In a time long before pakeha strode Aotearoa, 12 year old Te Kawenga is busy fetching water from a nearby spring. Others are also there this early in the morning, including her cousin Kakati.

Kakati has some interesting gossip this morning, about Te Kawenga’s father. She believes he and his men are building something strange on a headland called Pūponga, but Te Kawenga scoffs at Kakati.

After a morning of work in the gardens and heading back to their pā, Te Kawenga looks out over their bay and towards Pūponga. Her thoughts fall to the tales told one winter’s evening of a beloved taniwha called Ureia. Ever since, she has been wary entering the sea.

The next time Te Kawenga sees her cousin, she is excited with more news. This time she is sure Te Kawenga’s father is helping build a huge trap for something. Te Kawenga soon has her own gossip, after eavesdropping on visitors to the pā. To know for sure what is going on, Te Kawenga knows she must go and see for herself.

With a little white lie to her mother, she and her cousin set off for the truth and are soon in the adventure of their lives. What they learn is much worse than imagined, and they know they must do their best to stop something terrible happening. But will anyone listen to them?

Set in 1700’s Aotearoa in Tāmaki-makau-rau (Auckland area), and based on oral histories of Hauraki and Tāmaki iwi, To Trap a Taniwha takes the reader back in time to an established pā. Daily life, pallisades (battlement walls), gardens, and normal chores are loosely described within the story to further draw the reader into the setting.

Many Māori words are encountered in this short junior novel, and I did have to look them up. But of course, each time I did, I learnt more te reo. With a full page illustration (by Award Winning Illustrator Story Hemi-Morehouse) at the beginning of every chapter, and a glossary of place names in the back of the book, this is a fantastic story for kiwi kids.

History, mystery, action and te reo – all woven together into an exciting adventure.

Author – Jane Cooper

Illustrator – Story Hemi-Morehouse

Age – 7+

(2022, Huia Publishers, Māori, pā, Palisades, Mystery, Family, Cousin, Taniwha, Monster, NZ, New Zealand Author, Aotearoa, Auckland,  Tāmaki-makau-rau, Waitemata, Onehunga, Courage, Battle, Trap, Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Historical, Secret)