DescriptionWinner of the UK Rubery Award for both the Children and Young Adult Category, and Book of the Year 2024.Judges said: “It’s a glorious voyage-and-return story combined with a crash course in marine biology! The relationship between Mahina and Tahi is a treat to read, as is their gripping journey among the myriad of marine wonders. The language is full of energy, with lovely descriptions of the ocean, and the story is nicely complemented by striking illustrations, each interacting with the other with a striking originality. It’s a gorgeous book with clear contemporary relevance that will delight a broad range of readers from children to young adults.”Julian Aguon, Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies ~ “Rarely does a book with this much magic come along. Cries from the Moana is so many things at once: a children’s story, a cautionary tale, a clarion call for justice.”Story summaryTahi and Mahina are cousins living on a small island in the vast ocean continent of the Pacific. Raised by their grandmothers, they are regular village kids. Until the day when they are called on for a special mission to save the seabed. And then extraordinary things begin to happen.But the children’s families have been locked in a battle of bitter memories since an accident at sea snatched away the lives of their mothers. Will their estranged relationship get in the way of a successful mission? Will the fact that Mahina is blind be a hindrance or a help?Follow the magical journey of the children across the Pacific Ocean in search of a secret passage, then downward to the ocean floor to find out what threatens its survival. Feel their excitement and awe as they encounter fascinating ocean creatures and untangle some of the mysteries of the deep. Then discover why a huge, ugly machine lies abandoned on the seabed.But can anything be done to save the ocean creatures and their habitat from this terrifying intruder? Will the children be able to put aside family grudges to work as a team? And will they make it back home safely, and in time, to deliver an urgent message from the spirit world?Cries from the Moana celebrates the beauty and bounty of the ocean and the unique spiritual connection Pacific Islanders have with it. It is also a cautionary tale about an extractive industry that threatens to destroy rich ocean life forms, habitats and ecosystems on which the survival and health of Pacific island societies depend.This book is an engaging story of family, friendship, and adventure that explores the themes of inclusion, forgiveness and team work; community and cultural identity; and ocean conservation. It is also a reminder that disability can sometimes open the door to something extraordinary.About the creators‘Atu Emberson-Bain was born in Tonga to a New Zealand father and Pacific Island mother. She lives in Fiji. A graduate of Oxford and London universities (B.A. Hons, M.A.), the Australian National University (Ph.D), and the University of the South Pacific (LL.B), ‘Atu is a former academic, documentary film-maker, parliamentarian, and regional adviser (social development) for the United Nations (ESCAP). Her publications include Labour and Gold in Fiji, a history of land-based mining published by Cambridge University Press, and an edited collection of Pacific Island women’s writings, Sustainable Development or Malignant Growth? Now a grandmother, this is her first venture into creative writing.Co-authors, Melino and Siale Bain-Vete also live in Fiji. They have academic backgrounds in language and literature, development, climate change, fisheries and deep sea mining, from universities in the UK, France and the USA. Children Mahina and Tahi, aged 5 and 6 years respectively, have contributed a number of drawings.Illustrator Anga’efonu Bain-Vete (Auntie Fonu) is a multi-disciplinary artist and visual storyteller. Her colourful body of work celebrates Earth knowledge and Oneness, and her practice is guided by a desire to nurture an emotionally intelligent and kind humanity, and to honour our universal ancestral ties to the ocean and to one another. She is a graduate of the San Francisco Art Institute (B.A. Fine Arts) and Monash University (M.A. Visual Culture). Her first illustrated children’s book, “Do you want to meet your Grandma?” by S.V. Middleby, was published by Boolarong Press in 2022.
