Summer reading quest a huge hit with tamariki

Far North Libraries run a summer reading programme throughout January. With the epic success of last summer’s Raumati Toa Taniwha Trading Card Programme, staff knew the 2025 programme had to be bigger and better.

This year, a new programme called Ngā Kaitiaki o te Ao – Defenders of the World was created that tells the story of the ‘four hidden kingdoms’ of Te Hiku o te Ika: forest, earth, water, and sky. The programme was designed to foster a connection to the beauty and mystery of te taiao, emphasize the importance of kaitiakitanga, encourage reading, and create opportunities to get out and about around the district.

The programme was an immediate hit with local and visiting tamariki. Two-hundred and fifty journals and passports were handed out in the first four days, resulting in the need for another print run of 200 journals and passports, along with a month-long extension of the programme to allow more tamariki to participate in the summer fun.

The goal of the programme saw kids completing six quests and adventures to collect three taonga (crystals) per kingdom. These could be collected by visiting an i-site or local attraction, attending library programmes, reading for 30 minutes a day, going on a litter hike, creating a worm farm, growing a plant, finding an elected member and many more adventures.

By the end of the programme, Tamariki could have collected 13 taonga (crystals) if they had completed all the quests and adventures.

The programme saw 400 tamariki and their whanau take part by collecting their Journal, Passport, and Kete Taonga. A further 3000 attendees to programmes offered at local libraries allowed them to complete quests to collect taonga of their own.

Jess Hallam, one of the creators of the programme, says it was great to hear feedback from parents and kids about the journal being specific to Te Hiku o Te Ika.

“They were impressed by all the visuals of the journal; this made the time spent making it even more worthwhile.

“This year, we noticed that siblings and friends were helping each other by sharing ways to complete quests so they could all complete their own collection of crystals. We plan to go bigger for next year’s summer reading programme and have dreams of it going nationwide.”

Creation and design of the reading programme was a team effort involving Far North Library and Te Ahu Museum teams, with specific input from Whina Te Whiu, Ange Simonsen, and Jess Hallam. They used a range of tools including CANVA design and an AI image creator.