Author's book reading brings 200 to Mt Bruce

Pukaha Mt Bruce is a refreshingly true conservation story in an age of appearances, says author Joy Cowley - whose book-reading at the Mt Bruce wildlife centre yesterday helped bring in more than 200 visitors.

"You get a little tired of commercial interests telling you something is good for the environment [when] it's all about the dollar," Cowley said.

Pukaha, on the other hand, is "all about the preservation of creatures and forest that is fast disappearing in this country ... the protection of something that was here from long before".

Pukaha held a Kids' Come Free day yesterday that included a reading from Cowley of her book Manukura, the White Kiwi.

Profits from the sale of Cowley's book will support Pukaha's predator-proofing programme that will protect native birds in the area around Mt Bruce.

Cowley said "everyone in the world" had heard about the white kiwi being born at Mt Bruce, but she had never visited the centre herself until she was contacted by publishers Random House.

Learning about Manukura and her significance, and about the work of Pukaha, Cowley was impressed with the "respect and integrity" of the centre's work.

The fact that Manukura was seen as a taonga, or treasure, gave Cowley the idea to use the kiwi's "specialness" as a vehicle for the children to think about their own.

"Every child is a taonga, and I'm not sure that children know that - and I took the opportunity to use the voice of the kiwi to say that."

When the publishers asked who Cowley would like as an illustrator, she recommended Bruce Potter, "because even though it's in the voice of a kiwi, you can't call it a fiction, and I wanted realistic pictures - and Bruce did a beautiful job. "And the people here, they look exactly like that, Darren [Page, wildlife ranger] and Jason [Kerehi, Rangitane iwi adviser]".

Cowley said when writing for adults, "you just write - fly on the wings of language", but the trick to connecting with children is to know the audience.

"You write for one child you know really well".