Jane Va`afusuaga

Jane Va’afusuaga was born and raised in Eastbourne, Wellington and is of Scottish heritage. Having trained as a teacher, Jane taught for 10 years in Auckland and four years in Apia, Samoa. Jane lives in Samoa in the village of Falease’ela, with her husband, Olsen and daughter, Coco.

Their house sits beside the Liua le Vai o Sina River, where they host visitors from around the world through their ecocultural adventure tourism business. Life in the village means Jane has been immersed in the culture, language, natural environment, church and customs of the Samoan people. She works in the family business, writes when she can and volunteers at the local primary school where she has set up a library.

Jane is a 2017 New Zealand Society of Authors mentorship recipient.

"My passion is to write stories and articles that children, especially Pacific Island children can respond to. To give them characters and situations they can relate to and stories they can see themselves in, ultimately to inspire children to read".

By this author

A Gift For Ana

That first night in Sāmoa, Ana slept next to her grandmother on an old bed with sheets that smelled of mothballs. Now it was morning and as she opened her eyes, Ana saw that the other side of the bed was empty. She sat up and looked across the room.

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Mose and the Manumea

After hearing about the endangered manumea bird on the radio, Mose and his cousin Niko set off to search for a manumea in the deep dark forest on the far side of the mountain. They meet some amazing forest creatures on their adventure, but will they find the very special rare bird they are looking for? Includes facts pages and a fun activity to hunt for forest creatures.

Mose and the Manumea is designed to be read independently by 8–10 year olds and to be read aloud to younger readers.

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O le Meaālofa mo Ana

O le pō muamua i Sāmoa, na momoe ai Ana ma lona tinā matua i luga o se moega tuāi lava, ma `a`āfu i ni `ie`afu namu atigi mogamoga. Ua malama le taeao, ma e ala a`e Ana, ua leai se `olomatua.

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O Mose ma le Manumea

The Sāmoan edition of Mose and the Manumea.

`Ina ua fa`alogo Mose ma lona tauusoga o Niko i le fa`asalalauga i le leitiō e uiga i le manulele fa`asao o le manumea, na fa`aoso loa le lā sa`iligā manumea. Ua ō i le loloto o le togāvao pogisā, o lo o i le isi itūmauga. `Ua maofa tama i  manu ese`ese na lātou fetaia`i i le vaomatua, `ae fa`amata o le `ā lā mauaina lenei manulele mauagatā?

O Mose ma le Manumea is designed to be read independently by 8–10 year olds and to be read aloud to younger readers.

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Uncle Tino

James and Jessie are embarrassed by Uncle Tino’s old car and the way he honks the horn so loudly when he drives them to school. But when the Sāmoan culture group needs help to prepare for the end of year concert, it turns out that Uncle Tino is full of surprises. A story about being yourself and standing out from the crowd.

Softcover, 36 pages, 216mm x 216mm

Read aloud to children 5–10 years

For independent readers approximately 8-10 years

Also available in Sāmoan in February 2024:
O Tino, le tuagane o le mā tinā

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Visiting Grandma

A children's picture book about a Sāmoan family set in New Zealand from the perspective of a palagi girl. A normal event in one culture may seem unusual to another culture. When palagi Rachel goes with her new Sāmoan friend Luisa to visit her grandmother, it’s not quite what Rachel expects. A touching story about honouring your loved ones. With detailed illustrations by Azra Pinder-Pancho.

The Sāmoan translation, Āsiasiga iā Tinā, will be published later in 2020.

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