This is a stunning children’s book about a couple of native New Zealand birds, Tere the Tūī and Taitū the Takahē. It is a clever, rhyming story of friendship, courage and the discovery that sometimes it's our differences that makes us truly special. Tere the Tūī and Taitū the Takahē are two very different sorts of birds; one loves to flit and twirl around in the sky, while the other prefers to rustle about in the undergrowth.
As you read through the book, can you find these forest friends? Tahi the Tuatara, Monique the Monarch Butterfly, Katie the Kahukura Butterfly, Keri the Kotāre, Pania the Pīwakawaka and Kelly the Kererū.
Tumeke is a New Zealand Māori word which means to startle or take fright. In recent years, tu meke (as two words) has developed as a colloquial phrase meaning ‘too much’ and is used to express excitement or being shaken up.
Written by Malcolm Clarke and illustrated by Hayley King, it is 24cm x 24cm and has 22 pages. This is the paperback version.
It is so wonderful that the Takahē population has recovered to a population of just over 400. Yay!!! That's so awesome considering they were thought extinct prior to 1948, when a small population was discovered in the Murchison mountains. And they are the largest living rail in the world!!
