Ngarangi Naden was born in Raukokore and was educated at ōpōtiki Primary School, Potaka School, and Queen Victoria School. She went on to Auckland Teachers’ College and obtained a Teaching Diploma and a Higher Diploma in Teaching. Ngarangi has worked as a teacher in Gisborne and Auckland, mostly at Waikohu College, a form one to seven area school. Ngarangi is currently a resource teacher of Māori in Auckland. When she first became a resource teacher she saw a need for more written material in Māori and thus began writing. In 1997 she obtained a Diploma in TESSOL from Auckland College of Education. She makes resources with her whanau for te reo kori (the Māori perspective on phys-ed) which are written in English. They are manuals composed of little units of work, with graphics and explanations. Volume One was published in 1990 and volume 2 in 1991. Each comes with a tape. Ngarangi has published a Māori alphabet frieze, A Aporo, which contains one song by Maxine, her daughter. She is committed to encouraging teachers in te reo Māori and Māori tikanga.
Biographical sources
- Phone conversation and correspondence from Ngarangi Naden, 14 Sept. 1998, and 22 July 2004.
Children's literature
- Good Boy Andrew. Auckland, N.Z.: Shortland, 1988.
- ‘Using phrases in Māori, it is a story about a boy who plays soccer, who gets his mother’s approval as he tidies himself.’ This book is in English and Māori. A Māori language version of this book was published as Ka Pai, Anaru! (Trans. Koe Naden. Auckland, N.Z.: Shortland, 1987).
- Mud Pie. Auckland, N.Z.: Shortland, 1988.
- A story about making a mud pie.
- Dad Didn’t Mind at All. Auckland, N.Z.: Shortland, 1989.
- A story about a family going on holiday. It has been translated into Spanish.
- The Tickle Bugs. Auckland, N.Z.: Shortland, 1990.
- A story about germs and their effect on a little boy.
Fiction
- "Nga Ra Kuri." No details.
- Comic strips.
- "He Hu Hou" He Kohikohinga 3 1992: 18-19.
- A story in Māori about children going shopping but the mother has lost her purse. Written in ‘Māori Language Stories for Learning Media’, and translated by her mother Charlotte McLaughlin into Māori.
Other
- Te Reo Kori. Resource Kit. Volume One. [Auckland, N.Z.]: Kimihia Resources, [1990].
- Te Reo Kori. Resource Kit. Volume Two. [Auckland, N.Z.]: Kimihia Resources, [1991].
- This resource kit comes with a cassette tape.
- Ngaru. Mihinoa Naden and Ngarangi Naden. [Auckland, N.Z.]: Kimihia Resources, 1992.
- A set of eleven songs composed by Maxine Naden, a book of follow-up activities, a story "Tena Koe e Toka" by Ngarangi Naden, guitar chords for the songs, and ‘Māori Language in the Classroom’ by Ngarangi Naden.