Taming the Taniwha
By Tim Tipene
Illustrator Henry Campbell
Huia Publishers, Aotearoa, New Zealand 2001
ISBN 1-877266-52-3
Tim Tipene is committed to the self-empowerment of children, “to equip children with the tools and skills to face whatever comes their way, now and in the future”.
Bullying at school is a fairly common occurrence and can have a seriously negative effect on children. In this story Tama enjoys school, but James, one of his classmates, picks on him and does his best to ruin his work, and even takes Tama’s lunch.
Over the course of a week Tama consults members of his family for ways to deal with the bully – the “taniwha” - but none of their suggestions work and Tama gets into even more trouble with James. Eventually Tama asks his grandfather how deal with the bully, and his suggestion is surprising – “You have to get to know the taniwha”. Over the next few days Tama gradually befriends James by sharing his lunch and asking him to play – James is surprised, but cooperates and they become friends. Tama’s grandfather’s understanding of human nature helps him solve the problem, and gives him strong strategies for living.
James is drawn as a scary, scaly, green taniwha, but over the course of the story, as Tama breaks down his aggression, his scales start to drop away, and by the end of the story he is just a regular boy.
The reasons for bullying are many and varied, but often it comes down to how the bully feels about themselves, and in this story being accepted by his classmate is enough to let James relax and cooperate.
Taming the Taniwha was selected for the White Ravens International Youth Library Catalogue as one of the world's top 250 children's books for 2002.
You can find out more about Tim Tipene’s programme for children at :
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