A Māori Phrase A Day

by Hēmi Kelly 

This book offers a fun and easy entry into learning te reo Māori. As you progress through the 365 phrases, you will learn: 

Māori At Home: An everyday guide to learning the Māori language

By Scotty and Stacey Morrison

This is a highly practical, easy and fun resource for everyday New Zealanders. It covers the basics of life in and around a typical Kiwi household. Whether you're practising sport, getting ready for school, celebrating a birthday, preparing a shopping list or relaxing at the beach, Māori at Home gives you the words and phrases, and the confidence, you need.

Ngā Pēpeha o Ngā Tīpuna - The Sayings of the Ancestors

By Sidney M. Mead

Winner of the Reference and Anthology category of the 2002 Montana NZ Book Awards, Ngā Pēpeha a ngā Tipuna is a collection of more than 2500 "sayings of the ancestors". Neil Grove and Hirini M. Mead spent more than twenty years collecting and compiling these pēpeha from all over Aotearoa New Zealand.

Pēpeha are not just proverbs; the term includes charms, witticisms, figures of speech and boasts. Neither are they historical relics; they feature in the formal speeches heard every day on the marae, and in the oral literature handed down from past generations.

The pēpeha also provide a rich source of language. Their use of metaphor and their economy of words show language that enriches the textbook Māori of today.

Te Reo Māori: The Basics Explained

By David Kārena-Holmes

A simple but thorough guide to the building blocks of grammar in te reo, showing how to create phrases, sentences and paragraphs. After an introductory chapter on pronunciation and written forms of the language, 17 chapters introduce the main base words, particles and determiners that guide their use. This book also employs real-life examples to illustrate how Māori grammar works day to day.

Tōku Reo is a language learning show for complete beginners based on the Te Whanake language course created by Professor John Moorfield.

In every block of five episodes, viewers of Tōku Reo learn vocabulary based around a role-play as well as a small number of sentence structures. Segments on newly coined words from the Māori Language Commission, different tribal dialect, and homework from Professor John himself, complete the bundle of learning.

Tōku Reo combines kaumātua, rangatahi, learners and native speakers in the context of a beginners learning programme, providing a comprehensive Māori learning experience.

Kōrerorero conversations, is an interactive learning tool developed by AUT to teach te reo Māori through listening, repetition and learning vocabulary and phrases that can be easily introduced into real life situations. 

Ātea, a designated Māori perspectives section on The Spinoff news website, covers varied topics ranging from rongoā (New Zealand’s oldest medical practice), to contemporary Māori fashion design, as well as giving opinion on  a wide variety of issues from a Māori perspective.

Te Papa has an incredible collection of both contemporary and historical information about Te Ao Māori. Collections include:

- Matariki: The Māori New Year

- Te Tiriti o Waitangi | The Treaty of Waitangi

- Māori kakahu (cloaks): When is a korowai not a korowai?

- Tāmoko: history, practice and meanings

... and much more.

The Māori World

By Margaret Kāwharu

The book provides snapshots of marae life, social customs, taonga (treasures), important places, sport and employment today, illustrating how Māori live in the present while remembering the past and honouring their ancestors.

Navigating The Stars: Māori Creation Myths

By Witi Ihimaera

This book traces the history of the Māori people through their creation myths. Witi Ihimaera follows Tawhaki up the vines into the firmament, Hine-titama down into the land of the dead, Māui to the ends of the earth, and the giants and turehu who sailed across the ocean to our shores. 

Taonga Pūoro: Singing Treasures

By Brian Flintoff

If you're interested in Māori musical instruments, this book with CD is for you.

Hiakai: Modern Māori Cuisine

By Monique Fiso

This book ranges between history, tradition and tikanga. As well as Monique Fiso's personal journey of self-discovery, it tells the story of kai Māori, provides foraging and usage notes, an illustrated ingredient directory, and over 30 breathtaking recipes that give this ancient knowledge new life.

Hiakai won the 2021 Ockham New Zealand Book Award for Illustrated Non-Fiction.

Kuwi and Friends Māori Picture Dictionary

By Katherine Q. Merewether

My First Words in Māori

By Stacey Morrison

This book equips your whānau with the first words you need to speak te reo at home together. 

Te Kāhui o Matariki

By Sharon Holt