Mere Whaanga (1952-) of Ngati Rongomaiwahine and Ngati Kahungunu descent is a writer, an illustrator, a historian and an academic. Mere started her publishing career by self-publishing The Legend of the Seven Whales in both English and Maori (1998) which was a finalist in 1990 for the NZLA Russell Clark award for illustration,. This was a story told to her by her father who supplied the Maori text in the finished book. Scholastic redesigned and republished this title as The Legend of the Seven Whales of Ngai Tahu Matawhalti: Nga Tahora Tokowhitu a Ngai Tahu Matawhalti (1990) and despite the resistance to having both languages in the one book, The Legend of the Seven Whales has remained a strong seller both in schools and for the tourist trade. This success was followed by her own story of how the paua got its colours, published as Tangaroa's Gift: Te Koha a Tangaroa (1990) was a finalist in the 1991 AIM Children's Book Award, the 1991 NZLA Russell Clark Award for illustration and the NZLA Esther Glen Award for literature. This success was followed by Te Kooti's Diamond: Te Taimana a Te Kooti (1991). All of her previous works were published under her married name of Mere Whaanga-Scholium.