Tongan children overseas invited to share their stories in new book project

A South Auckland writer is inviting young Tongans living overseas to help tell their stories in a new book project.

David Riley, also known as the Reading Warrior, is looking for Tongan children aged roughly eight to 14 to contribute to the next edition of his Oceania Heritage series.

Speaking with John Pulu on PMN Tonga, Riley says it's the third book in a series of history books about the Pacific, written from the perspective of children. The two earlier books focused on Niue and Sāmoa.

“The overall mission is to provide content for Pacific children," Riley says.

"It's still quite difficult to find books about Tongan, Sāmoan, Cook Islands, Niuean history and culture that are written for children.

“A lot of material is written university level or for adults.

"What better way to provide that kind of content than to have it written by children themselves.

"It's fulfilling a need for content, for books written about Pacific history and culture at a level that children can relate to and be interested in.”

Listen to David Riley's full interview on PMN Tonga below.

The first book, released in 2024, worked with Niuean children in Aotearoa and overseas. A second book, for Sāmoan students, was launched in Apia last year.

For the Tongan edition, Riley says 32 children will take part, including students from Auckland, Tonga, and small Tongan communities around the world.

“We want to get the perspective of Tongan children living in places, where maybe they’re the only Tongan family there,” he says. “It’s really great for Tongan children to read about the experiences of Tongan children living in other parts of the world."

The first book, released in 2024, worked with Niuean children in Aotearoa and overseas. A second book followed last year with Sāmoan students, launched in Apia. Photo/Supplied.

Riley says previous projects show how the books can reach beyond Pacific communities.

“When they receive the books, they take them to school and show their friends,” he says. “There’s a whole lot of kids in Sweden who now know about Sāmoa, thanks to their classmates.”

Riley is encouraging families with children living overseas to get in touch.

He says he is particularly interested in hearing from Tongans in Europe, South America, and Asia, where communities may be small or isolated.

For more information, check out the Reading Warrior website or Facebook page.