Eleanor Black has included Te Kupenga: 101 stories of Aotearoa from the Turnbull in Canvas magazine's 100 Best Books:
‘A handwritten account of Hēni Pore’s experience of the New Zealand Wars; Katherine Mansfield’s typewriter; an anti-nuclear poster depicting David Lange singing in the shower; a Covid QR code signed by director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield.
Te Kupenga 101, featuring curated treasures from the Alexander Turnbull Library accompanied by insightful essays, deftly takes the reader through a nuanced and revealing history of Aotearoa. It’s the kind of history we need to be teaching our children — accessible, exciting, colourful and tragic — and, for that reason, I say make this beautiful book the gift you share with family this Christmas.
Everyone will have their favourite entries, the ones that spark that feeling of belonging, pride and responsibility. Mine is a portrait of my ancestor, Maraea Mōrete, who went to the Native Land Court to protect family land and whose autobiography is also held by the Alexander Turnbull Library.’
