Beck's book is about the peaceful Parihaka resistance in 1881. The school speech competition is being held on November fifth. A speech about the Gunpowder Plot which took place in England around four hundred years ago is given, one that tells about the dissatisfaction of people with the way that they were treated by those in power. Next, a shy girls in the class, Aroha, stands up to speak. She tells of her forefathers, who lived in the peaceful village of Parihaka under the leaders Te Whiti o Rongomai and Tohu Kakahi. She tells of their passive resistance to the loss of their land, and the armed soldiers who invaded Parihaka.

This tale is told really well at a child's level. The illustrations were created using watercolour, metallic inks, acrylic structure gel, modelling paste and frisk solution, various fabrics, textured papers, natural flax, leaves and graphite pencil detailing which gives them a depth and richness sympathetic to the story. My only problem with the book is that the binding is not of good quality and probably won't last too long. Other than that, very well done. ( )