The Whale Rider

Description

A beautiful picture book retelling of Witi Ihimaera's bestselling novel The Whale Rider, illustrated by Bruce Potter Witi Ihimaera's bestselling novel The Whale Rider is retold in a beautifully illustrated picture book format for young readers. From the time of her birth, Kahu is destined to become the leader of her tribe in the East Coast village of Whangara. But her grandfather, Koro Apirana, is caught up with the problems facing the tribe. He refuses to accept that a girl could take over from him as chief. Then a pod of whales beach themselves at Whangara. Kahu has to act if she is to save them and her people.

Witi Ihimaera (Author) Witi Ihimaera was the first Maori to publish both a book of short stories and a novel, and has published many notable novels and collections of short stories. Described by Metro magazine as 'Part oracle, part memoralist,' and 'an inspired voice, weaving many stories together', Ihimaera has also written for stage and screen, edited books on the arts and culture, as well as published various works for children. His best-known novel is The Whale Rider, which was made into a hugely, internationally successful film in 2002. His novel Nights in the Garden of Spain was also made into a feature film, and was distributed internationally under the name of Kawa. The feature film White Lies was based on his novella Medicine Woman. And his novel Bulibasha, King of the Gypsies inspired the 2016 feature film Mahana. His first book, Pounamu, Pounamu, has not been out of print in the 40 years since publication. He has also had careers in diplomacy, teaching, theatre, opera, film and television. He has received numerous awards, including the Wattie Book of the Year Award, the Montana Book Award, the inaugural Star of Oceania Award, University of Hawaii, a laureate award from the New Zealand Arts Foundation 2009, the Toi Maori Maui Tiketike Award 2011, and the Premio Ostana International Award, presented to him in Italy 2010. In 2004 he became a Distinguished Companion of the Order of New Zealand, in 2017 France made him Chevalier de l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres and the same year he received the NZ Prime Minister's Awards for Literary Achievement. Receiving the Maori arts award Te Tohutiketike a Te Waka Toi, Ihimaera said, 'To be given Maoridom's highest cultural award, well, it's recognition of the iwi. Without them, I would have nothing to write about and there would be no Ihimaera. So this award is for all those ancestors who have made us all the people we are. It is also for the generations to come, to show them that even when you aren't looking, destiny has a job for you to do.' Bruce Potter (Illustrator) Bruce Potter is an international-award-winning and prolific illustrator of more than 100 children's books. Perhaps best known for his incredibly detailed and realistic picture-book illustrations, Bruce has worked in a diverse range of styles over the course of his art career, which began as a cartoonist and caricaturist for a number of newspapers around the world. To date Bruce has illustrated the stories of many of New Zealand's finest children's writers, including the bestselling illustrated edition of Witi Ihimaera's Whale Rider. Bruce lives in Alexandra in New Zealand's South Island, where, as well as being an exhibiting fine artist, he is also an expert stage performer, musician and composer, weightlifter, and black belt (2nd Dan) in Shotokan Karate.