WINNERS @ MANUKAU LIBRARIES

As part of Pasefika Week in Libraries in August, we ran a Book Review competition for Primary School children. Below are some of the entries we received.

CONGRATULATIONS to all those you who entered.

TONGA by Carol Jones
Reviewed by Katherene ~ 13yrs old
Pakuranga Library

Dear Readers,
Malo e lelei.
The book I chose was called Tonga and it was written by Carol Jones.
It was a great and knowledgeable book which taught me many new facts such as; Tonga is made up of 171 islands although 45 are currently inhabited. Tonga exports many fruits and veges, the legend on how Maui fished up Tonga, Captain Cook visited Tonga in 1777 and heaps more other info.

I also read that Tonga had many Kings and Queens in the past.

Tonga currently has approximately 110,000 people inhabiting the islands where they speak a mixture of Tongan and English.

These are some of the information I captured from this book and I aslo picked up some Tongan words.

'alu'a for now.

TONGA

Reviewed by Inoka ~ 12 yrs old

My book is about Tonga. Tonga people were good navigators and they travelled one island to another with their boats or canoes. The capital city of Tonga is on the island of Tongatapu. Tonga island is close to the equator, because of that, the climate is generally subtropical.

ANIMALS: big mammals such as whales can be seen during the cool months of June, July and August. In Tonga there are coconut trees. They are very important resource for Tongans. Art, culture, singing and dancing - they teach singing and dancing at primary and secondary school levels of school. On that group of children sing at daily assemblies and take part in competitions. Tonga dance is taught in the same way, except that it is often enforced when there is a school dancing festival.

About games, sports and hobbies. Sports are played at primary and secondary school. Each secondary school provides teams to play (for boys) rugby, cricket, soccer, tennis and hockey. For girls; netball, tennis, hockey and handball.

COOK ISLANDS by Taria Kingstone
Reviewed by Nirat ~13 yrs old
Botany Library

Did you know that the Cook Islands are part of the Polynesian heritage? If you did you would know that they were told the story of great hero, Maui Potiki. And if you didn't let me tell you some things about Cook Islands I read from a book by Taria Kingstone.

Who loves food? Well... if you do you should know that Cook Islanders love food. They eat a variety of food including fruits and vegetables plus a variety of seafood. Economy on the Cook Islands form of tourism and agriculture.

Weaving is one thing that makes the Cook Islands the Cook Islands. A wide variety of things are made including baskets, fans, hats, trays, wallets, purses, tablemats, fishing traps, and sometimes garments. That is just some of the information on the Cook Islands. If you want to know more read Cook Islands by Taria Kingstone.

I LE AMATAGA by Bettina Ikenasio-Thorpe

Reviewed by Sorona ~ 12 yrs old
Otara Library

This book that I have read has been very enthusiastic and inspiring. I le Amagata is a Samoan book translated into English. My ethnic background is Samoa!!! Books that I enjoy have different kinds of language that tell me how similar words are to my language!!!

This book is about how God first created the world with his creative imagination!!! Each and everyday God would create something new and when he had finished he was happy but his work wasn't finished! He had created light for day and dark for night, he also created the big sky and God separated the heavens and the earth. He created land and ocean. He had filled the land with all kinds of plants, trees, and beautiful flowers. Then on the fourth day God had created the moon and stars to shine in the night and the sun to shine during the day!

God was happy but his work was not yet done!! God had also created all kinds of creatures from tiny crabs in the ocean to big mammoths on land but still his work was not done.

He also created the first man and woman. He named the man Adam and the woman Eve! And God was very pleased because his work was now done! God looked back at his work and was very happy with what he saw. And so, on the 7th day, God rested.

This book is really inspiring! I would certainly recommended it. Thank you God for creating the wonderful world we live in.

OUT OF THE DEEP - and other stories from New Zealand and the Pacific
Reviewed by Abhishek ~ 9yrs old
Botany Library

This book called Out of the Deep has 16 stories and out of them I have chosen The One that Got Away by Kingi McKinnon.
It is set in Maori New Zealand. The situation is clearly described. I think the place is set on a farm by a river.

The main character is Kipa Hikuroa. His nickname is Smokey. Others are paddy (Smokey's Dad) and the Koro (old man, grandfather).
The way the author described them, makes you believe they are real people because they have possible names. I like the Koro because he is wise and advices Smokey.

Smokey and his Dad were trying to catch an eel into an eel trap. This is a common situation in Maori and Pacific culture. His Granddad informs them about a big eel, which lives in the river.

Smokey didn't like his nickname, but his koro told him that there was nothing bad about it. But if you want to know whether they catch the eel or not, you have to read the book!


PACIFIC ISLANDS by Nicolas Brasch
Reviewed by Christina ~12 yrs old
Pakuranga Library

Have you heard what the Pacific Islands are like? Well... I can tell you it is gorgeous. How I do I know, well I found a book called Pacific Islands which had a lot of information about the Pacific Islands. Nicolas Brasch wrote this book .

Did you know that the Pacific Island is divided into three different groups? They are Melanesian, Polynesian and also Micronesian. In this book you can find out many things such as the mass of the Pacific Islands joined together is 1,300,000 square kilometres.
There are different countries Samoa, Cook Islands, Tonga, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Tuvalu, Kiribati and also Nauru. You can also find out about the disaster that have happened in the different places.

Did you want to know one of the disasters... well there was the cyclone in Solomon Islands in 1986 the effects were devastating. There are many more interesting ones that you might want to read. As it my seem the Australian culture is linked to the Pacific Island cultures.
So overall I think that people should read this book because this book is wonderful to read about the Pacific Islands