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Mother of the Nation Whina Cooper

Meet Dame Whina Cooper, the kuia who championed Māori rights and women’s rights and led a famous hīkoi for positive change.

The true story of one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most exceptional leaders and a courageous wahine toa, who united thousands of Māori and Pākehā to address injustices, and whose mana and determination continue to inspire us today.

One night, Whina dreamt she was on a boat, pulling a child from the sea. She decided the boat was her journey through life, and the child was all future tamariki…

When Whina was very young, her father knew she was a born leader.
At 18, she organised her first protest to save iwi land.
At 56, she helped found the Māori Women’s Welfare League.
And at 79, she walked an incredible 1000 kilometres to Parliament
to deliver a message:
Not One More Acre of Māori Land.

Whina was an exceptional speaker, farmer and sportswoman. She could organise events at the drop of a hat. And she would get on the phone to tell the Prime Minister exactly what she thought.

Written and illustrated specially for children, this is the true story of an extraordinary woman whose energy and mana drove many successful campaigns for Māori rights. Her leadership in her community radiated out to all corners of Aotearoa, and her legacy lives on 50 years after her famous hīkoi.

Written by David Hill and illustrated by Story Hemi-Moorhouse 

Please note: if this book is showing as “available on backorder” with no copies in stock, you can order it, but please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery.

$25.00 incl. GST

1 in stock (can be backordered)

Description

Also available in a Te Reo Māori language edition: Te Whaea O Te Motu, translated by Stacey Morrison. Let us know if you’d like us to order this in for you.

Reviews

“[David Hill’s]stories are wonderful, full of action and are always teaching the reader about some aspect of our amazing country and our people.” Gisborne Herald

About the Kiwi creators

David Hill is a prolific and highly regarded New Zealand writer, playwright, poet, columnist and critic. Best known for his highly popular and award-winning body of work for young people, ranging from picture books to teenage fiction, his novels have been published all around the world and translated into several languages, and his short stories and plays for young people have been broadcast here and overseas.

Story Hemi-Morehouse (Ngāti Koata, Ngāti Kuia, Ngāti Toa Rangatira) was born in Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland) and moved to Australia when she was young. She was always obsessed with comics and drawing and turned her love of illustrating into a career. Story’s first published book, Mokopuna Matatini/The Greatest Haka Festival on Earth by Pania Tahau-Hodges, was shortlisted for four awards in the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults 2022. She has since added several more picture books to her portfolio and in 2023 Kua Whetūrangitia a Koro/How My Koro Became a Star, with author Brianne Te Paa, was a finalist in the Best Picture Book and won Te Kura Pounamu Award. Story lives and works on Yugumbeh Country (Gold Coast, Australia) and, thanks to the flexibilty of freelance work, also gets to spend regular time in Aotearoa.

Additional information

Weight100 g
Dimensions25.5 × 24.7 × 1 cm
ISBN

9781776958122

Format

Hardcover edition

First published

2025

Page count

32

Published by

Puffin Books, an imprint of Penguin

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