The Small Girl Who Lives Next Door

From two aunties playing cards to an old soldier eating ice-cream... from two birds building their nest to a great mountain looking down... follow Jack as he travels deeper and deeper into the heart of Te Reo Maori where he discovers a new way of looking at a world he once thought he knew.

In this book Glenn Colquhoun and Rautini O'Brien tell the story of a young Pakeha boy learning Te Reo Maori. The journey takes him from the small girl who lives next door, through the landscape surrounding his town and brings him back home to a street that will never quite seem the same again.

"A wonderful book for tamariki and all learners of the Maori language. A simple compelling story takes the reader on a journey through the ages. The voice of the people, our ancestry, and the land we spring from, is beautifully evoked through a tale of a not-so-chance encounter between a boy and a girl. The insights into the mana of our language, and the reasons we cherish it so, are lovingly offered."

Glenn Colquhoun is a doctor, poet and writer. He has written many books for adults and children.