DART OF CASTLE HILL
Want to Play Hide
and Seek?
By Christine Fernyhough and Susan Elijas
Photography by John Bougen
Spring has arrived at last and the lambing season is well under way.
Down the line at iconic Castle Hill Station, the fields and hills are scattered
with lambs — too many to count — but where are they all hiding?
Dart of Castle Hill is a fun rhyming story for young children, set against
the backdrop of one of New Zealand’s most spectacular high-country sheep
stations and the cradle of our world-renowned Merino wool production. Dart the
heading dog is a vital character who, in his diligent journey to find his
missing sheep, unwraps the beauty and minutiae of what a high country sheep
station looks like and what goes on there.
Featuring Susan Elijas’s charming contemporary collage illustrations, Dart
of Castle Hill is bestselling author Christine Fernyhough’s first foray
into children’s picture book writing and is an inspired collaboration between
she and Elijas, and photographer John Bougen. The result brings New Zealand’s
clean, green, natural environment to the fore and celebrates what we do best.
Dart of Castle Hill
is
a classic New Zealand picture book; it educates and entertains, and the ending
has an amusing and unexpected twist. The writing, smart hide-and-seek
interactive text, illustrations and photography mesh perfectly to create a
story that children — and their parents — will be enchanted by over and over
again.
Chrissie Fernyhough owns Castle Hill Station, was the charismatic founder
of Books in Homes and Gifted Kids and has written the best-selling and
award-winning books The Road to Castle Hill and Ben & Mark: Boys
of the High Country.
Susan Elijas is an illustrator, designer and
teacher; Dart of Castle Hill is her first book.
Dart
of Castle Hill
Author: Christine
Fernyhough and Susan Elijas
RRP: $19.99
Random House
Shrek
(RIP) had one, Sirocco has one and now little Manukura does too
Cute little Manukura captured the
hearts and minds of nature-lovers throughout the country and beyond when word
got out last year that a rare white kiwi had
hatched in captivity at Pukaha
Mount Bruce — our National Wildlife Centre.
For Maori, Manukura’s arrival was
especially significant because it was a white kiwi, and Maori recognised this
as something very special — a treasure and a sign of new beginnings.
Like lovable Shrek was for merino
sheep and cheeky Sirocco for kakapo, adorable Manukura has quickly become the
pin-up girl for kiwi and the on-going conservation, research and education
programme at Pukaha Mount Bruce to protect our beloved national icon. She now
has over 3,000 active Facebook followers and she regularly makes the headlines.
Manukura, like Shrek and Sirocco, now has her own book published last week.
Our beloved children’s author Joy
Cowley has teamed up with illustrator Bruce Potter to bring Manukura’s story to
life in a delightful and informative picture book for youngsters.
In this beautiful picture book, the
royalties from which go towards Pukaha Mount Bruce’s kiwi programme, Joy Cowley
tells the heart-warming story of Manukura and offers an uplifting and accessible
conservation message to all young New Zealanders.
With Bruce Potter’s strikingly
naturalistic illustrations, this is a treasure of a book that will be loved by
generations to come.
Manukura - The white kiwi
Random House $19.99
Backgrounder from
Pukaha Mount Bruce ― The National Wildlife Centre
On 1 May 2011 Manukura, little white
kiwi, hatched at Pukaha Mount Bruce. This was a delightful surprise to the
rangers and team at Pukaha as she is the first white kiwi to hatch here and, as
far as we know, the first white kiwi to hatch in captivity.
Manukura is not albino (where there is
a lack of melanin that makes pigmentation white and features pink eyes) she is
pure white which means she is the rare progeny of two parents who carry the
recessive white feather gene.
Manukura’s parents came from
predator-free Little Barrier Island (700kms north of Pukaha) along with 28
other kiwi in 2010 in the single largest translocation of kiwi known. The
purpose of the translocation was to boost the kiwi population here. The result
of that breeding season was 14 healthy chicks, most of who have now been
released into the Pukaha forest and will breed in the next 2 years.
Manukura captured world-wide attention
when she hatched she was born as she is the only known white kiwi in the world.
Recently she had a health scare and was treated by specialist vets Wellington
Zoo. She had swallowed two stones, which is not unusual for birds that often
have gut stones to assist with digestion. Unfortunately one stone was large and
refused to move through her system the traditional way so it had to be removed.
Noted Wellington Hospital urologist, Mr Rod Studd, performed the procedure
under the full gaze of international media. The stone was ‘blasted’ to reduce
its size and removed successfully using an endoscopic procedure. Manukura
recovered well and on return to Pukaha Mount Bruce was introduced to her large
enclosure in the newly upgraded kiwi house where all visitors may view her.
Manukura is considered toanga (a
blessing) by local iwi, Rangitane ō Wairarapa and her name means ‘of chiefly
status’.
The Looky Book is a puzzle book mostly for young
children with 11 different puzzles all with colourful New Zealand landscapes,
birds and animals.
Find
the numbers with the crazy All Black lambs, spot the difference: the
mischievous keas have changed around somebody’s campervan, find the animals
hidden deep in the bush, match the farmers to their animals.
Plus
spot what’s wrong in the weird and wonderful scenes: Should a cow be
paragliding? Would an orca wear a Hawaiian shirt? And why is there a rainbow
under the sea?
About the Author
Donovan Bixley is an illustrator and designer. Donovan has
illustrated more than 100 stories and book covers as well as over 50 books,
including ‘The Pungapeople’ books by beloved New Zealand author Barry Crump. He
has also written and illustrated half a dozen books of his own.
The Looky Book
Hachette NZ - $19.99
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