James Waerea
James Waerea (born 1940) is a New Zealand Māori cartoonist, author and illustrator of Ngati Kahungunu and Te Arawa descent. While Waerea was a primary school teacher, he began writing and illustrating the series of children's books Pukunui. There were four books in the series. In 2009 an American animation company began republishing his books. He was cartoonist for New Zealand Truth from 1991, his last cartoons appearing in the early 2000s. Diamond notes that Waerea called 'Maori to account' but his cartoons deployed 'a whimsical humour' which defused 'tension around sensitive issues'. Selected works Pukunui (1976) Pukunui and his friend Moata Moa (1981) Pukunui the astronaut (1982) Pukunui's hangi (1986) References External links Search for work by James Waerea on DigitalNZ 1940 births New Zealand editorial cartoonists New Zealand children's book illustrators New Zealand children's writers New Zealand Māori artists Living people