Kuwi & Friends Māori Picture Dictionary - HE PAPAKUPU WHAKAAHUA

WINNER - Storylines Notable Book Award 2021 - Te Reo Māori
WINNER - Storylines Notable Book Award 2021 - Non-Fiction
WINNER - PANZ Book Design Award 2021 - Edify Award for Best Educational Book or Series, Primary
FINALIST - New Zealand Book Awards for Children & Young Adults - Elsie Locke Award for Non-Fiction
Nielsen NZ 2020 Overall Bestsellers List Children & Young Adult - No. 2

The Kuwi and Friends Māori Picture Dictionary (He Papakupu Whakaahua) is a fun, easy-to-use resource for those wanting to discover, learn and use everyday words in te reo Māori (the native language of New Zealand). The illustrations are designed to help with comprehension, particularly for younger learners. Visual cues can assist with retention of language, to recall spoken and written words.

Designed for everyday use, in the whānau (family), kura (school) and for all New Zealanders. Ages 0-100+.

Nā Kat Quin ngā tuhinga reo Pākehā me ngā whakaahua (English Text and Illustration by Kat Quin). Nā Pānia Papa ngā whakamāoritanga (Te Reo Māori Translation by Pānia Papa).

A portion from each purchase is donated to Save the Kiwi

ISBN: 9780994136497

Kuwi's First Egg

"Children will enjoy the pictures, as the burrow expands and new insects make their own little homes around it, and the little kiwi’s expressions are rather gorgeous. A book that will be asked to be read again and again."

Maria Gill - Author & Children's Book Reviewer.

20c from each purchase is donated to Save the Kiwi

ISBN: 9780473299095

Kuwi's Huhu Hunt

"The text is minimal and demands to be read aloud and the characters of Kuwi and Huwi are delightful. There are some surprises amongst the illustrations, look for Anika the Moa. I thought the eel eclair looked delicious." 

Bob Doherty - Book reviewer - Bobs Books.

20c from each purchase is donated to Save the Kiwi

ISBN: 9780473325275

Kuwi's Very Shiny Bum

#3 in the over-all New Zealand Bestseller for 2016.

A humorous and light hearted story to guide children from a young age to look for small ways to be generous and caring of others, in a time of year that can often be all about the ‘presents’.  A perfect kiwi Christmas book.

20c from each purchase is donated to Save the Kiwi

ISBN: 9780994136404

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KUWI’S ROWDY CROWD

All Kuwi the Kiwi wants is to sit down with a quiet cup of tea. But wherever she goes, someone turns up to shatter the peace.

20c from each purchase is donated to Save the Kiwi

ISBN: 9780994136459

Te Hua Tuatahi a Kuwi

Te reo Māori translated version of Kuwi's First Egg. 

Nā Kat Quin i tuhi. Written and Illustrated by Kat Quin.  Nā Pānia Papa i whakamāori. Translated by Pānia Papa

Winner of the Te Reo Māori Childrens Choice Award 2016.

20c from each purchase is donated to Save the Kiwi

ISBN: 9780473349455

Te Toro Huhu a Kuwi

Te reo Māori translated version of Kuwi's Huhu Hunt. 

Nā Kat Quin i tuhi. Written and Illustrated by Kat Quin.  Nā Pānia Papa i whakamāori. Translated by Pānia Papa

20c from each purchase is donated to Save the Kiwi


ISBN: 9780994136411

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TE TOU PĪATAATA O KUWI

Te reo Māori translated version of Kuwi's Very Shiny Bum. 

Nā Kat Quin i tuhi. Written and Illustrated by Kat Quin.  Nā Pānia Papa i whakamāori. Translated by Pānia Papa

20c from each purchase is donated to Save the Kiwi


ISBN: 9780994136442

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Ngā Hoa Hoihoi o Kuwi

Te reo Māori translated version of Kuwi's Rowdy Crowd. 

Nā Kat Quin i tuhi. Written and Illustrated by Kat Quin.  Nā Pānia Papa i whakamāori. Translated by Pānia Papa

FINALIST - Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Poumanu Award for Te Reo Māori - New Zealand Book Awards for Children & Young Adults

20c from each purchase is donated to Save the Kiwi
ISBN: 9780994136480

 
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KUWI'S KITCHEN

(Kiwi Kids' Cookbook)

Kuwi's Kitchen is filled with easy-to-make recipes, a creative way to encourage kids to make their own simple meals and fun, well-balanced healthy lunches.
 

20c from each purchase is donated to Kiwis for Kiwi

ISBN: 9780994136435

Kuwi's Creative Colouring Book

(For Big and Small People). 

Kuwi the Kiwi takes you on a native New Zealand journey through intricate line art. The illustrative magic of Kat Quin comes alive with this creative colouring book, stunningly illustrated for all ages.

20c from each purchase is donated to Kiwis for Kiwi

ISBN: 9780473349745

 

Character model of Kuwi, with initial sketches.

Character model of Kuwi, with initial sketches.

Character sketches in different poses

Character sketches in different poses

Kat working on her Intuos Cintiq

Kat working on her Intuos Cintiq

BRIEF HISTORY OF Kuwi THE KIWI.

I first came up with the idea behind Kuwi’s First Egg when I was surviving through the perils of life with a newborn. I felt a little like I was learning to be a parent through trial and error. I made mistakes, had to ask for help, and learned so much. Kuwi is me, and any parent who feels a little like they were thrown in the deep end when they became a parent.

in 2013, I had 2 year old Willow and was pregnant with my third daughter Florence, when I actually put pen to paper to write and storyboard the book. I had been reading very basic and un-stimulating books to Willow, aimed at her age group. I wanted to write something I could read to a child of that age, that they would enjoy as much as the parent reading it.

In my research, I discovered that the male kiwi typically cares for the kiwi egg. I thought that was quite interesting, and so the character Kuwi, being female, turns that idea on its head. She is a confused first-time mother Kiwi, who has found herself alone with her new egg. The kiwi population is so fragile, I imagine kiwi often lose their partners to predators. And what would happen if a pregnant kiwi lost her mate?

I added basic Māori words into the story, to introduce children to a little te reo Māori at a young age. The story is simply written to suit the 1-5 year age group, but it has a broader appeal due to it’s sense of humour and subtle iconic New Zealand feel.

 

PROCESS - How do you create a children's Book?

I spent over a year working on the illustrations for Kuwi’s First Egg. Firstly I put together the sketched storyboard to create an illustration for each page of text in the book. I did a lot of research on kiwi, then I drew the main character, Kuwi, again and again in many different positions and with different expressions to get her looking just right. Practice really does make perfect! I also created a plasticine character model of Kuwi which helped me with consistency of the character throughout the book.

I then created the layout of the book in the program Adobe InDesign. I made sure there were the correct number of pages for the printing process I had chosen, and placed all of the text on the pages. The next step was to draw each illustration spread to scale, with traditional pencil. Then, using tracing paper I drew these over and over until I was completely happy with the composition.

I then printed out the book with all of the draft sketches and text in place. I read this draft over and over to my girls, to make sure the text flowed and that the illustrations had the right level of detail. I also tested it on their friends, my friends, and other family members. When I was completely happy with the text and illustration ‘skeletons’, I scanned them and created a digital file of each sketch using Adobe Photoshop. I created my own brushes and swatches within Photoshop and used them to start the arduous but absolutely enjoyable part – painting each spread.

My style guidelines for the illustration of this book were to create a cute, emotive, detailed and humourous images, that together with the story can be read over and over again, and with each time, something new can be discovered within the illustrations.