Cry of the Taniwha
By (Author) Des Hunt
HarperCollins Publishers (New Zealand)
HarperCollins Publishers (New Zealand)
1st July 2009
New Zealand
Children
Fiction
Childrens / Teenage fiction: Crime and mystery fiction
823.3
Short-listed for New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards: Junior Fiction 2010
Paperback
208
Width 130mm, Height 200mm, Spine 8mm
175g
Matt Logan isn't looking forward to spending the school holidays with his grandmother and her new husband. He has to fly to Rotorua, where he doesn't know anybody, and he's a bit wary of his new step-grandfather. All Matt knows is that he's Maori and a bus driver. Along with his worries, Matt packs his pride and joy - a homemade metal detector, because, you never know, he might find something interesting. What he finds is Juzza, who lives over the back fence and wants to join a local gang. When the boys unearth a handcuffed skeleton, a chain of events begins to coil around them. Together they are thrown into a deadly search for treasure when the local gang boss decides to exploit their find for himself.
Des Hunt is a well respected educationalist and teacher, responsible for writing the national primary schools science curriculum. He has written a series of successful environmental adventures for 9-12 year olds. He lives in Whitianga, NZ and teaches at the Mercury Bay Area School.