Lift Education Award for Best Educational Book or Series – Primary 2024
Finalist
Designers: Te Kani Price, Christine Ling
Title: Te Oranga Mauri – Wellbeing Storybook set. (01) – Te Whānau Aroha o Tipene, (02) – Sammy’s Koha, (03) – A Kite for Tiare, (04) – ‘Amanaki Learns at Home, (05) – Kiara Loves White Sunday
Publisher: Huia Publishers
Format:230 x 255mm, up to 32pp each
Typography: Cover: Masthead: Alstoria regular, treated with gradient blue.
Authors: Sofia Pro in light and medium
Internal: Body text: FreightMacro Pro Light, 15pt size at 25pt leading and 12pt tracking
Pull-out text: Avenir next medium, 8pt size at 9.6 leading
“The brief was to design well-being-related storybooks to be used as an educational resource for children in ECE centres, English-medium schooling, and Māori-medium schooling. These would allow teachers and whānau to explore stories and themes in young people’s experiences of COVID-19 in curriculum settings. There would be five books written and illustrated by different people/pairings. As an educational resource, included features through the books lent themselves to kids learning the language. These included: countable illustrated features for counting literacy such as clocks, toys, and cushions; swim lanes for prompt questions as facilitated by Whānau/Kaiako; and repeated glossary words.”
Judges’ comments A designerly and engaging series of books covering a worthy kaupapa. The consistency across the series is excellent and well-realised. The typography is clear and easy to read, with Freight Macro addressing literacy needs effectively. The fresh design is complemented by contemporary, relatable illustrations. The clear delineation of aside material for kaiako/whānau is a notable strength. The use of Pacific and Māori illustrators is commendable and adds depth to the design.
