ATUA: Māori Gods and Heroes, begins with nothing. Then comes darkness, a pale smudge of light and then Ranginui e tū nei (a great sky
father) unfurls. Below him Papatūānuku stretches out. This is the real beginning of this Creation Story. This dawning is a love story between the Sky father and Earth Mother who in time have over 70 children. Only 7 however are given the important jobs. All Gods, they take their responsibilities seriously.
Looking after the sea and its fish, or in charge of fern root and food, kumara and vegetables, or God of forest, birds and insects. There is the God of wind and storms, or earthquakes, and the God of humans and war. These 7 Gods are introduced inside a double page fold out, stressing their importance.
The story continues as these powerful siblings squabble and even fight, first for more space then over differences of opinion. This squabbling is something readers can relate to in their own families. True wonders now appear – the sky’s stars, the sun, and the beautiful blanket that covers the Earth mother.
Higher knowledge is sought and wars are fought and the creatures of nature and even humans are born. This family tree spreads further throughout the book introducing many Gods we know and many that we may not have heard of. Some have secrets, some are cheeky but determined. There are those who walk with death, wreak revenge or murder, or even enjoy cannibalism!
Gavin Bishop’s signature illustration style takes the reader on this journey through many generations of Gods and their exploits. There is love, courage and great wonders achieved. Aotearoa is discovered and the awesome migrations explained.
This story begins slowly with nothing but darkness. It was a brilliant beginning, capturing my interest immediately. Without looking through it, I had imagined this book to show Māori Gods and Heroes in a kind of list format, introducing them to non Māori like myself. I was really looking forward to learning more about them.
Beginning to read, I quickly realised ATUA: Māori Gods and Heroes was so much more than that, following a family tree of Gods through their lives in a true story format. Each page not only only follows their growth and journey, it has snippets of information about Māori life, tools, customs, clothing and much more.
I learnt about wildlife, navigation skills, and the meaning of Māori sayings and words, all the while as a story was told in a way that I could make connections to the world around me. Why do earthquakes happen? Why do men have an Adam’s apple? Where did sandflies come from?
ATUA: Māori Gods and Heroes follows Gavin Bishop’s other hardback large format (35 cm x 29 cm) books, this being the third.
Author / Illustrator – Gavin Bishop
Age – from 7 – 77
WINNER – MARGARET MAHY BOOK OF THE YEAR – NZ Children’s and Young Adult Book Awards 2022
– ELSIE LOCKE NON-FICTION AWARD – NZ Children’s and Young Adult Book Awards 2022
– RUSSELL CLARK ILLUSTRATION AWARD – NZ Children’s and Young Adult Book Awards 2022
Find Teacher’s Notes here
Read a review for other books by Gavin Bishop (Click on a Cover)
(2021, Māori Gods and Heroes, Multi Award Winner, NZ, New Zealand, Love, Romance, Creation Story, Collection of stories, Murder, Grief, Action, Conflict, Sibling rivalry, Family, Historical, Revenge)