Isobel Te Aho-White

Profile

Isobel Te Aho-White is a talented illustrator known for her captivating work that celebrates Aotearoa’s native plant life and explores themes of mana wahine, kaitiakitanga, te taiao, and ancestral healing. She earned her Diploma in Visual Arts from UCOL and a Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Illustration from Massey University.

Isobel’s illustration career took off in 2015 when she began freelancing and creating her own illustrated stories, which quickly garnered attention from publishers like School Journal and Huia. Her debut book, Santa’s Worst Christmas (2019), was nominated across multiple categories in the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults.

Her subsequent work includes illustrating Whiti: Colossal Squid of the Deep (2020), which won a prestigious Whitley Award for Best Children’s Book.

Isobel has also contributed illustrations to notable works such as Witi Ihimaeras’ Te Kōkōrangi /The Astromancer (2022) and The Maori Picture Dictionary/Te Papakupu Whakaahua by Josh Morgan, Margaret Sinclair and Ross Calman (2022).

Beyond children’s book illustration, her artistic endeavors span graphic design, editorial work, and community mural projects, showcasing her versatility across various media including ink, watercolour, acrylic, oil, and gold leaf.

Storylines-Illustrators-Isobel-Te-Aho-White

Selected bibliography:

Ngā Kupenga a Nanny Rina/ Nanny Rina’s Amazing Nets by Quiane Matata-Sipu (Puffin 2024)
A Ariā me te Atua o te Kūmara/ Ariā and the Kūmara God by Witi Ihimaera (Puffin 2024)
Pipi and Pou and the Waves of Destruction by Tim Tīpene (Onetree House 2024)
He reo iti noa ahau by Linda Tuhiwai Smith (Huia 2023)
Pipi and Pou and the Firewoman by Tim Tīpene (Onetree House 2023)
Pipi and Pou and the Tentacles of the Deep by Tim Tīpene (Onetree House 2023)
My Matariki Colouring and Activity Book by Miriama Kamo and Dr Rangi Matamua (Scholastic NZ 2022)
Matariki Around the World by Miriama Kamo and Dr Rangi Matamua (Scholastic NZ 2022)
Te Kōkōrangi/ The Astomancer by Witi Ihimaera (Puffin 2022)
Te Papakupu Whakaahua – The Māori Picture Dictionary with Josh Morgan, Margaret Sinclair, Ross Calman (Puffin 2022)
Lost in the Museum by Victoria Cleal (Te Papa Press 2022)
There are No Moa, E Hoa by Melinda Szymanik (Scholastic NZ 2022)
Pipi and Pou and the 100 Legs of Terror by Tim Tīpene (Onetree House 2022)
Pipi and Pou and the River Monster by Tim Tīpene (Onetree House 2022)
Pipi and Pou and the Raging Mountain by Tim Tīpene (Onetree House 2022)
Batkiwi by Melinda Szymanik (Scholastic NZ 2021)
Takahē Maths by Julie Ellis (Onetree House 2021)
Whiti, Colossal Squid of the Deep by Victoria Cleal (Te Papa Press 2020)
Te Kirihimete I Whakakorea/ Santa’s Worst Christmas by Pania Tahau-Hodges and Bryony Walker (Huia Publishers 2019)
He Paki Taonga i a Māui: He putunga kōreo mai i Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa/ Māui’s Taonga Tales: A Treasury of Tales from the South Pacific by David Brechin-Smith, Rewiti Arapere, Taupuruariki Brightwell, Te Hana Goodyear, Miriama Grace-Smith, Huriana Kopeke- Te Aho, Josh Morgan, Munro Te Whata (Te Papa Press 2019)

Awards:

2024 Storylines Notable Book Award Junior Fiction List for Pipi and Pou and the Firewoman
2023 Finalist – Junior Fiction Award at the NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults for Pipi and Pou and the Raging Mountain
2023 Storylines Notable Book Award Junior Fiction List for Pipi and Pou and the Tentacles of the Deep
2022 Storylines Notable Book Award Te Reo Maori List for Te Kōkōrangi
2022 Storylines Notable Book Award Picture Book List for There are No Moa, e Hoa
2022 Storylines Notable Book Award Non-Fiction List Matariki Around the World: A Cluster of Stars, A Cluster of Stories
2021 Storylines Notable Book Award Te Reo Maori List for Kō Pekakiwi
2021 Finalist – Junior Fiction Award at the NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults for
2021 Whitley Award for Whiti, Colossal Squid of the Deep
2020 Storylines Notable Book Award Non-Fiction List for Māui’s Taonga Tales: A Treasury of Tales from the South Pacific
2020 Storyline Notable Book Award Te Reo Māori list for He Paki Taonga i a Māui: He putunga kōreo mai i Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa
2020 Finalist – Picture Book Award at the NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults for Santa’s Worst Christmas
2020 Finalist – Russell Clarke Award for Illustration at the NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults for Santa’s Worst Christmas
2020 Finalist – Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award for Te Reo Māori at the NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults for Te Kirihimete I Whakakorea
2020 Finalist – Best First Book Award at the NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults for Santa’s Worst Christmas

Profile