This cute little board book is the Te Reo version of the hugely popular Noisy Book, which was written by Soledad Bravi, a French woman.
The pictures are simply drawn with bold black outlines against a brightly coloured background.
Hoihoi Turituri is a really fun way to teach babies their first words in Te Reo. And you don’t need to be familiar with any Maori language to understand the captions. You will easily get the meaning by looking at the picture on the opposite page.
For instance:
Ka kihi a Mama shows Mummy planting a big kiss on baby’s cheek
Ka paki nga ringaringa shows a pair of clapping hands
Ka uakaka te poraka is the croaking noise a frog makes and
Ka Ngiaooo te negeru has a picture of a meowing cat.
But aren’t babies too young to teach them Te Reo as well as English? Might it confuse them?
Not so, research shows that the best possible time to learn a second language is when children are very young. Children who experience two languages from birth can become fluent speakers in both languages. Whereas if you learn another language as an adult you are far less likely to become a really fluent speaker.
Many of us are unsure how to pronounce words in Te Reo. Which is why I really liked the fact that the publishers have created four YouTube videos showing parents reading out loud from Hoihoi Turituri to their toddlers and having lots of fun being noisy in Te Reo together.
I think Hoihoi Turituri would make a lovely baby present. It is a sturdy little book so they will be able to hold it and practice turning the pages without fear of damaging it.
Hoihoi Turituri by Author Soledad Bravi was translated by Ruia Aperahama. Publisher Gecko Press. RRP $24.99