The Astromancer: The Rising of Matariki
By (Author) Witi Ihimaera
Illustrated by Isobel Joy Te Aho-White
Penguin Group (NZ)
Puffin
17th May 2022
New Zealand
Children
Fiction
Childrens / Teenage fiction: Traditional stories
Childrens / Teenage fiction: Historical fiction
Hardback
64
Width 217mm, Height 257mm, Spine 13mm
522g
A lively story with stunning illustrations that reveals the tradition of Matariki. The Astromancer is looking for four new apprentices to learn about Matariki and the Maramataka calendar. She chooses three boys and an orphan girl, Aria, who will come only if she can bring her smelly dog. Aria, though, is bored by the lessons, and she doesn't want to be told what to do. But these are dangerous times, and Ruatapu the Ravenous is about to threaten the safety of the whole tribe. Will Aria step up to save them Also available in te reo Maori as Te Kokorangi.
Witi Ihimaera, Ngai Tuhoe, Te Whanau-a-Apanui, Ngati Kahungunu, Ngai Tamanuhiri, Rongowhakaata, Ngati Porou, and Whakatohea, was the first Maori to publish both a book of short stories and a novel, and has published many notable works. Isobel Joy Te Aho-White, Ngati Kahungunu and Ngai Tahu, is a freelance graphic artist and illustrator with a Bachelor of Computer Graphic Design and a Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Visual Communication Design.