Whetū Toa and the Magician

Whetū Toa #1

by Steph Matuku, Katharine Hall (Illustrator)

When Whetū's mother takes a job at a magician's house and farm, Whetū becomes the animal keeper, looking after some unusual animals and the magician's stage assistant – a troublesome white rabbit called Errant. Errant's been playing around with magic and done something he can't undo. Rather than face the magician, Errant disappears, and Whetū becomes the magician's new assistant, just in time for the royal performance. It all seems to be going well until Errant reappears, and Whetū must save the day – and the king.

Genres: Fantasy, Childrens

124 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 31, 2018

About the author

Hi,

I'm based in New Plymouth, New Zealand, but you can find me on Facebook and Bluesky. Feel free to say hi, I'd love to hear from you!

STEPH

Reviews

[Tane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful, quirky, very New Zealand and a touch dark - with some cool magic. Charming art too. My kids were hooked during bedtime reading.

[Francesca · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an absolutely delightful read aloud to share with my six year old. We were in stitches from the first chapter with the unusual enchanted objects around the magician’s house. The ending was quite nerve wracking but not too much for a quite sensitive child, although I don’t think he would have got through it without a parent to reassure him.

The plot ticks all the boxes of classic children fiction. Magic, talking animals, child without overbearing adult supervision. It puts these elements into a story that feels fresh, well fleshed out characters and a setting that is familiar but has unique, intriguing twists. The book itself is lovely quality, great illustrations with nice thick paper.

The book also gets an A+++ for diversity. It’s lovely to be reading such engaging and relatable characters who are Māori. The mother is also a capable, working single mother. This should be a more common experience than it is! More of this in publishing please! Hopefully in the form of a sequel...

[Chloe Fergusson-Tibble · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whetū Toa and the Magician (Whetū Toa #1) by Steph Matuku (Ngāti Mutunga, Ngāti Tama, Te Atiawa) is delightful. Whetū and her mother move to a magicians farm to help sort out his very unorganised life. Whetū, a conscientious young girl, cares for the farm animals and takes on a big challenge to save the farm, her mother and even a naughty rabbit!

It’s got all the feel good moments a kids book should have, endearing characters, awesome end-of-the-chapter cliffhangers, magic and a baddie to keep you guessing. I also really rate that there’s a hardworking single mum in this story. My daughter loved it 💕

I’m reading the second book now and can report that it’s just as awesome 👏🏽

Stephs Whetū Toa books are a great gift idea for the junior readers in your world.

Also - newsflash - this one is coming out in Te Reo Māori in March. Check @huiapublishers for details!

My copy is from @huiapublishers online store
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#stephmatuku #maori #bookstagram #maoribooks #maoriauthors #womenreading #readmorebooks #catsofinstagram #taleswiththomas

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

What wonderful imaginative storytelling this is. Wonderful Kiwi touches are recognisable without being overdone so this book can go international.

[Bookrapt (Est. 1983) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whetū and her Mum move from their city apartment to a little cottage in the country. Her mother has a new job as personal assistant to the Mighty Mikaere, a magician who travels the world performing for adoring audiences. Whetū becomes the animal keeper, looking after a golden ram, three lazy pigs, talking horses and a hypersensitive bull. Unfortunately there is also the magician's stage assistant – a haughty white rabbit called Errant who is overconfident in his own magical abilities - and who has a result has created a carnivorous lamb who ate the rest of the flock. Errant hasn’t been able to undo his magic and rather than confess to the magician, goes into hiding. A Royal Performance is looming, and Whetū must stand in as the magician’s assistant. Things are going well until Errant returns to cause mischief and mayhem with the carnivorous lamb. Can Whetū save the King? Will Errant be punished? And will Whetū and her mother keep their new jobs? It’s great to see a Māori girl and solo parent in an Aotearoa setting. Whetū and her mother are both strong, hard-working and determined characters. The black and white illustrations by Katharine Hall add to this quirky story and the cover is very attractive. With short chapters that would suit 8-11 year olds this story is great for independent reading, but also entertaining and humorous enough for adults to read aloud.

