E Oma, Rapeti - Po Marie. Run, Rabbit - Goodnight product reviews

We always think children will become more reasonable as they get older, but this is a variable. It depends not only on the child but also on the situation. Bedtime is the one that is guaranteed to cause grief for anyone trying to get a child to accept that it really is time to go to sleep. Kids are really clever at coming up with excuses of all kinds. Monsters under the bed or in the wardrobe, needing the toilet just one more time, a wobbly tooth - anything will do. My own youngest was always the last to go to sleep; she would lie awake singing or telling her older sister yet another story to keep her from sleeping too!

Rapeti is one of those youngsters who has to say goodnight to absolutely everyone before he will settle down to sleep. It is almost a ritual for him, and one that human children will relate to. Even though his mother is calling him and telling him to hurry up, he keeps getting distracted and stopping to wish yet another friend goodnight. Even when he has finally settled down to sleep, he has to say goodnight to the moon and stars - and even to himself.

The book is ordered so that the dual texts appear together. This is an excellent way for children to learn te reo Maori without realising that they are doing so. For the adult or older child reading the book to them, it is an empowering way to brush up on their skills without actively studying. And of course it works both ways; a child brought up in a total immersion household can acquire skills in the English language.

The graphics are just lovely. What could have been a gloomy book given that it is set at night-time becomes accessible to the reader because of the way colour has been used to highlight the animals against the darker background. It is almost as though a spotlight has been used to pick out the main features like Rapeti's white paws and belly.

I shared this book with Mr Five. He has just started school at a kura kaupapa, having recently moved on from his kohanga reo, and he is fluent in both Te Reo and English. However, he is now at the stage of learning to read. We looked at the words together and sounded them out; by the time we had finished the book several times, he was able to pick out half a dozen words by himself. His first triumph was being able to recognise the written numbers from one to five in both languages, Now he cannot wait to tackle the second and third books in the series.