All Black turns kiddie book illustrator

Keven Mealamu's illustrations are seen here. Illustration / courtesy of Barfoot and Thompson

All Black hardman Keven Mealamu admits those on the receiving end of his tackles might be surprised to learn he is a published children's book illustrator.

Mealamu has illustrated a book of short stories, Superhero Pukeko & 7 Winning Stories, written by school children aged 5 to 12 years old and sold to raise money for Starship Hospital.

"I know things are quite different on the field and you have your game face on, but this is something I really enjoy doing off the field," Mealamu said.

About 4000 of the books have been published by Barfoot & Thompson and can be bought for $15 from the real estate agency's branches or website.

Mealamu's original artwork is also being auctioned on Trade Me.

Every cent from book sales is donated to Starship, and the previous three books - all illustrated by Mealamu - have helped raise $80,000 for the children's hospital.

Mealamu said completing the illustrations had been tough this year because of a certain tournament that had kept him busy.

"I finished the last illustrations in the third round of [Rugby World Cup] pool matches...but it was nice to be able to go home and take your mind off the World Cup."

He produced an illustration for each of the eight stories, and said while some took only a couple of hours, "there are some that just don't come to you for a couple of days".

The Young Authors' Challenge that led to the book's production saw more than 100 entries, and children's authors Paula Green and John Parker helped tweak the winning copy for publication.

Some stories were written by individual authors, while others were a group efforts by classes.

The book's more than 100 young authors sat cross-legged as Mealamu read them a passage from the book at Starship Hospital yesterday.

He answered questions such as "do you like being a rugby player?" and had his greeting echoed back to him en masse: "Good afternoon Keven".