Reo Pēpi

Reo Pēpi is a newly-launched publishing company that aims to give children a starting point for te reo through its beautifully-illustrated and fun pukapuka-books. Written by Kitty Brown with pictures by local artist Kirsten Parkinson, the books contain words and phrases in te reo Maori and English that whānau can read together with their tamariki, and get them learning the essential elements of language from an early age. Te reo Māori editor, Fern Whitau, was instrumental in ensuring the words used in the pukapuka were appropriate, going to great lengths to make sure the reo is pono.

Kitty is passionate about encouraging language and learning, and when she and cousin Kirsten found there was a lack of te reo reading resources for the under-fives, they decided to write their own. "We wanted to have text that was appropriate for us as learners and our toddlers, so it was really important for us to have something simple, short with repetitive sentences, and also language that we would realistically use on a daily basis," says Kirsten. Kitty believes that learning multiple languages is vital for enhancing brain function in babies: “There’s some new research that says that being bi-lingual, introducing and exposing your children to two or more languages before the age of 5 really improves their cognitive flexibility,” she says, “so it makes them better problem-solvers.”

The project took three years to come to fruition, and culminated in the launch of their first books in February this year. “We are stoked to be producing books in both NZ's languages in Dunedin City of Literature!” says Kitty. “Our pukapuka are aimed at all New Zealanders and we hope whānau will find them as useful as we have in adding some reo to the home.”

The first three pukapuka-books in the series are Kanohi-My Face, Kākahu-Getting Dressed, and Kararehe-Animals, and are a delightful way for parents to integrate re reo into the every day language of the whānau, with parents and tamariki learning together.

Reo Pēpi are currently working on more titles to move the programme forward, focusing on early childhood themes. “We see the future of te reo being with our tamariki, and wish to increase the cultural capital our families with strength in languages,” says Kitty.

Reo Pēpi Pukapuka can be purchased through their website: http://www.reopepi.co.nz/pukapuka-books/ and from the University Book Shop.