Taming The Sun – Gavin Bishop

Written and illustrated by well-known children’s writer and illustrator Gavin Bishop, Taming the Sun contains four stories, including two well-known legends (Maui And The Sun and Maui And The Big Fish) and two less well-known legends (Rona And The Moon and Kahu The Taniwha).

Aimed at children with reading ages 3-7 years, these myths are simply and yet elegantly written. Gavin’s characteristic sense of humour is evident in all of the stories; and while each story is exciting and often a little bit scary, they are resolved beautifully. Gavin allows the essence of the original myths to remain while also re-telling them for a new generation of children.

The illustrations are stunning – the different colour palette for each story and the strong mix of techniques create bold and beautiful images that integrate with the words in a powerful and meaningful way.