Rākau: The Ancient Forests of Aotearoa by Ned Barraud

In ancient times, after Tāne Mahuta, the atua of trees and birds, separated his parents Ranginui (the sky father) and Papatūānuku (the earth mother) light entered the world so that trees could grow. Most of Aotearoa was blanketed in ancient ngahere (forests) and giant rākau (trees) like kahikatea, rimu, tōtara and kauri thrived.

But once people arrived, the landscape changed dramatically. Māori used fire to flush out prey like moa and to clear the land for crops of kūmara that often got out of hand and resulted in wildfires. The early European colonists cleared much more of the forest for farmland, and they needed timber for houses, fencing, bridges and much more. Most of the ngahere was destroyed but there are still special places where ancient forests remain, and mighty rākau stand tall.

In words and pictures Ned Barraud takes young readers on a fascinating journey through our ngahere from ancient times until today and then takes a closer look at the different kinds of rākau that grow there.

He is a consummate storyteller and evocatively paints pictures of how walking through an ancient ngahere is like stepping back in time.

‘Shaggy trees have coats of moss and are hung with lichen. A dense canopy overhead creates a cool shaded forest floor alive with ferns, saplings, and shrubs. Colourful fungi poke up through a deep layer of decaying leaves. Titipounamu (rifleman) hop from tree to tree, snapping up small insects.’

His beautiful illustrations will allow children to easily identify many different rākau, and the accompanying small story about each one provides interesting facts, including the many ways Māori used them.

Just up the road from us stands a small remnant of old forest. Here, giant Puriri, Karaka and Kahikatea tower above us as we set traps to catch predators like rats and possums. Some are over four hundred years old. How awesome it is to read in this book that Kahikatea’s ancestors evolved about 150 million years ago and dinosaurs roamed beneath their branches.

Ned Barraud includes the well-known traditional Māori legend about Rata, who omitted to ask Tāne for permission before cutting down a mighty Totara tree to build a magnificent waka. It is a good way of teaching young readers the importance of respecting nature and that living in harmony with our environment is important.

At the end of the book are two useful glossaries, one of of the kupu (Māori words) used in the book and the other of botanical words.

And in ‘Did you spot?’ , children are sent on a hunt to find some of the birds and other forest creatures illustrated in this book, which will encourage them to go back to the beginning and take a closer look.

Ned Barraud has written and illustrated over twenty books for young readers about the natural world. His accessible and captivating style is very appealing to young readers. And his books are aways carefully researched. In this book, he has drawn on the expertise of both the Curator of Botany and the Curator of Mātauranga Māori at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.

This book should be in every school library, but is also one for nature-loving families to read together at home. It will grow children’s knowledge and awareness of how special our ancient rākau are and how important it is to protect them.

Reviewer: Lyn Potter

Te Papa Press