Kupe and the Great Octopus of Muturangi - Mat Tait

'A feast for the eye on every page. Not only a retelling of this legendary battle but a discovery of Aotearoa itself. Stunning!' Adele Broadbent, What Book Next?
Kupe's voyage to Aotearoa!

Kupe found that a huge, fearsome wheke (octopus) was taking all the fish in the ocean and the people of Hawaiki had nothing to eat.

So Kupe chased that wheke across Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa (the Pacific Ocean).

Finally Hine-te-Aparangi, Kupe's wife, saw land and a long white cloud: Aotearoa!

Find out what happened when the wheke and Kupe had a massive battle . . .

Perfect for readers who love:
- Aotearoa's earliest stories
- pūrākau about our land
- exciting chase stories
- beautiful, bright illustrations

Author bio:

Mat Tait is a South Island-based illustrator of European and Māori descent. He gained a BFA in painting from Ilam School of Arts and now lives and works in the Motueka area.

He's the author of Te Wehenga, which won the Margaret Mahy Book of the Year at the 2023 NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. He illustrated The Adventures of Tupaia, written by Courtney Sina Meredith, for which he was the recipient of the Russell Clark Award for Illustration at the 2020 NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults.

His comics work has been published widely both locally and internationally, including The Heading Dog Who Split In Half with writer Dr Michael Brown.

Mat is a fluent speaker of te reo Māori. He tutors under the kaupapa of Te Ataarangi, and continues to learn.

Age 4-10