Nana’s Veggie Garden - Te Māra Kai a Kui

New Zealand has the world’s best summers and the magic of being a kid is still alive in Kiwi backyards. This summer, Bella/Ngāpera, Jacob/Hākopa and Lucas help Nana/Kui grow, harvest and eat an amazing garden while filling every day with new te reo Māori learning and bunches of awesome memories.

This new title from Nana’s Shed Books is the third in a series of bilingual New Zealand children’s picture books by the Wellington writer and illustrator team, Marie Munro and Rachel Doragh with translation by accredited Māori translator, Piripi Walker.

Rachel Doragh’s lively illustrations bring the story to life in an authentic Kiwi vegetable garden and Piripi Walker’s translation abounds with fruit and vegetable names in English and Māori.

Nana's New Porch - Te Mahau Hou o Kui

This fully bilingual book incorporates the characters from Nana's Shed and Bella's Fringe in a story that revels in the fertile imaginations of Kiwi kids, especially those who enjoy building things, teamwork, creativity and working with tools.

The text has been translated by Piripi Walker, NZSTI, who has "kept the words simple and clear so the rhythm is right and each sentence will stand up well when delivered aloud".

Nana's Shed - Te Wharau o Kui(2nd edition)

The second edition of this popular story about Jacob and Max is fully bilingual.
Children are captivated by these two little boys who use their Kiwi ingenuity and imagination to solve Nana's problem. She wants a garden shed.

This book will appeal to youngsters who enjoy building things, creativity and New Zealand plants and animals. It also incorporates activities such as searching for hidden objects and counting in both English and te Teo Māori

Bella’s Fringe

Remember Jacob from "Nana’s Shed"? Bella is his sister and she’'s a bit of a rebel.

Bella knows her own mind and there is one thing she knows for certain – haircuts are out!

So Bella's hair just grows and grows.

This humorous story about Bella's hair continues with the search activities in te reo Māori that appeared in "Nana's Shed”" and extends the counting in English and te reo to 20.

Click here to order the book.

Nana’s Shed (1st edition)

Nana dreams of having a shed in her garden. Despite the passing of time, the parts for the shed lie in a pile on her lawn. Her grandson, Jacob, and his friend, Max, take matters into their own hands. Using some ingenuity and the sort of imagination that makes anything possible, they build the shed that Nana has always wanted.

Both books will particularly appeal to Kiwi kids.

“Nana’s Shed” is a story that reflects Kiwi ingenuity and the can-do attitude of the two little boys who successfully resolve Nana's problem. It’s about building things.

“Bella’s Fringe” reflects Kiwi humour and chips away at the gender stereotyping of young girls.

Both books will appeal to youngsters who have an interest in New Zealand plants and animals, activities such as searching for hidden objects, learning their names in te roe Māori, counting in English and te reo, or snuggling up and reading with their parents or grandparents.

Young readers who have just mastered reading will also enjoy the easy flow of its rhyming couplets and vivid, colourful illustrations.

Marie Munro

Marie has been a writer one way or another all her life. Whether as a teacher, journalist, desktop publisher, editor of her own community newspaper, the Motueka Sun, editor of Nelson's The Leader, or more recently, as a learning designer for the construction industry. However, her real love is storytelling and the time has now come for her to turn the invisible “Magic Story Book” of her classroom years into visible storybooks for the enjoyment of children, parents and grandparents.

Rachel Doragh

Rachel has always had a love of words and pictures and, after studying English Literature and Art History, found a way to bring those interests together in graphic design. She is a mother, part-time school librarian, artist and graphic designer. Rachel is responsible for the vibrant illustrations and book design of Nana's Shed.

Piripi Walker

Piripi Walker (Ngāti Raukawa) is an accredited te reo Māori translator and has worked professionally in this field since 1981. He has written and translated a range of children’s books, including Margaret Mahy’s He Raiona i roto i ngā Otaota – A Lion in the Meadow, Gay Hay’s Te Papangarua a Tiwaiwaka – Fantail’s Quilt and Gavin Bishop’s Koinei te Whare nā Haki i Hanga – This is the House that Jack built.

Marie Munro

Rachel Doragh

Piripi Walker

Customer Feedback

“[Nana’s Shed] is a real gem.”
Rachel, school librarian, Wellington

“I shared your Facebook link to [Nana’s Shed] on our centre's facepage saying that we just wanted to share our recent purchase - we love the book!”
Rachael, ECE Centre Manager, Auckland.

“Our children love this book and it gave them the opportunity to use lots of language as they relate to the real life events. The little things to find, make the book exciting and allow for rich conversations that let the mind wander.”
Jessica, ECE Centre Manager, Wellington

“Thanks so much for writing such a valuable book that our children can relate to, enjoy and learn from. We have had the book on display by our sign sheets and the children have been asking us to re-read the book over again.”
R.H., ECE Centre Manager, Auckland.

“Our copy arrived in the mail today! I have already read it to our daughter three times before bed. I’m not exaggerating when I say that she loves it. When I asked if we should read it again she said ‘Yay, it’s so so so fun!’ It is such a beautiful book! I love how there is so much Kiwiana in it and it flows so beautifully. I had a lot of fun reading it.”
Demelza, parent, Nelson

“Love it more each time I read this little gem. Wonderful creation. Stunning illustrations. A magnificent classic which must be in every primary school and library, asap.”
Kath, university lecturer, Auckland

“Our grandsons were enchanted by this story of two boys, mucking in to build Nana's shed. The illustrations and activities provide another reason to come back to the book time and again.”
Kay, grandparent, Wellington

“…I've read it several times. Love the adventure Max and Jacob go on. Love that it is so interactive and children reading it have the opportunity to find little bugs and things.”
Trish, grandmother and early childhood teacher, Townsville, Australia

“Siyuan loves the story and all the pictures so much. She asks me to read for her again and again before bed. She likes the animals image in the pictures very much, especially cat, dog, frog and spider. If I say a word, she can point out the objects from the last page correctly. I am so impressed about how quickly she learns. Hope more kids can enjoy the book.”
Xiaoxiao, parent, Shanghai

“The story is a positive, satisfying one, of kids doing real work, and doing it well.…I look forward to seeing more from both the author and the illustrator, and my children and I will keep enjoying watching Nana, Max and Jacob work in a garden full of ti kouka and pōhutukawa.”
Reviewer, The Sapling

“This is a fantastic book.”
Anna, early childhood centre director, Wellington

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Nana's Shed Books
131 Woodman Drive, Tawa, Wellington, 5028
Phone: +64 (04) 232 7144

Or you can contact us by filling in the form below:

Marie Munro

Rachel Doragh

Piripi Walker

Marie Munro

Rachel Doragh

Piripi Walker

Nana's Veggie Garden - Te Māra Kai a Kui

$25

Nana's New Porch - Te Mahau Hou o Kui

$25

Nana's Shed - Te Wharau o Kui (bilingual 2nd edition)

$25

Bella's Fringe

$25

Nana's Shed

$20

$0