Check out the latest books on Pacific culture, society and customs for kids and adults. This list updates when we add new titles to our collection.
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Book
"Dr Tokilupe Taumoepeau made history when she became New Zealand's first female vascular surgeon. This ... Tongan is helping open doors in health and medicine for young people with Pacific heritage - including her own family."--Back cover.
Music CD
Hiapo is the barkcloth of Niue, made from the ata (mulberry tree) and used at important events, such as a hair-cutting ceremony. The designs that embellish this fabric come from nature and the people of Niue, rich motifs of the environment and cultur...
"Leckie tells a forgotten story of silence, suffering, and transgressions in the colonial Pacific. It offers new insights into a history of Fiji by entering the Pacific Islands' most enduring psychiatric institution--St Giles Psychiatric Hospital--es...
It's fingerpainting time and Alisa comes up with a way to create an orange butterfly.
Picture book
"Buster the Tongan Dog Goes Exploring beautifully captures the setting and spirit of a Tongan outer island village. This book was inspired by author Mark Cooprider's time in the Pacific Island nation of Tonga as a Peace Corps volunteer. The story fol...
"Tokelau is located 3,355 kilometers North, North East of Aotearoa, New Zealand. Historically and traditionally, Tokelau had four atolls. Fakaofo, Atafu, Nukunonu and Olohega. Today, Tokelau now only has three atolls. The Tuluma is based on a true story....
"The relations between the European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states keep getting better and better over the years despite a number of unavoidable difficulties. In this book we methodically focus on the economic and trade profiles...
"This is a reminiscence of life as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in the Fiji Islands, South Pacific in 1968-69. These sketches describes the experiences , difficulties, and rewards of earning one's living in a foreign culture where one must learn to speak...
"Kalei, Moani, Pua, and Nana have to find their own food while their parents are sick. This means walking past the creepy, rundown fale to get to their plantation. When Big Bad Chief Lino jumps out and scares them, they end up finding someone who wants...
Describes Filipo's full-on day at ʻakoga kāmata. Suggested level: junior.
"Teine Samoa means Samoan girl. It's a label that carries with it an unspoken duty to obey, serve and respect your family and Samoan culture. But who can be teine Samoa? When should you be teine Samoa? And how can you be teine Samoa outside of Samoa?...
In this book you will explore the wonderful world of Fiji, finding the answers to these questions and so many more. Complete with incredible pictures to keep even the youngest of children captivated, you will all embark on a little journey into the g...
"This book includes a selection of sermons by Rev. Siupeli Taliai written during his long ministry, and commemorates the 60th anniversary of his ordination in Ha'apai Tonga, on 1st July 1960. It focuses on Easter themes and as a preacher, Siupeli had...
"Recalls the radical activism of Auckland's Polynesian Panthers. In solidarity with the US Black Panther Party, the Polynesian Panthers was founded in response to the racist treatment of Pacific Islanders in the era of the Dawn Raids. Central to the ...
This long-awaited poetry collection from award-winning Pasifika poet Karlo Mila spans work written over a decade. The poems are both personal and political. They trace the effect of defining issues such as racism, poverty, violence, climate change and...
Tiseniko discovers things of interest about Samoa. There are facts learned in a story book way. Featuring: swimming with turtles, plastic danger to turtles, how an umu is prepared, popular food particularly breadfruit, R L Stevenson's house. Each page...
"Pasefika Kids in Books aims to encourage the retention of Pasifika languages. Using rhyme, relevance & reading to encourage the use of fa'asamoa in our children's lives."--Publisher description.
"A collection of myths and legends from Tuvalu islands were released this week in a series of books to mark Tuvalu Language Week. The eight bilingual books tell different stories from each of the eight islands of Tuvalu. The stories were reinterpreted...
"Kneel like a prayer full of lynching / This is my God-given white" ‘Savage is as savage does. And we’re all implicated. Avia breaks the colonial lens wide open. We peer through its poetic shards and see a savage world – outside, inside. With charac...
A child gets ready for her first day of school.
"Niue Heroes tells the inspirational stories of achievers who have Niuean ancestry. It includes legends like Laufoli, Mataginifale and Maui; historical figures such as Sir Robert Rex and Peniamina; and contemporary heroes like Che Fu and Dr Colin Tukuitoga....
Sina And The Magical Eel - Polynesian Legends from Samoa retold by Reverend Falefatu Enari, inspired by Bettyheart Lototasi Enari. The sound waves of Sina's beauty flowed with the tides from the Islands of Samoa. The rippling effect of her beauty streamed...
Mama helps Lavinia learn how to pronounce parts of her face in Samoan. A children's language book to assist parents and carers to teach simple phrase...
Lavinia asks her family to teach her colours in the Samoan language and in the process, finds out what her favourite colour is. A children's language book to assist parents and carers to teach colours in the Samoan lanuage.
"After sixty-five years under New Zealand control, the Cook Islands adopted the United Nations push for self-government which it achieved in 1965, led by the enigmatic Albert Henry. But the early promise was left unfulfilled as Henry, attempting to build...
This a version of the Bible for the people of Kiribati (formerly the Gilbert Islands: hence the name of the language of the text)
"Tonga has by far the highest percentage of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of any country in the world. How did this come to be? At first, missionary work in Tonga appeared to be a failure. Then after the mission was closed...
The traditional headdress of Samoa. At one time only men wore this headdress. Now both Men and Women wear the headdress, at Ceremonies, Parties, and prestigious events. To me it was a blessing to learn this Art. While each Tuiga or headdress has a unique...
