Row, Row, Row Your Waka

A former Feilding woman has put a unique Kiwi twist on the old classic children's tale Row Row Row Your Boat by introducing basic Te Reo into the song.

Mother-of-two Rebecca Larsen, who attended St Joseph's and Feilding High School in Manawatu, has written and illustrated Row Row Row Your Waka, which launched in Paper Plus stores around the country last week.

Having moved to Canada for several years before returning home, Larsen wanted to introduce her two boys, aged 4 and 3, to Maori culture. She now lives in Papamoa, near Tauranga.

"The idea started as a project for my little guys. I wanted to create a book for them to learn a little bit of Maori culture and words before they started pre-school in New Zealand," Larsen said.

"I'm not, myself, fluent in Maori but the book makes it easier for kids to understand, remember and learn Maori terms."

The 36-page book has been fully translated into Maori alongside the English words. Larsen's brother Richard has also put the story on a CD with music, which comes with the book.

In the story three flightless friends - pukeko, kiwi and hoiho - go on a journey in their waka. The story has children breaking into song, pulling pukana and doing haka.

Larsen has been working in creative design for 15 years, but said her creative ambition was inspired by her Feilding High School art teacher Mr Pierce.

"He was a big inspiration for me. We didn't just do the normal things - he went out of his way for us to create big projects.

"We worked with materials and it's been a while since I've been able to do that because I've been in the corporate world, but this book gave me a chance to get back into that getting your hands dirty type of art."

Larsen has included iconic New Zealand Maori geography, such as the Waikato River.

"I've given it a very Kiwiana feel to make it feel familiar to people. I've published and illustrated it myself so I wasn't handing my creativity over and it's come from the heart. It's got a real homemade feel about it."

She said flightless birds added to the story.

"The pukeko is a swamp bird, the kiwi and hoiho are also flightless - so instead of flying they go on water on a boat and go exploring.

"I also chose the hoiho because people don't talk about it much. It's on our $5 note, but no one really knows about it so I wanted to give him some fame."