Michaela Keeble Michaela Keeble i(17526955 works by)
Gender: Female
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1 y separately published work icon Paku Manu Ariki Whakatakapokai Michaela Keeble , Tokerau Brown (illustrator), Newtown : Walker Books Australia , 2023 26661129 2023 single work picture book children's

'A bold and multi-layered picture book about self-determination narrated by a young boy full of ideas and questions about growing up, belonging, spirituality, culture, whanau, tupuna, atua, and who is the boss.

“My name is Paku Manu Ariki Whakatakapokai.
You can call me Paku Manu Ariki Whakatakapokai.”

'Paku Manu Ariki talks directly to the reader, drawing on the stories that spin around him—his father’s matauranga, his mother’s politics, his many pet birds, and his best friend who is taller, even though he’s younger.

'The book is born from the experience of growing up in a strong Maori whanau in a country and wider world that offers a conflicting version of what is right and of value.

'Paku Manu Ariki is trying to understand his role in his family, community and the larger world. His preoccupation is who is the boss—his nanna at the marae, his older siblings, or any number of atua? His steadfast dad, his Pakeha mum, the “leader of the free world”, or Paku Manu Ariki himself? Paku Manu Ariki bumps up against authority, trying to reconcile the kind and just rules of nanna and the unjust power of leaders he sees every day on the TV.

'Thoughtful, funny and confronting, Paku Manu Ariki Whakatakapokai is about the hustle for belonging, and our place in the epic spiral of space, time and culture.

'Tokerau Brown’s colourful and powerful contemporary Maori-Pasifika gothic illustrative style adds a preteen sensibility and spirit drawn from comics.

'With themes of identity and belonging, this book is a powerful tool for classroom discussion. Exploring contemporary issues, critical thinking and Maori–Pakeha relations, this book has a wide age readership for both school and adult audiences.' (Publication summary)

1 Wairaka i "gannet’s back", Michaela Keeble , 2021 single work poetry
— Appears in: Cordite Poetry Review , October no. 103 2021;
1 Electric Frogs i "inside, the old fridge grunts like electric frogs fucking. outside, the moon", Michaela Keeble , 2020 single work poetry
— Appears in: Not Very Quiet , March no. 6 2020;
1 Science Communication i "i ask jonny to tell me again", Michaela Keeble , 2019 single work poetry
— Appears in: Plumwood Mountain : An Australian Journal of Ecopoetry and Ecopoetics , August vol. 6 no. 2 2019;
1 Western District i "that old horse had no interest", Michaela Keeble , 2019 single work poetry
— Appears in: Westerly , vol. 64 no. 2 2019; (p. 114-115)
1 Hongoeka Love Poems i "Warning at dawn", Michaela Keeble , 2019 single work poetry
— Appears in: Not Very Quiet , September no. 5 2019;
1 He Kawau Mārō i "i come home early", Michaela Keeble , 2019 single work poetry
— Appears in: Not Very Quiet , September no. 5 2019;
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