Watercress Tuna & the Children of Champion Street

What special gifts does the magical tuna bring to the children of Champion Street?An unusual tuna (eel) with a magic throat leaps out of his stream and visits a number of children in Champion Street. To each he gives an article of clothing for dancing, or a musical instrument. The children are all from different ethnic communities living in New Zealand. On Champion Street the children all come together and dance all day and all night.Written by the celebrated Patricia Grace, and with beautiful illustrations by artist Robyn Kahukiwa, this is a very special story for all the children of Aotearoa, and will be enjoyed by those four years and older.Also available in te reo- Te Tuna Watakirihi Me Nga Tamariki O Te Tiriti O Toa

Patricia Grace (Author)Patricia Grace (Ngati Toa, Ngati Raukawa and Te Ati Awa) is one of New Zealand's most celebrated writers. She has published over 35 titles, including novels, short-story collections, works of non-fiction and books for children, a number of which have been translated into te reo Maori. Among numerous awards, she won the Goodman Fielder Wattie Book Awards in 1986 for the much-loved Potiki, which also won the New Zealand Fiction Award in 1987. She was longlisted for the Booker Prize in 2001 with Dogside Story, which won the Kiriyama Pacific Rim Fiction Prize. Tu won the 2005 Montana New Zealand Book Awards Fiction Prize and the Deutz Medal for Fiction and Poetry. Her children's story The Kuia and the Spider won the Children's Picture Book of the Year and she has also won the New Zealand Book Awards For Children and Young Adults Te Kura Pounamu Award. Patricia was born in Wellington and lives in Plimmerton on ancestral land, in close proximity to her home marae at Hongoeka Bay. Her book Cousins was made into an internationally-acclaimed film in 2021, directed by daughter in law Briar Grace-Smith and Ainsley Gardiner.Robyn Kahukiwa (Illustrator)Robyn Kahukiwa (Ngati Porou) is a highly regarded New Zealand contemporary artist and award-winning author and illustrator of children's books.Born in Sydney, Australia, she trained as a commercial artist and came to New Zealand at the age of 19, where she came to be known for her work drawing on Maori symbolism and mythological figures as well as for her staunch support of Maori women's rights. She has written and illustrated 12 books of her own, and illustrated a number of stories for other New Zealand authors, most notably Patricia Grace. In 2011 Kahukiwa was awarded Te Tohu Toi Kē a Te Waka Toi/Making a Difference Award for her contribution to Maori arts.

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