Authors: Rangi Mātāmua and Miriama Kamo, with illustrations by Isobel Joy Te Aho-White. Publisher: Scholastic New Zealand, Auckland, 2022. 80 pages. $28.

Matariki has become part of our nation and our churches in exciting new ways.

As we prepare to celebrate Matariki, this year on July 14, there are many good resources. One of the most flexible, exciting and practical has been crafted by Rangi Mātāmua, Miriama Kamo and Isobel Joy Te Aho-White. They are a great combination. Rangi is Tuhoe: descended from tohunga kōkōrangi (Māori astronomers), a professor of Mātauranga Māori who has promoted Matariki as a day of national celebration. Miriama is Ngāi Tahu from Rāpaki, a seedbed of South Island Methodism and an empathetic communicator, often on our television screens. Isobel Joy is a creative illustrator whose ancestry combines Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairoa, Scandinavia and the Pacific, and whose books delight a generation of pre-schoolers, children and parents. Together they have crafted a magnificent volume.

The title is an overview of the book. The cluster of stars is central and has given birth to a multiplicity of stories around the world. This book will engage the full spectrum of people in our congregations, from children to teenagers, to busy Mums and Dads, to golden oldies.

Matariki is grounded in Aotearoa. Ranginui and Papatūānuku are the parents and they have a family rich in compassion, turbulence and mischief. The first half of the book tells our stories. As we read and look at the visuals, our understanding of the seasons, the movement of the stars and the matauranga quietly grows.

But we share the cluster of stars with other peoples. The second half of the book tells their stories: stories from the Pacific, the Americas, from Australia, Asia and Europe. There are rich stories and intriguing connections that may resonate with some in your congregation. Two examples:

in Scandinavia, Freya travels across the sky in her chariot. The cluster of stars were likened by the Viking navigator to chicks surrounding Freya, the mother hen. The Viking navigators read the stars to find places as far afield as Iceland, Greenland, North Africa, the Mediterranean Sea and the Middle East.

Makali’i is the name for the cluster in Hawai’i. The stars are the marker for four months of celebration: feasts, games and competitions. One of the local competitions has become a world-wide contest: surfing is now a global sport.

This is a great resource widely available in public libraries. And it is great value for personal purchase.