“They are not just stories”—Pacific picturebooks in an Aotearoa New Zealand kindergarten

Picturebooks containing Pacific identities, languages, and cultures are catalysts for teachers' and children's learning. Over 12 weeks, teachers at Fanau Pasifika Kindergarten read Pacific-themed picturebooks available in Aotearoa New Zealand. Research explored how teachers and children responded to these books. Picturebooks functioned as “mirrors” for self-identification and cultural practices, and as pedagogical tools supporting language learning, storytelling, and memories. Everyone’s ongoing language learning was supported, and reading and emergent literacy were reenergised in this kindergarten setting.