It's In The Stars Miriama's New Chapter

The TV star works her storytelling magic in print

- Sebastian Van Der Zwan

Writing a children’s book was a dream come true for Miriama Kamo, who has wanted to be an author ever since she was a kid herself, filling the spare pages of her dad’s diaries with stories and insisting the whanau listen to every word.

However, when the Sunday and Marae presenter proudly brought home her first published work recently, the response from her stepson Sam, 17, and daughter Te Rerehua, six, was muted. She laughs, “Both of them were like, ‘Cool, whatever.’ It’s the same as when they see me on telly – very ho-hum.”

But a couple of weeks later, Te Rerehua came up to Miriama, 44, clutching the Maori language version of the book, The Stolen Stars of Matariki, and demanding her mum read it to her, which was “so exciting”.

The TVNZ 1 star tells, “It was slightly surreal turning the pages and reading her my words, but I felt very proud. Kids have so many demands on their attention these days, especially with all those screens, so I’m always delighted to see her with a book, but it’s awesome to have actually written something that captures her imagination.”

Not coincidentally, Miriama’s book is about two children called Te Rerehua and Sam, who are visiting their grandparents in Canterbury’s Te Mata Hapuku (also known as Birdling’s Flat) when they encounter some constellation-thieving patupaiarehe (fairy folk).