Dear Moko

Maori child and adolescent psychiatrist Dr Hinemoa Elder has shaped her beloved book Aroha into this special collection of whakataukī and whakatauakī for mokopuna of all ages.

Bestselling author of Aroha and respected Maori psychiatrist Dr Hinemoa Elder has written a special collection of whakataukī for tamariki mokopuna.

Puanga kai rau.
Puanga, the star signalling a time of the year with plenty of food.
New beginnings.

Dear Moko is written for all mokopuna, grandchildren, descendents. It is their very own book with stories from whakataukī and whakatauakī, our Maori proverbs.

A treasure-book revealing new secrets every time you read it.

Some stories will make you smile and laugh out loud.

Others invite you to think about difficulties you are facing in a different way.

These are timeless words to live by, life lessons to inspire, for generations to come.

Manaakitanga (love for each other), kaitiakitanga (respect for our planet), whanaungatanga (community and connectivity) and tino rangatiratanga (self-determination) bring to life our time-honoured values.

Dear Moko is destined to be embraced by every whanau.

With illustrations by Miriama Grace-Smith.

Author Biography

Ko Parengarenga te moana, Parengarenga is my ocean.

Ko Tawhitirahi te maunga, Tawhitirahi is my mountain.

Ko Awapoka te awa, Awapoka is my river.

Ko Kurahaupo te waka, Kurahaupo is my ancestral canoe.

Ko Potahi raua ko Te Reo Mihi oku marae, Potahi and Te Reo Mihi are my traditional meeting places.

Ko Te Aupouri, ko Ngati Kurī, ko Te Rarawa, ko Ngapuhi nui tonu oku iwi, My tribes are Te Aupouri, Ngati Kurī, Te Rarawa and Ngapuhi.

Ko Hinemoa taku ingoa, my name is Hinemoa.

Dr Hinemoa Elder is of Te Aupouri, Ngati Kurī,
Te Rarawa, Ngai Takoto and Ngapuhi nui tonu and is the mother of two adult children. She has lived on Te Motu Ārai Roa, Waiheke Island for more than 25 years, and is the author of New Zealand’s best-selling local non-fiction book of 2021, Aroha – Maori Wisdom for a Contented Life Lived in Harmony with Our Planet.

Hinemoa is the Kaiarahi Oranga Hinengaro at Te Hiku Hauora, Muriwhenua. She also provides youth forensic court reports and neuropsychiatric assessment and treatment for tamariki mokopuna experiencing complexities in their recovery from traumatic brain injury. She is a deputy psychiatry member of the New Zealand Mental Health Review Tribunal.

In 2019, Hinemoa was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit,for services to psychiatry and Maori. You can also find her on Instagram and TikTok @drhinemoa.