Riwia me te Mātai Arorangi

He pukapuka whakahirahira tēnei, nā te taniwha hikuroa a Linda Tuhiwai Smith. I titoa e ia 'Riwia me te Mātai Arorangi' hei tautoko i te hunga tamariki kua pāngia ki te pāmamae.

He pakiwaitara tēnei e pā ana ki a Riwia me tōna whānau e noho ana i roto i te wēne a “Star-gazer”, kia whakatata ake i te pōtiki a Tawa ki rō hōhipera. Kātahi ka mate a Tawa, ā, ka hoki te whānau ki Te Teko tangi ai. Ka whakaatu tēnei pukapuka i ngā āhuatanga uaua mō te whānau kia noho tata ki a pēpi Tawa ki rō hōhipera. Ka whakamārama hoki tēnei pukapuka i ngā āhuatanga o te whānau pani. Ka tino tautoko tēnei pukapuka i ngā tamariki e noho ana ki raro i te kapua pōuri.

Nā Isobel Joy Te Aho-White ngā pikitia whakaari ātaahua hei tautoko i te pakiwaitara nei. Nā ngā pikitia whakaari ka whakawhānui i tō Riwia ao me te pakiwaitara.

I rongo ahau i te pōuri i te pānuitanga o tēnei pukapuka, heoi, he kaupapa whakahirahira tēnei. Ka āwhina tēnei pukapuka i ngā whānau me ngā tamariki ki te kōrero i ngā mātau ā-wheako. Ko te tumanako ia, kei ia kura, kei ia wāhi tautoko tamariki tēnei pukapuka. Me whakanui tēnei pukapuka ka tika!

'Riwia me te Mātai Arorangi' is a book that has been written by the renowned Linda Tuhiwai Smith to support tamariki who have been affected by grief.

The book tells the story of Riwia and her whanau who live in a van called “Star-gazer” so that they can be closer to baby Tawa in hospital. When baby Tawa dies, the family return to Te Teko to tangi. This book shows the difficulties the whanau face to be close to baby Tawa in hospital, and follows Riwia as she grieves for her baby brother. This book offers hope to tamariki who have lost loved ones.

Isobel Joy Te Aho-White has produced the beautiful illustrations that support this book. The illustrations add depth to the story and expand on what we know about Riwia’s story.

This resource should be available in all schools and places that support tamariki. I felt so sad reading this story, but it has an important message and I hope it helps whānau and tamariki to talk about their experiences. This resource should be available in all schools and places that support tamariki. We need more books like this!

Note from Read NZ Te Pou Muramura: This series features trauma and difficult experiences, including violence and suicide. There is a very good interview with the author on The Sapling, which discusses these books further. You can find this here: https://www.thesapling.co.nz/qa-linda-tuhiwai-smith-on-the-whatumanawa-collection/