum are looking after a magician’s place. In the house, things move around, giggle, and quack. On the farm, the animals have tricks too. Just as Whetū’s getting used to it all, the magician’s assistant disappears — and she has to step in. And she does something amazing with the magic in her fingertips.

That is the back cover, and it does not prepare you for Errant — an arrogant white rabbit who has accidentally created a carnivorous lamb and would rather disappear than face the consequences. Nor for the golden ram, the three lazy pigs, the talking horses, the cowardly bull, or the Royal Performance that Whetū has to pull off while also saving the day and, apparently, the king.

Whetū Toa and the Magician was a finalist for the Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction at the 2019 NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults and a Storylines Notable Book. It is published by Huia and illustrated by Katharine Hall — and at the centre of it is a Māori girl who gives things a go even when she does not think she can. Her mother is a solo parent doing the same.

Steph Matuku (Ngāti Mutunga, Ngāti Tama, Te Āti Awa) is a Taranaki writer who has said she wants more kids to be able to read stories set in Aotearoa, in a world they live in. This is one of those stories. The animals are not like any animals you have met, but the farm and the family feel entirely real.

This is Book One. Book Two is Whetū Toa and the Hunt for Ramses.

Why We Stock It:

A magical NZ adventure with a Māori girl at the centre and a solo mum doing the hard work alongside her. Huia Publishers. Esther Glen finalist. An arrogant white rabbit who is unambiguously the problem.