March 14, 2017
Awatea’s Treasure unlocks imagination
Stories told by a far north school principal around the campfire have been turned into a book that is engaging the attention of primary and intermediate school age readers.
Fraser Smith, the principal of Oturu School north of Kaitaia, says the stories he was telling in the classroom and as bedtime stories on school camps drew on his own experiences growing up in coastal rural New Zealand in the 1960s.
The next night, the kids would remind him of the story from the night before, and ask him to tell them what happened next.
Mr Smith says as a school principal he often struggles to find material suitable for rural Maori children and boys especially.
The stories in Awatea's Treasure are designed to be read aloud and include ghost stories, humour and adventure.
The book, which is published by Huia, will be officially launched at Marston Moor in Kaitaia on Thursday.
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