Treaty of Waitangi novel wins at children's book awards
Māori writer and historian Ross Calman unpacks the complexities of Aotearoa / New Zealand's founding document in an accessible way for younger readers, judges say.
A children’s book about the Treaty of Waitangi by Māori writer and historian Ross Calman (Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Raukawa, Kāi Tahu) has been named the Margaret Mahy Book of the Year.
The panel of eight judges at the 2025 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults said The Treaty of Waitangi was “compelling and essential reading”.
“The Treaty of Waitangi is a miracle of concision without sacrificing complexity. It is written clearly and inclusively without avoiding uncomfortable truths,” judging convenors Mat Tait and Feana Tu‘akoi said.
Book covers of the winners from top left, clockwise: The Raven's Eye Runaways by Claire Mabey, The Paradise Generation by Sanna Thompson, Hineraukatauri me Te Ara Pūoro by Rehua Wilson, Titiro Look by Gavin Bishop, Detective Beans and the Case of the Missing Hat by Li Chen and Ariā me te Atua o te Kūmara written by Witi Ihimaera.
Supplied / Allen & Unwin, Umop Apisdn Press, Huia Publishers, Gecko Press, Penguin Books NZ
The book also won the Elsie Locke Award for Non-Fiction.
Gavin Bishop (Tainui, Ngāti Awa), who has won at these awards more than any other author, received the BookHub Picture Book Award for Titiro Look – “an absorbing exploration of reo Māori and reo Pākehā”.
Li Chen won the Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction for writing and illustrating Detective Beans and the Case of the Missing Hat.
“An all-ages book that is both fun and funny, with humour that hits on multiple levels.”
Self-published, first-time author Sanna Thompson took home the Young Adult Fiction Award for The Paradise Generation – a “very Wellington” novel which judges said balanced heart-pounding tension with emotional depth.
Rehua Wilson (Te Aupouri, Te Rarawa) received the Russell Clark Award for Illustration, for Hineraukatauri me Te Ara Pūoro, which tells the pūrakau of the becoming of Hineraukatauri.
The book, written by Elizabeth Gray (Ngāti Rēhia, Ngāti Uepōhatu, Tama Ūpoko ki te awa tipua, Ngāti Tūwharetoa anō hoki), also won Te Kura Pounamu Award for a Book Originally Written in Te Reo Māori. It’s a new award that acknowledges the importance of original writing and translation.
Te Kura Pounamu Award for a Translated Work went to Ariā me te Atua o te Kūmara written by renowned writer Witi Ihimaera (Te Whānau a Kai, Rongowhakaata, Te Aitanga a Mahaki, Ngāti Porou), translated by Hēni Jacob (Ngāti Raukawa).
Claire Mabey was the recipient of the NZSA Best First Book Award for The Raven's Eye Runaways. She was awarded $2500 in prize money, while the other winners received $8500.