Reviewed by Debbie McCauley (Bookrapt)

[Mary Cronin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this aloud to my 7 and 3 year olds, a boy and a girl respectively. This book managed to achieve a rare, rare thing; it kept both children AND ME happy. Wow. It has delightful illustrations, which my 3 yo daughter loved, and she also liked that Whetū was a girl. My boy and I adored this book. It is simultaneously fresh and ‘classic’; I got the same ‘vibe’ off the book as I got off my favourite books growing up in the 70s/80s, which was a delicious treat. Also the vocabulary in the book is wonderfully varied and rich, and there are lots of laughs and cool characters. And there was a welcome lack of stereotypes. Looking forward to more Whetū Toa.

[Miss Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

For the younger reader, what's not to love? A beaut imagination, perfectly named bunny and a shy bull instead of fierce. Things are not always as they seem.
For the older reader, one can appreciate the allusion to Dorothy's red shoes which appear as Whetū's red gumboots (not that they transport her - the magician has other means of transport). The magician's "final" show reminded me of the Royal Variety Performance but, here in a kiwi text, it is a show for Māori royalty.

[Lizzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really cute. Pretty low stakes magical realism. A story about a young girl (Whetū) who moves into a magicians cottage with her Mother (who has taken on the role of house and life manager for the magician). There are magical animals that Whetū has to look after and problems to solve. I would recommend this as a read aloud to 5+ year olds, and for independent readers who are confidently reading chapter books.

[Kimberly Peterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whetū Toa is a plucky kid who, along with her single mom, has been experiencing financial and housing instability. Their problems *might* be solved by working and living with the Magician, or this new situation might cause more problems than Whetū can handle. This is fairly standard magic story with a a villainous bunny thrown in, but Whetū is brave, and she is all the savior she needs.

[Barnaby Haszard]

Awesome to read my super-Pākeha kids a fun, silly, ambitious yarn with a te ao Māori perspective. I had my doubts but they were hooked from the first chapter and laughed often. It's pretty anarchic stuff but I sense a broader theme emerging that will no doubt be developed in subsequent books as Whetū explores her powers further.

[Coral Smith]

Magic at it's best, who wouldn't want to live on a farm owned by a magician? There is something special about the animals on this farm - they talk! One animal has a naughty streak, you will have to read on to find out what it is....

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Delightful children’s book. My boys and myself loved reading this together.

[Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to my 7yo giggling away as he read this - that's always a sign of a great book!

[Becks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imaginitive, punchy, vibrant and well done. Not dull at any point and we enjoyed it at bedtime. Maybe there will be another edition in future :)

[Dan Organ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this to my 11yr old as his nightly bedtime story. He liked it and gave it a solid 4 stars.

[The Bibliognost Bampot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good fun, clever, original.

[Sarah Newman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this - fabulous book to listen to on a family holiday drive.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently read this to my five year old, one lovely, short chapter at a time. What a treat! Whetū is a wonderful, strong character and it's such a fun story. The thing I loved most, as a parent, I didn't have to 'edit' my language as I went. Even the 'scary' bits weren't that scary. My daughter is busting to learn to read so she can read it herself! "I love Whetū - cos she's a girl, and girls are the best."

[Isa Rive · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing is straightforward when Whetu’s mum becomes PA to a rurally based magician. Long necked Whetu finds herself responsible for an eclectic collection of unusual animals, including the adorable overly sensitive bull, Errant the rabbit with things to hide, and Ramses the glowing fleeced sheep. I found the carnivorous lamb both fascinating yet somehow repulsive. It’s quirky and engaging with small touches which point to a NZ setting. Fun illustrations. My only criticism was after a solid build, the pivotal part of the plot was over too soon. I really hope there’s more to come! Recommend ages 7-9.

[Shazzt]

I thoroughly enjoyed this and cannot wait to read it to my class!