Alistair Te Ariki Campbell (1925–2009)

In some ways, this is a delightful book. It describes three children, mainly the two boys, spending a couple of months playing together along a river somewhere along the coast of New Zealand. The pictures are great fun. However, we did not like the attitudes that the children had toward their authorities. They were disrespectful, trying to get away with whatever they could, and siblings didn’t get along very well. We did enjoy the humor—like the time a whole gang of boys got scared out show more of their wits. There is also high adventure; think a bank robber running from the police! So, while we enjoyed the book, it will not be staying on our shelf. show less

Alistair Campbell is unmatched in New Zealand as a lyric poet . This selection from his early and mid-career poems showcases that lyricism, but also, especially in the sequence "Sanctuary of Spirits", a poetic engagement with the career of the formidable 19th century Maori chief and warrior Tamihana Te Rauparaha, foreshadows the darker poetry, concerned with history, myth and war, to which he was increasingly to turn. This is one of the great New Zealand poetry collections.

The following Maori legends have been retold by Alistair Campbell: How Maui obtained the Magic Jawbone; Maui nooses the Sun; The Great Fish of Maui; Maui and the Fire Goddess; Maui and the Death Goddess; Tinirau and his Pet Whale; Rata and his Canoe; Te Kanawa and the Fairies; Kahukura and the Fairy Fishermen; The Magical Wooden Head; The Story of Hinemoa and Te Houtaewa and the Kumaras.