Sounds of the Tāone provides teachers and learners with an opportunity to engage in a fun and playful way with Te Reo Māori. The concept of this publication provides children, teachers and young students with an opportunity to be actively engaged with listening as they are involved with sound stories and sound accounts and Te Reo Māori. To be able to listen intently, follow realistic outdoor sounds, which are largely from live Tāone (city) surroundings is refreshing. It gives learning with the senses - especially the ears - a new focus and dimension. There are many Te Reo Māori expressions which come to the foreground to the listener in this publication and they come up with a good pace and good spacing. Listeners are required to focus, which is very enjoyable. Teachers and students can listen track by track or they can interrupt their listening adventures anywhere. The sound stories are interspersed with music which is most enjoyable when there are natural voice qualities. The audio publication, with an inserted small booklet provides a small amount of text and some visual recognition elements whereby shapes are matched to sounds. The recordings have been created with an overall sense of joviality, fun and laughter. This gives the Eardrop venture - Eardrop is the name of the key figure, the long-eared rabbit who is a committed listener - a distinctly happy character. The shape matching aspect of the publication is very useful. As an audio publication with an inserted booklet, the size of the text and the pictures are small and yet the shapes are clear and the colours are inviting. Participation in Sounds of the Tāone – What’s that sound? is nestled around listening engagement with sound stories and many Te Reo Māori expressions. It provides a fun way of learning.
Author: Liz Donnelly
Illustrator: Polly Joseph
Translator: Hania Douglas
Publisher: The Eardrops Company (produced with the help of an AMP scholarship)
ISBN: 9780995101883
RRP: $19.99
Format: Audio CD with booklet and game or available as digital download
Date of Publication: September 2017
Ages: 2-6
Reviewer: Christoph Maubach
Position: Orff music specialist
School: Orff New Zealand Aotearoa