BOOKS FOR CHILDREN

Te Ao Hou, October 1958, Page 18

BOOKS FOR CHILDREN Among the most valuable contributions made towards a knowledge of Maori history and Maori living is that of the School Publications Branch of the Department of Education. Bulletins issued to all primary schools include: Ruatahuna, by Ray Chapman-Taylor, Life in the Pa, Pts 1 and 2, by Ray Chapman-Taylor, The Maori and the Missionary, by Harold Miller, The Coming of the Maori, by Roderick Finlayson, The Coming of the Musket, By Roderick Finlayson, The Coming of the Pakeha, by Roderick Finlayson, The Golden Years, by Roderick Finlayson. The Return of the Fugitives, by Roderick Finlayson, Changes in the Pa, by Roderick Finlayson, The New Harvest (in preparation), by Roderick Finlayson, The Treaty of Waitangi (in preparation), by Ruth Ross. The series of bulletins by Roderick Finlayson describe, taking as an example one Maori family, how the changes of the nineteenth century affected the Maori people. They explain the facts about the changes in Maori culture almost like a novel, and so simply that children can without difficulty understand what happened. Life in the Pa outlines traditional Maori custom, and Ruatahuna describes the life of a present day Maori community in the back country. These booklets, together with the bulletin on the Treaty of Waitangi yet to come, present a good and lively historical background for Maori as well as European children. They do not, of course, cover the facts about Maori culture in any comprehensive way, but it seems to me such a historical background is an excellent basis for other cultural reading, and further bulletins are being planned.