Te Wheketere Moemoeā

Kei te pito o te tāone ka tū te Whakatere Moemoeā. I ngā pō ka tukuna e te whakatere tētahi pūkohu kitakita, ā, ka whakaaro ngā kaimoemoeā i ngā motuka e rere ana, i ngā putiputi keke me ngā taika kōrero. Tae noa ki te wā ka kuhu mai tētahi kererū i te Wheketere Moemoeā, ā, ka whakatōhenehene i te mihini. Ko ngā hua kino o tērā, ka ngaro ngā moemoeā mīharo, ka ngaro hoki ngā mahi auaha. Kāore he pūrākau, kāore hoki he waiata.

Kei whea mai te mahi toi a Zak Atea! He muramura, he kitakita te pūkohu me ngā moemoeā. Nā whai anō kua tautapatia a Zak Atea mō te tohu ‘Russell Clark Award for Illustration’ i te ‘New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults’. He maha ngā taipitopito i ngā whakaahua e pārekareka ana ki ngā tamariki.

He tino pai ki ahau te hononga i roto i tēnei pukapuka i waenga i nga moemoeā o te tangata me ngā mahi auaha. Kāore e kore ka rekareka tēnei pukapuka ki ngā tamariki nohinohi me ō rātou whānau.

In the centre of town stands the Dream Factory. Every night the factory releases a colourful mist and dreamers dream of flying cars, flower cakes and talking tigers. That is, until a kereru enters the factory and inadvertently disrupts the machine with disastrous consequences for dreamers everywhere. Not only are the amazing dreams lost, but people stop being creative, stop telling stories and stop singing.

Zak Atea has done a wonderful job of illustrating the mist and the dreams it provokes. It is no wonder that Atea has been nominated for the ‘Russell Clark Award for Illustration’ in the ‘New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults’. There is a lot of detail in the illustrations which tamariki will enjoy.

I really enjoyed how this book makes a connection between dreams and creativity. This book will be enjoyed by young tamariki and their whānau.