Kimi is excited about his coming of age journey to the Stone Circle with all the other Kekeno. But when his mum is badly injured by a local shark, he knows he must stay and look after her and his baby sister. His best friend Rata decides to stay and help.

Kimi has heard so much about the journey to the Stone Circle and the awe of meeting Hina who will grant him his dream. But Kimi is worried because he does not have a dream. He’s not even sure he will get there at all as time is passing and the other kekeno have left for the celebration.

Finally his mum is well again, and with his baby sister strong and healthy too, Kimi sets off with Rata behind the other young kekeno. Along his journey he knows he must watch out for Orcas, the local shark bully, and also human nets.

Kimi and Rata enjoy their new found freedom in the ocean, learning to catch so much food their bellies are bursting. They meet two other girl kekeno and with them have adventures on land and deep below the sea. But no matter how much they try to avoid the perils in his mother’s warnings, the young kekeno experience human nets, sharks and a giant squid along the way – building Kimi’s worries that they won’t make it to their final destination together.

A beautiful story of our moana (sea), and the creatures that live in and around it. The age-old saying of: It’s the journey that’s important, not the destination, is perfectly captured in this New Zealand coming of age story.

Animals, Action, Adventure and friendship are key takeaways of this story. The personalities of four young kekeno (NZ fur seals), shine off the page as they join together in an exciting ocean journey.

There are so many ways to enjoy this book making it a perfect classroom Read Aloud:

Coming of age and growing up.

Dreams and goal setting.

Friendship and kindness.

Helping others and community.

The study of the creatures in and around our moana (sea).

Deep sea fishing and trawling nets and the havoc they wreak on the ocean environment. 

And to add even more to this gorgeous NZ novel, there is a glossary of te reo (Maori language) in the rear of the book, to help with the further understanding of words used in the story – which of course add to our own te reo.

Perfect for extending readers of Age 8-9, and of course beyond.

Author – Shelley Burne-Field

Age – 8+

(2025, Allen & Unwin, Action, Adventure, Animals, Courage, Friendship, Growing up, New Zealand, Seal pups, Sea journey, Ocean, Coming of age, Family, Stingray, Hammerhead shark, Giant Squid, Helping others, Working together, Bottom Trawler Fishing, Fishing Nets, Dreams, Goal setting)