Ask the Elders
Creating bilingual children’s books based on stories by community elders.
We will work with five Pasifika young people to create five bilingual children’s books based on stories told to them by elders.
The stories could be:
- Childhood event
- Legend
- Historical moment
- How to do or make something
We teach the young people how to publish the books so they have 100% ownership and can publish more stories if they want to. We walk with them through the process including launching their books. We make e-versions and audio versions so they can share their books with families overseas.
The heart behind the project is reflected in the song Mai Anamua by Olivia Foa’i: “Listen to stories from the past, wisdom from the past.”
Thriving whānau
The project is multi-generational because it asks the children to connect with grandparents/elders and in the connecting and storytelling, family bonds are strengthened.
Creating books from elders' stories adds mana to them. There is 100% ownership by the families of the stories, how they are told, and what happens to them after they are published.
"Malo ni. This has been a great adventure for our whole family. The questions that Kewa prepped for his interviews, the stories that were shared, the follow up stories that came from the initial stories - a truly pleasurable experience for us all, we felt honoured that the stories were shared with us. We're proud of the effort Kewa put in and the story that he produced. Thanks heaps for giving our son the chance to shine."
Parent of one of the writers