Do a Wā Kōrero: Storytimes at your place! Use library eResources to create your own Storytime at home.
We recommend eBooks to read aloud and rhymes to reading aloud with your tamariki.
Recommended for ages 3 to 5 years.
You can access eResources for kids with your library card and password / PIN.
Not a member? It is free to join the library and you can join the library online.
Aotearoa
eBooks
Read New Zealand eBooks on Libby and Wheelers! Here are some reads perfect for a home storytime.
Note: some might already be on loan, but you can put a hold on and be notified when it's available.
There's a Tui in Our Teapot He Tūī Kei Rō Tīpāta Dawn McMillan
There's a tui in our teapot. He's looking out at me. A tui in the teapot? Yes ... he wants a cup of tea! A tui and his various friends including takahe, kea, korimako (bellbird), pukeko and hoiho (yellow-eyed penguin) invade the family kitchen, getting up to all kinds of high jinks and making a tremendous mess! What will Nan say when she sees what the hilarious gang of mischievous birds have done to her kitchen?
Te Kaute Counting Kitty Brown
Practice your bilingual counting skills with Te Kaute. Have fun finding all our favourite toys in the piwari pikitia!
Matariki Sharon Holt
The song follows a family through their Matariki celebrations over the course of a day. The family wakes at dawn to see the Matariki star cluster and the book takes the family as visitors arrive for a traditional Matariki feast. As the evening draws in, the children create their own stars using sparklers.
Nanny Mihi and the bellbird Melanie Drewery
Every school holidays the kids go and stay with their nanny in her house by the sea. One morning (for some reason) Nanny Mihi gets the kids up early and they sit on the porch whistling a song until the sun comes up. Then they find out why - a bellbird appears and joins in the song. Whenever they come to stay after that, the bellbird is there to whistle the kids' song. But in spring, there is no bellbird! What has happened? Nanny Mihi and the Bellbird is a charming story about love for family and nature.
Aya and the butterfly Maysoon Salama
Aya and the Butterfly is a picture book to help children come to terms with grief, cope with change, and build resilience.
Find more eBooks for tamariki
Action Rhymes
Rhymes
action rhymes
Three Jellyfish
Three jellyfish,
Three jellyfish,
Three jellyfish sitting on a rock.
One jumped off!
Splash!
Two jellyfish…
One jellyfish…
No jellyfish,
No jellyfish,
No jellyfish sitting on a rock.
One climbed up!
Hooray!
One jellyfish…
Two jellyfish…
Three jellyfish…
LOTE Online for Kids
Storytime in your language! Kids can enjoy digital books in languages from around the world, alongside English translations to help develop reading and listening skills.
How are you? Sharon Holt, illustrated by Deborah Hinde
More Ngā pukapuka i te reo Māori
MAKE and EXPLORE
Check out some of the cool Māori resources we have for tamariki in our Te Ao Māori for tamariki page. Get crafty, read and learn te reo Māori, and explore.
ONLINE STORYTIMES
Mrs McGinty and the Bizarre Plant, written and read by Gavin Bishop
Hear Gavin Bishop read his legendary Christchurch book Mrs McGinty and the Bizarre Plant in the Edmonds Factory Gardens.
Mrs McGinty and the Bizarre Plant, written and illustrated by Gavin Bishop. Published by Oxford University Press, New Zealand 1981. Reprinted as a NZ Classic by Random House NZ Ltd 2007.
Everyone Counts by Kathryn Otoshi, read by Elisabeth
Elisabeth reads One by Kathryn Otoshi, a story with a focus on anti-bullying and being an Upstander, with an introduction by the author.
Faitauga Tusi: Samoan Storytimes in Samoan and English, with Tiresa
Learn the Samoan alphabet and sing a favourite song!
Hello World by Paul Beavis, read by Amy
Amy is reading Hello World, written and illustrated by Paul Beavis. Published by Gecko Press.
Mrs Mo's Monster by Paul Beavis, read by Emily
Emily is reading Mrs Mo’s Monster, written and illustrated by Paul Beavis. Published by Gecko Press.
Niue Language Week story and song with Malo
Super Felix by Phoebe Morris, read by Bronwen
Bronwen is reading Super Felix - written, illustrated and published by Phoebe Morris
Stay tuned for more DIY Wā Kōrero: Storytimes!
- DIY Wā Kōrero: Storytimes - Kindness
- DIY Wā Kōrero: Storytimes - 123 ABC
- DIY Wā Kōrero: Storytimes - DINOSAURS!
Add a comment to: DIY Wā Kōrero: Storytimes – Aotearoa New Zealand