Taniwha by Gavin Bishop

Author and illustrator Gavin Bishop (Tainui, Ngāti Awa) retells a variety of tales about the taniwha of Aotearoa, from the guardians who accompanied waka voyages to present-day inhabitants of the whenua and moana.

Describing how the landscape was shaped, and exploring relations between Māori and the sometimes friendly, but more often terrifying, supernatural creatures, these traditional stories are taken to a new level of visual splendour with Bishop's latest offering.

Bishop takes readers on a journey across Aotearoa to meet some of the taniwha who live here. Readers traverse the sea, rivers, lakes and land on their journey, meeting a wide array of taniwha - from the kaitiaki Hine-kōrako who saved her people to Hotupuku whose rancid breath withered mountain daisies.

Each taniwha story is succinct, but packed full of information. The selected tales traverse the country, although I would have loved to have seen more from the South Island. A beautiful location map at the back of the book points out where each taniwha can be found.

Bishop also includes stories of taniwha today, touching on the taniwha Takauere of Ngāwhā and Karutahi of Waikato, as well as Nanaia Mahuta's comments about the relationship between China and New Zealand. Underneath all the stories, both past and present, Bishop extolls the importance of the environment, and of respecting it. 

Bishop's artwork is, as usual, stunning. Every book of his is a visual feast, and this is no different. Each taniwha is rendered in gorgeous detail, with bold colour palettes and striking contrast. 

Readers will be utterly spellbound by this incredible taonga, a must for every home.

Reviewer: Rebekah Lyell

Penguin Random House New Zealand