Awesome Books for Kiwi Babies | Book Review

My Body for Kiwi Babies & Animals for Kiwi Babies

Let’s name the parts of our bodies in English and Maori, and discover some of Aotearoa’s animals and their names in English and Maori.

My boy has ants in his pants and is a bit of a night owl so I was happy to see the colourful illustration of these board books grab his attention immediately and settle him quietly on the couch before bed, and for long enough to ready both!

kiwi books for kiwi babies

My Body, and Animals, are two of a series of books written and illustrated by Matthew and Fraser Williamson which teach our little learners names, numbers and colours in both English and Maori, and my little red haired tama took to it like a duck to water.

my body for kiwi babies

Simple and sweet he was introduced to manu (bird), kuri (dog), kiore (most) and poaka (pig), and the parts of his body from waha (mouth) to waewae (leg/foot), finding them easy to read with mumma. Pointing at the words and using the cute pictures to read them he was happily engaged and I was quietly pleased with it’s educational undertow! With sounds at the back of the book you’ll both be pros in pronunciation in no time. Older siblings can get involved in the fun too, learning a few more words in Maori, and if they haven’t already been calling their tummy’s “puku’s” from time they could speak they soon will be!

animals for kiwi babies

author ronnieWritten by Ronnie Swainston

Online Producer & Experiences Editor Ronnie is mum to two spirited kids who keep her on her toes. With a love for travel, film, tv, photography & (eating) food keeping her wishing for more time, & having a keen curiosity means she’ll give almost anything a go making her, and her family, up for the job!

Favourite place to be: On an adventure

10 Comments

  1. dawnblyth 03/07/2019 at 10:44 pm

    There are so many children’s books available these days it can be quite daunting as to what book to buy for who. Seeing these bright, colourful books makes the choice so much easier! Including another language in the book, that happens to be one of our country’s national languages, is great! Brilliant idea!!

  2. MuddledUpMolly 01/07/2019 at 9:08 pm

    These books look awesome!! I love how vibrant and colourful the illustrations are and the fact that they use both English and Te Reo. Our little lady is 5 months old I would love to get them for either her birthday or Christmas, thanks for the idea!

  3. Jen_Wiig 01/07/2019 at 2:12 pm

    How awesome that these incorporate Te reo Maori and English… There needs to be more like these i reckon. My boys are abit old for board vooks now but these would make for a fantastic gift for a friend of mine whose having her fist babe in a few months and she would appericate the maori aspect being shes half maori. Love supporting NZ Authors we’ve recently started buying Peter Millets kids books they are so so good and great kiwi humour in them… Book are life in our world

  4. kymmage 30/06/2019 at 11:04 am

    These books look so cool. Even though my kids are both older and at school, my youngest’s is still obsessed with reading her board books. For these books, what is awesome is the Maori language aspect. I love to incorporate as much as I can into our everyday. Any word that comes home from school, I try to use the same terms. I think embracing Te Reo is so important. I’m not always the most confident about it, so resources like this would have been amazing. I’d definitely buy something like this for new mums as well. I’m the friend who is always giving books 😂📚

  5. Alezandra 29/06/2019 at 11:39 pm

    Would love to get these books! I’m currently trying to learn more Te Reo Maori. And I think this would be a good resource for Playcentres as I attend Playcentre too. I am sending this link to our page.

  6. SarahBlair 26/06/2019 at 11:46 am

    These books look fantastic!! The bright colours and simple picture will really catch a small child’s attention. Kids love being read to. I have always read to my babies and when they start school their teachers have said that its obvious that I had.

  7. Micht 25/06/2019 at 1:26 pm

    Being from South Africa has meant a whole new introduction to a language i never knew of and where did i learn it from? My little ones actually…they have come home with Maori words and songs since they started at daycare and into the school years .. having a book like this would have been handy for them and for me too… i love that there are books that specifically teach Maori words to babies…its definitely an advantage at a young age to learn it… if NZ is home…

  8. Bevik1971 21/06/2019 at 11:34 am

    These look really good. My daughter loved books from a very early age and we read to her every day. The English/Maori is awesome, our daughter is of Maori decent and her pronunciation of the Maori word is better than mine! Nice bright pictures and simple words are the best for when they are little, but they absorb so much so repetition is important 🙂

  9. Shorrty4life1 12/06/2019 at 8:45 pm

    Wow how awesome that they have the English and Maori work for the animals and body parts. The Maori language seems to be coming into our childrens learning alot more nowadays which is great.

    • Mands1980 18/06/2019 at 9:20 am

      These are great wee books I know these days the Maori language is important at preschools, play centres etc and having them at home as well is great my children are a bit older now but if I had younger children I would be purchasing. Kids also learn other languages faster when they are little. These books have great pictures as well.

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