"This is a dual English Tongan language book where Sione Tapani Mangisi shares some of his memories about growing up in Tonga in the nineteen fifties. His topic is marbles, a children's game popular when he was young. The book describes how games were...
"Fiji-baat is the story of an 8-year old boy who is from Australia. He accompanies his mother on a trip to see his nana for Christmas. The young boy arrives in Fiji thinking that nana barely speak English but is surprised to learn the opposite. The g...
Describes the culture behind the Tongan national rugby league team, Kau To'a, Mate Ma'a Tonga, MMT, and features profiles on each of the players. Also tells the fictional story of Toko, who overcomes his fears and grows in self confidence.
"On Sunday 7 December 1941, Japanese fighter planes attacked American ships in Pearl Harbour, Hawaii. New Zealand, Australia, the United States and Britain declared war on Japan.And the Pasifika Coastwatchers leaped into action!Their job was to report...
"Mataginifale is a Niue superhero with a difference. She isn't known for her super powers, but for her super creativity. One day she had an argument with a whale that tested her thinking skills too"--Back cover.
"Maui threw his line and hook into the ocean. He felt the hook catch onto something huge and heavy. "Wow, it's beautiful!" Maui said. What amazing sight did Maui see in the ocean that day?"--Publisher description.
"Taro is one of the most popular foods in Samoa. You can bake it and eat it with palusami. You can boil it and eat it with coconut cream. You can even fry it and make taro chips. But how did taro get to Samoa? Find out in Who stole my taro? – a Samoan...
This picture book tells an old Tongan fable about a mischievous mouse and an unwitting octopus. An origin story, its illustrations take the reader from a Tongan forest to the edge of a fringing reef. The story is a parable to teach fishing lure design...
"Rev Siosifa Pole highlights Tongan cultural and social concepts and explores how they relate to his experience as a minister in English language, New Zealand parish settings. He hopes the book will improve the understanding by other people of the Tongan...
Robert Louis Stevenson, long recognized as a master storyteller and essayist, was also a prolific letter writer. His letters, some 2800 pieces of correspondence, have been published in eight volumes. Volume VII covers the period from September 1890 to...
An introduction to the alphabet written in Gilbertese and English.
An introduction to numbers written in Gilbertese and English.
An introduction to colours written in Gilbertese and English.
Mouse is tricked out of eating a banana by some ants.
When old enough to fly alone, Kaiana is given a plane ticket by her family to visit her grandmother, Teiti, who lives on a Pacific Island. There, beside a beach full of creatures, her adventures begin, as does her close relationship with Teiti. It's ...
A children's picture book about a Samoan family set in New Zealand from the perspective of a pakeha girl. A normal event in one culture may seem odd to another culture. But when pakeha Rachel goes with her new Samoan friend Luisa to visit her grandmother,...
DVD
The world is heating up beyond the capacity of some countries to cope. Entire populations of Pacific islands are threatened, jeopardising the sovereign rights of these countries and the security of the region. This book explores what a just response to...
Walter and his friends collect cacao pods to make koko Samoa, a traditional chocolate-tasting drink for his family.
Fa'afisi is nervous because this is his first time to serve the 'apa fafano (hand washing bowl) to the Women's Committee who have finished lunch after their meeting.
"This book is written with the blessings of my aiga. It is a collection of stories of my late grandfather Tanuvasa Saofa'imatumua Tanuvasa Tofaeono. The stories are the record of his genealogy, adventures and most of all, his tautua to our aiga, vill...
First in a series of books about Pacific Rugby exploring some unique characteristics of Fiji Rugby.
"After completing her studies in New Zealand, Debbie decides to travel back to Samoa to meet her father and for the first time in a long time to meet her mother as well. Upon her arrival she meets her brother Maze, who helped her to find their mother....
The Big O by Patrick Skene is the story of Olsen Filipaina, a New Zealand Hall of Fame rugby league legend who was a pathfinder for the Maori and Pasifika players who today dominate the Australian National Rugby League. In a career that saw him play 29...
"The fantasy creature Tiseniko models safe behaviour in situations where many children are at risk: train crossings, road safety, learning to swim, taking care by BBQ fires etc.
In Tonga families come together to prepare a kaipola or feast to celebrate special occasions. It is their way of expressing love, pride and gratitude to others.
All around the countryside during the summer season in Fiji, mango trees are laden with fruit. Alot of people on islands sell mangoes as their source of income. There are over 400 hundred varieties of fruit all around the world. They grow best in tro...
Breadfruit originated in Papua New Guinea and was brought to the Pacific by voyaging Polynesians 3,000 years ago. Breadfruit trees grow on high islands and low atolls throughout the Pacific.
"For my father's kingdom follows Tongan pensioner Sala Mafile'O and his family as they are stretched to breaking point by the commitment and pasiion to god that has driven Saia's life. This debut feature documentary offers a rich view of how contempo...
Each Pacific island nation developed their own traditional dishes and they found ways of preserving food for the times when food was short. People in the Pacific cooked their food in pots on open fire or wrapped in leaves to bake in earthern ovens.
"James and Jessie are embarrassed by Uncle Tino’s old car and the way he honks the horn so loudly when he drives them to school. But when the Samoan culture group needs help to prepare for the end of year concert, it turns out that Uncle Tino is full...
Mama Rules was developed from two workshops where participants were encouraged to reflect and dialogue about their stories and experiences of leadership. It is a culmination of experiences, ideas and discussions with various Pacific women in Te Waipounamu...
This book is about the Pacific Islanders who migrated to New Zealand. The Polynesian people who journeyed to New Zealand to settle come mainly from Western Samoa, the Tokelau Islands, Niue and the Cook Islands and also from Fiji and Tonga.
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