Pita the Pīwakawaka's Busy Day is a delightful bilingual story that follows the adventures of Pita, a curious fantail flitting through the ngahere in search of his parakuihi. Along the way, Pita meets a cheeky pūrerehua, a fast-moving pūngāwerewere, and his forest friends Tio the Tūī and Koko the Kererū. Through repetition, playful sound effects, and gentle humour, young readers are invited to join in with Pita's busy flit, flap, and swoop.

This book is more than a story — it is a structured literacy learning resource designed to support children aged 5–7 with:

Sentence Building: Moving from simple sentences (a subject - who and a predicate - do) to compound sentences using kupu honohono (conjunctions).

Vocabulary Development: Introducing and revisiting te reo Māori kupu in context (e.g., ngahere, awa, pūrerehua, pūngāwerewere, parakuihi).

Oral Language: Encouraging participation through repeated phrases, sound effects, and character voices.

Comprehension: Making predictions, retelling events, and connecting ideas through joined sentences.

Cultural Knowledge: Celebrating Aotearoa's native birds, animals, and environment with authentic kupu Māori.

At the beginning of the book, a Papakupu (Glossary) supports teachers and learners with precise meanings of the Māori kupu.

With its engaging storyline, interactive rhythm, and purposeful language teaching, Pita the Pīwakawaka's Busy Day is perfect for shared reading, guided writing, and vocabulary learning in junior classrooms.

The story is a warm and gentle picture book titled Imanuel’s Favourite Time. It follows a one-year-old boy named Imanuel during his bedtime routine, highlighting the moments he cherishes most, such as storytime with his parents.

You can purchase a picture book or Kindle copy of Imanuel's Favourite Time from Amazon - LINK. 

Ziggy is a special zebra with magical stripes that give him incredible speed and the ability to leap high into the sky. But every time Ziggy uses his powers, one of his stripes disappears. When he discovers an old story carved into a tree about a magical pond that can restore what’s lost, Ziggy sets off on a brave journey to find it.

Along the way, Ziggy meets new friends. Together, they journey to restore his stripes. With each challenge, Ziggy learns that courage, kindness, and friendship are more powerful than any magic.

You can purchase a picture book or Kindle copy of The Quest for Stripes from Amazon - LINK. 

Summit of the Gods is a created Māori legend about how Pukeatua came to be. Mount Pukeatua is between Wellington and Wainuiomata in New Zealand.

This book is in both English and Māori. The beautiful illustrations were done by Iraia Wereta, who was 13 at the time. The Māori translation was done by Te Hamua Nikora.

Bottom image (27 November 2017): Illustrator Iraia Wereta – a year 9 student from Mana College – met Mayor Mike Tana and showed him an advance copy of his bilingual children's book "Summit of the Gods | Te Puke o Ngā Atua", written by Niky Clegg. Teacher and mentor Dianne Khan, who introduced Iraia to Niky, was on hand too.

You can purchase a picture book or kindle copy of Summit of the Gods from Amazon - LINK.