Understanding Matariki for Children

Our very 1st Public Holiday for Matariki is June 24th 2022

Matariki is both the name of the Pleiades Star Cluster and of the celebration of its first rising in late June or early July. For us, in New Zealand, the rise of Matariki signals the Lunar ​​​New Year. 

It is a time to acknowledge the year past, celebrate the present, and plan and prepare for the year ahead.

At Grandpas Toys,  Children’s books are one of our top sellers for our shop. There has been an increase year on year of the amount of books that are sold, we like to have a great collection of NZ authors, and this is a huge factor of why our children are loving reading so much!

This year we have included more books about Matariki. These books have been flying out the door in preparation for the big day. We still have limited stocks available - get them while you can!

Want to know more about Māori Culture and the Māori language, we can help with that too! Check out our forever growing collection of Māori Board games and guide books here.