Māui – Sun Catcher

Book Author & Illustrator  Tim Tipene & Zak Waipara
Rights Available World excl. NZ

The myth of Māui catching the sun to bring more light to the day is one of the foundation myths of Polynesia.

In this book, a modern Māui is a schoolboy who lives with his mother and four older brothers in a city where the day is never long enough to get things done.

Māui grasps the mantle:
Mum, I’m gonna catch that Sun for you. That Sun who’s always on the run.

With their woven flax net, the brothers drive to the pit where the Sun lives, and make their play to slow the day.

This bilingual book– in English and Māori – brings Māui into the 21st century in a fun and colourful retelling – the first in the international Indigenous Voices series.

• Pilot book in international children’s series Indigenous Voices
• Imaginative retelling of the beloved myth of the demigod Måui catching the sun
• Bilingual English and Māori book in full-colour hardback

About the Author
Tim Tipene (Ngāti Kurī, Ngāti Whātua) is the award-winning author of nine children’s picture books and junior novels including Kura Toa, Haere and Taming the Taniwha. A pioneering youth and self-defence counsellor, he leads the Peace Masters programme. Tim lives with his family in West Auckland.

Zak Waipara(Rongowhakataa, Ngāti Ruapani, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungunu), has illustrated and written for children’s books, comics, newspaper graphics, motion graphics and animations. He is currently programme leader of the Bachelor of Animation Degree at Animation College, Auckland.

The Māori translation is by Rotorua-based musician and academic Rob Ruha.