Mōtītī Blue and the Oil Spill: A Story from the Rena Disaster

DescriptionThis bilingual children’s picture book won the Best Non-Fiction category in the 2015 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults and was selected as a White Raven by the International Youth Library (IYL) in Munich, Germany.ReviewsAnnemarie Florian, New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults judge, 2015  ~ Every detail in this outstanding book has been lovingly laboured over – timeline, maps, acknowledgements, additional information. It has an evocative cover, resonating endpapers, thoroughly thoughtful design. And the heart of the story – the fate of Mōtītī Blue – nimbly engages the reader in both of our spoken languages for deep and recursive reading. Hats off to this small independent publisher for caring enough, for being persistent enough to get it so right.Bob’s Book Blog ~ This is a powerful, accurate and superbly illustrated picture book sized work of a major marine disaster. An excellent resource for a study of the Rena disaster and a beginning study for senior students wanting to dig further.Maria Gill, Kids Books NZ ~ This book is going to be a very useful resource for the classroom. Social Studies teachers could use it when studying ‘disasters’ and Science teachers could use the book when looking at the effects of oil spills on wildlife. Children will want to read it for enjoyment too. Young kids could have the story read to them or read it themselves. Older children will enjoy reading the extra facts. It could be used in kura kaupapa schools too, as it has Maori translations on each page… A well thought out book that is packed with lots of interesting facts. Highly recommended.