A whānau reading Poppy and Buddy books, launched last year.
Photo: supplied
A new children’s book publisher has the goal to help raise one million bilingual tamariki over the next decade.
The bilingual book range Poppy and Buddy wants to make te reo Māori a joyful experience for kiwi kids aged 1-6 years.
“We’re proud to be part of a growing movement to normalise Te Reo in everyday life,” founder Jeff Brown said.
“As a new publisher, we’re starting small, but thinking big. Our goal is to make te reo Māori a natural and fun part of children’s early years, in homes and childcare centres right across the motu.”
Launched in 2024, the Auckland-based publisher’s debut series of books supports early literacy and language development through engaging stories in English and te reo Māori.
Each book in the Poppy and Buddy series has a QR code that links directly to native-speaker audio, making it easier for parents and educators to read confidently in both languages.
Poppy Panda and Buddy Bear can also tell the story in Mandarin, Spanish, and French.
According to StatsNZ, there were 213,849 reo Māori speakers in 2023, up from 185,955 in 2018.
Bilingualism has been shown to improve memory, attention, and problem-solving skills.
“Language is a bridge to each other, to culture, and to opportunity. And bilingualism is one of the greatest gifts we can give our tamariki.”
Brown is inviting families, teachers, and centres to join them on their mission.
Jacqueline Harding, former Head Teacher at Arrowtown Preschool, said tamariki were “super engaged, tracking the pages, and sharing observations”.
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