Tide's Out Tai Timu

A simple counting book in both English and te reo Maaori, Tide’s Out Tai Timu is the first book by Auckland writer Frances Plumpton. It’s based on a photographic book she made for her grandchildren and is set at Huia on the Manukau Harbour.

It features three children who explore the beach once the tide has gone out, searching for treasures. It’s a scene many Aotearoa New Zealand children will identify with and may have spent time during our summer doing just that.

The illustrations are beautifully detailed water colours by Stephanie Thatcher who lives in Huia. She captures the uniqueness of each taonga as well as the surrounding bay with great detail.

A special feature of this book is that it includes pictures and vocabulary / kupu of other things often found at the beach, allowing children to extend the vocabulary in both English and te reo Maaori.

While it is predominantly written for younger children as a counting book, it would also be useful to use for older children to teach te reo Maaori sentence structure and kupu. Oral Language is supported as tamariki can predict what the next find might be and describe the illustrations.

Do you have any advisory warnings for this book: No

Would this book work as a read aloud? Yes

Is there a particular part of the country that it's set in? Coastal New Zealand