Review: On the Road to Tuapeka

On the Road to Tuapeka

Written by Ben Brown

Illustrated by Scott Tulloch

Publication date: 2011
Publisher: Scholastic New Zealand
ISBN: 978-1-77543-047-6

Summary/Back cover:
Heka the weka
and Reka the weka,
on the road to Tuapeka
saw a bus...
a double-decker!

You can join the journey - and the fun - along with Hedgy Hog, Dodgy Dog and whistling frog in this rollicking rhyme by Ben Brown, with hilarious pictures from Scott Tulloch.

Who wouldn't want to go to Tuapeka?

Review:
We were lucky enough to receive this book directly from Scholastic, and what a winner it is! Written in an almost nonsense-style rhyme, with hilariously comical illustrations, this book features many Kiwi characters and phrases - "Where you going, bro?" asks one of the wekas, before they decide that they don't really know.

My 3 year old was mesmerised with this book - he thought the repeating '-eka' sound was the funniest thing in the world, so pages like this had to be repeated 3 or 4 times before we were allowed to turn the page:

So Heka the weka
and Reka the weka
set off in a double-decker,
on the road to Tuapeka.

The rhyming pattern is not always regular but it fits the tone of the book well, and makes kids laugh. The illustrations tie in perfectly with the text, and really bring the characters to life.

Oh, and for those wondering (as I was!), Tuapeka is a real place! It's inland from Dunedin - I think Tuapeka is the district, and Lawrence is the tiny wee town in the centre of it. One day, I'll take my boys on the road to Tuapeka (but probably not in a double-decker...)

My rating: 4.8 out of 5

Review written by Bronwyn