A mum and young son walk down through sand dunes and beach grass to the beach. Mumma holds a bucket to hold the pipi she wants to find for their kai (food).
They look out over the water as Mumma explains that the pipi are hiding under the sand and water, and they must find them for their whānau (family). At first the boy (Bubs) baulks at the waves rolling towards him and up to his knees, but Mum is already digging.
She has no spade or tools except her feet and hands to find the pipi, and Bubs is in awe of the handful of pipi she has already found. There is a special way to find the pipi and this mother passes this method down to her son as the seagulls squawk overhead, and little waves roll in.
“SHUFFLE to the left, then SHUFFLE to the right
TWIST your hips from side to side, with all your might.”
The boy watches his mother twisting in the water, and then tries it himself. He can feel something under his feet! He reaches down to scoop up the small shells from under the water, but something else catches him!
He tries again and sure enough, his shuffle and twist finds more pipi for dinner. When the sun is lower in the sky and the tide is coming in, Mumma and Bubs decide it’s time to go home.
Their whānau are happy with their bucket of pipi!
A delightful read of a mother and son’s time together on a summer beach collecting shellfish. Their shuffle and twist dance to find pipi under the sand is one many New Zealanders have tried, and Pipi Dance is a mother passing down this skill to another generation.
The rhyme throughout is fun, and the pipi dance rhyme is repeated through the story which allows young listeners to join in as they learn it.
This story is inspired by the author doing her own Pipi Dance on the beaches near Bay of Plenty town, Maketu.
Pipi Dance is also available in te reo Māori – Te Pīkari Pipi.
Author – Angie Belcher
Illustrator – Lily Uivel
Picture Book
Find more books by Angie Belcher here
Find more books illustrated by Lily Uivel here
(2024, Scholastic NZ, Aotearoa New Zealand, Shellfish, Beach, Sand, Ocean, Waves, Digging for Pipi, Rhyme, Passing on skills, Mother and Son, Family, Love)