Illustrator and author Ned Barraud to tour Whanganui primary schools and library

Award-winning author and illustrator Ned Barraud will be visiting primary schools in Whanganui.

Award-winning Wellington-based illustrator and author Ned Barraud will visit Whanganui to take a tour of local schools and libraries.

Barraud has illustrated or co-authored more than 20 titles introducing children to the natural world around them and encouraging them to explore it.

This year, he released two new books, Tuatara: A Living Treasure, working with author Katie Furze for Scholastic, and Mangō: Sharks and Rays in Aotearoa with Te Papa Press.

He holds a degree in illustration from Massey University’s design school and previously worked at Weta Digital for more than a decade.

Barraud said he was excited to share his love for nature and illustration with the schools.

“I always end up reading Watch Out for the Weka at school visits – it’s a super fun story to read aloud and has some funny pictures – or Tuatara: A Living Treasure where it’s fun to make the ‘pop’ sound as the baby tuatara pops out of the egg,” he said.

He also enjoyed fielding questions and anecdotes from students, as he often drew on his own experiences as a father to shape his work and the content presented in schools.

“Raising three of my own kids gave me a very good idea of what kids love and what fascinates them.”

Often his books sprang from activities that enthralled his children, such as tramping, rock pooling, bird watching, insect hunts in the garden and river swims.

“Kids naturally want to connect with nature; this is what my books are all about.”

Barraud is visiting Whanganui as part of the Writers in Schools programme from Read NZ Te Pou Muramura (formerly the NZ Book Council), in which around 40,000 tamariki are visited by hundreds of authors each year.

He will visit Tawhero and Aranui schools on Tuesday, November 7, and Churton and Mosston schools on Wednesday before an after-school event at the Whanganui District Library at 3.30pm.

The wonderful thing about the tour was getting to see parts of the country he would not normally get to see.

“I’ve been to Whanganui a few times and have had a very special time canoeing on the river. It’s a place I love and I’m very happy to be reconnecting with it,” he said.