A Kiwi spin on Dickens classic
You could be forgiven for thinking A Christmas Waiata, by Shelley BurneField, with its cover displaying twinkling Christmas stars and a pair of red-and-blue jandals against a bright-green background, was a children’s book.
In fact, it’s a book aimed at a much wider audience with its humorous take on the Charles Dickens story A Christmas Carol.
In Shelley’s version, Whaea Ranginui, head kaiako at the Te Kō hanga Reo o Te Raranga, plays an Ebenezer Scrooge character, and the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future include Billy T. James wearing his famous trademark jandals.
The Christmas spirit is completely lost on Whaea Rangi who is becoming meaner by the second, increasing fees and cancelling the Christmas Eve party.
Despite all that, themes of compassion and kindness run through the novella and later when Irirangi, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, shows Whaea Rangi just how grim her life will become, other themes such as regret and love emerge.
Shelley, a writer of many talents, had a lot of fun writing it and I can see why. It’s quite different from her more serious young-adult fiction novels (the first of which is being published next year by Allen & Unwin), her short stories, creative non-fiction for E-Tangata and her award-winning poetry. And if that’s not all, she recently won a prestigious residency with Te Herenga Waka– Victoria University International Institute of Modern Letters (IMML) and Creative NZ Emerging Mā ori Writer.
Shelley launched A Christmas Waiata at the Waipawa library last week to an enthusiastic crowd, and you can buy it in time for Christmas from Paper Plus in Waipukurau, or Kingfisher Gifts in Waipawa. Limited copies so don’t miss out!