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Brave Kāhu and the Pōrangi Magpie
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by Shelley Burne-Field
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by Shelley Burne-Field
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An exciting and action-packed animal story featuring two kāhu sisters who must save their injured baby brother - before a coming flood destroys their home.
"Brave Kāhu and the Pōrangi Magpie takes a fresh, hawk-like dive into the fictional lives of our native manu. Beautiful writing for young readers." - Aotearoa New Zealand Review of Books
Poto is the perfect fledgling – the apple of her father's eye and a natural at hunting and flying. Anything a kāhu is supposed to be good at, Poto can do best of all. She can't understand why her sister Whetū gets cross with her – it's not her fault she's good at everything! As for her baby brother Ari, he's so weird and annoying.
After their mother is killed by a flock of magpies, Poto and Whetū have to get an injured Ari to safety before a deadly foretold earthquake arrives, unleashing a flood and destroying their home. With the help of the birds and new friends they meet on the way, the hawk siblings journey through the Valley, keeping an eye out for a menacing flock of magpies who are on a mission to take back the Valley for their own.
Can they stop Tū the makipai and her flock from ruining the harmony of the Valley? Will aroha win out over hate? And will Poto realise that everyone has something special to offer, even if they can't do everything quite like she does?
Brave Kāhu and the Pōrangi Magpie is a cracking children's adventure story in the vein of Watership Down, from emerging author Shelley Burne-Field (Sāmoa, Ngati Mutunga, Ngati Rārua, Pākehā).
Author bio:
Shelley Burne-Field (Sāmoa, Ngati Mutunga, Ngati Rārua, Pākehā) is a kaituhituhi from Te Matau-a-Māui Hawke's Bay. She writes articles and creative non-fiction as well as fiction of all sorts, including short stories. This is her first children's story. She is an alumni of the Master of Creative Writing from Auckland University 2020 and also Te Papa Tupu mentoring programme. Her story 'Speaking in Tongues' was the only New Zealand Finalist in the 2022 Commonwealth Short Story Prize. Her work is now in print in anthologies around the world, and has appeared in Newsroom and on RNZ. Her story 'Pinching out Dahlias' is the most read short story published in Reading Room. Shelley is a proud member of the NZSA.