Notes

Maori Tales of Long Ago is a newly published facsimile edition of a classic collection of 16 stories adapted from Maori mythology for a young readership. The tales were originally published by A.W. & A.H. Reed during the late 1940s in two hardback volumes, Maori Tales of Long Ago and Wonder Tales of Maoriland. Best-sellers of their time, they gave a generation of New Zealand children a lyrical introduction to the world of Maori mythology. In each story, a myth is narrated and brought to life by genial old Popo, the village storyteller and friend of the chief's son and daughter, Rata and Hine. This edition faithfully keeps the charming original drawings by A.S. Paterson, including eight colour plates. It contains a new foreword from David Simmons, a distinguished ethnologist, former assistant director of the Auckland War Memorial Museum, and author of several books on Maoritanga.