Nana’s Shed Books is an imprint of Kelsey House Productions. Based in Wellington, Nana’s Shed Books was established by writer Marie Munro in 2017 as a vehicle for offering high quality, bilingual picture books for kiwi kids.
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Welcome to Nana's Shed Books
New Zealand bilingual children’s picture books in English and te reo Māori.
Our Story
Nana’s Shed Books is an imprint of Kelsey House Productions, an independent publisher of quality, bilingual children’s picture books – kiwi books for kiwi kids.
Based in Wellington, we are proud that all our books are produced, printed and published in Aotearoa, meaning that all parts of the publication process contribute financially to New Zealand businesses and the New Zealand economy.
Our imprint name is derived from the title of our first book, Nana’s Shed, published in 2017. This title proved so popular that it quickly sold out and a second, bilingual edition, Te Wharau o Kui – Nana’s Shed, was published in 2019, establishing us as a producer of quality, bilingual books with literal translations by renowned and accredited te reo Māori translator, Piripi Walker.
Our writers create stories that have meaning to kiwi kids – building things, our DIY culture, helping in the garden, family get-togethers and relationships, helpful neighbours, cats, dogs, and the blackbird that lives in the backyard, all delivered with humour, well-crafted rhyming couplets, and repetitive phrases children can repeat along with the reader.
New Release
Our new release for readers aged 9-14.
Who would have thought a simple chocolate cake could cause such a transformation in a neighbourhood of people who scarcely knew each other? And who is the mysterious and light-fingered Miss Hartley who lives in the street but never comes to cake-time?
Our Picture Books
Our Team
Marie Munro
Author
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.
Ian Munro
Author
Ian Munro has spent his working life engaged in education at secondary and tertiary levels. He is a published author and has written a weekly column for the Otago Daily Times since 1999. His foray into writing for young children came about when he suggested to his wife, Marie, that there was a story about the bossy blackbird in their back garden just waiting to be written and she, in turn, challenged him to write it. This Dog – Ko Tēnei Kurī is the result.
Anton Rayner
Illustrator
Anton, who is currently a student, studying for a conjoint Bachelor of Arts and Commerce degree at Victoria University of Wellington, has always been a passionate creative with a flair for illustration that, in 2016, caught the attention of Marie Munro. In 2018, when he was just 16, she commissioned him to illustrate her first novel, An Amazing Chocolate Cake Summer. Since then, he has juggled university study, two further commissions to illustrate books, and also built a significant and diverse art portfolio, ranging from portraits to designs for painted nails and websites.
Rebecca Utting
Illustrator
Rebecca Utting (Ngāti Ruanui) is a User Experience (UX) designer and digital illustrator who brings a life-long obsession with books, a background in animation, learning design, voice acting, web development, videography, and running carnival sideshows, to her energetic illustrations, and the design of her first children’s picture book, This Dog – Ko Tēnei Kurī
Rachel Doragh
Illustrator
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.
Heneriata Te Whata
Illustrator
Heneriata (Ngā Puhi, Ngāti Hine and Ngāti Porou) is responsible for the illustrations and design of the new Nana’s Simple Science collection. She brings to her illustrations a background in science and a deep love and concern for the natural world and its inhabitants. In her street art, illustrations and murals, Heneriata strives to capture and celebrate the beauty of nature and its many creatures.
Piripi Walker
Translator
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.
READ-ALONG AUDIOBOOKS
In conjunction with Audio Books NZ, Nana’s Shed picture books are now available as audiobooks in English and te reo Māori. Great for youngsters learning to read and adults wishing to improve their fluency in te reo Māori
Willy Craig Fransen
Nana’s Shed Read-along Audiobooks complement the hard copy collection and provide opportunity for growing readers to use the two together to utilise the visual clues embedded in the illustrations, while following the words on the page, learning to pronounce new words, and responding to the ruru call to turn the page. The narrations model proper pacing and intonation and help to expand vocabulary and improve reading accuracy, fluency and speed.
Adults will also find the audiobooks great support in improving their fluency in te reo, modelling pronunciation and intonation.
The stories are read by Willy Craig Fransen (Ngai Tahu, Te Aupōuri, Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō, Ngāti Hōrana) a fluent speaker of Māori who has taught te reo in secondary schools. He has also been involved with Taki Rua Theatre as an actor, director and playwright. He has a number of plays to his name, including Te Reo Māori season plays, Taku Waimarie and Kia Ngāwari.
The read-along audiobooks come in three versions: English, Māori and bilingual (English and Māori together). Note: Bella’s Fringe is not bilingual.
To sample the Nana’s Shed Read-along Audiobooks and to make a purchase, visit
www.audiobooksnz.com (or via this shortcut directly to our books: https://shorturl.at/astGL )