loudlysilent:
“The Whale Rider” by Witi Ihimaera wasn’t what I was expecting: it deals with many more cultural, gender, and environmental issues than the average children’s book. The setting is a Maori village in New Zealand where Kahu has just been born. She’s the first great-grandchild in her extended family, and her great-grandfather, Koro, is not happy about it. Koro is the tribal chief, and he wanted a boy heir. As Kahu grows up from a toddler to a young child, it’s heartbreaking to see her unswerving devotion to her great-grandfather, despite his perpetual rejection of her. Continue reading
The Wind-Up Books Chronicle 