In this colourful collection of familiar New Zealand images, young readers are introduced to adjectives that describe the taste, smell, sight, sound and touch of the scenes of summer. From the sight of strawberries to the taste of melon and the sound of the waves, all the sense of summer are explored in this bilingual picture book. Ngaere Roberts once again takes the translation of the text to te reo Māori under her very capable wing.
Raumati: My Summer Words a great book for younger readers especially. It is rich with new, interesting vocabulary that our younger children can instantly relate to and understand.
For new writers, this book can serve as a great inspiration. It would be a wonderful addition to a school library as a text that models the use of interesting adjectives.
It’s a particularly nice touch that the final pages collect all the words into a simple summer poem, told in both languages. This too allows the book to act like something of a ‘how-to’. Poetry can be overwhelming and a difficult writing genre for children to grasp, and Raumati: My Summer Words can offer a simple, instructional text.
Each double spread is in English and te reo Māori, with bright photographs. The use of photographs, instead of illustrations, makes the scene instantly recognisable as it relates to something real. There is no extra decoding that the reader has to do, which allows the younger child to focus on the vocabulary the book is highlighting.
The text is big, bold and in a simple font, allowing, once again, the vocabulary to shine as the authors wanted.
With the world and words of summer – from sun to ice cream, jandals, BBQs, beaches and sunsets – this book is a must-have for Kiwi kids. We can’t wait until the other seasons are given the same treatment.
Reviewer: Rebekah Fraser
One Tree House, RRP $25.00