Maui Sun Catcher/Maui te Kaihao i te Ra (Bilingual)

Author(s): Tim Tipene

NZ Picture Books | Te Reo Maori Language | Maori Myths and Legends

In this modern retelling of the beloved myth, Māui is a schoolboy who lives with his mother and four older brothers in a city where the day is never long enough to get things done.
Māui grasps the mantle:
Mum, I’m gonna catch that Sun for you.
That Sun who’s always on the run.


With their woven flax net, the brothers drive to the pit where the Sun lives, and make their play to slow the day.


This bilingual book– in English and Māori – brings Māui into the 21st century in a fun and colourful retelling – the first in the international Indigenous Voices series.


Published originally in hardback in 2016 and reprinted in 2019, Māui – Sun Catcher/Te Kaihao i te Rā is now available in a quality paperback edition.


Product Information

Tim Tipene (Ngāti Kurī, Ngāti Whātua) is the award-winning author of over 12 children’s books, and a pioneering youth counsellor. He lives with his children in Rānui, West Auckland.


Zak Waipara (Rongowhakaata, Ngāti Ruapani) is a renowned illustrator and writer of books, comics and animations. He is a lecturer in digital media at the Auckland University of Technology. Rob Ruha (Te Whānau a Apanui, Ngāti Porou) is a chart-topping musician, songwriter and champion of te reo Māori who is based in Rotorua. 

General Fields

  • : 9781990042324
  • : Oratia Media
  • : Oratia Media
  • : 01 November 2022
  • : books

Special Fields

  • : Tim Tipene
  • : Paperback
  • : Zak Waipara
  • : 32