Author Michael Botur with children Violet and Abe, the guinea pigs and Doggo. Photo / Supplied
Author Michael Botur with children Violet and Abe, the guinea pigs and Doggo. Photo / Supplied
My Animal Family is something quite unlike the fare we've come to expect from prolific writer Michael Botur.
In this venture, he has put his extraordinary short stories to one side and, with the help of his family and Kapiti-based illustrator Emma Weakley, has created a fascinating and entertaining children's picture book.
He has enlisted the help of his children, Abe and Violet Botur, who appear as illustrations throughout the book, to lead the reader on a tour of the phylogenetic tree.
He calls them "two Homo sapiens siblings with a love of nature".
Launched late last year in the author's home town of Whangārei, this self-published book is fun, informative and beautifully produced, introducing children to the natural world and our undeniable relationship with it.
My Animal Family's core message is that humans are equal to all other living creatures. As such, the book features hilarious pictures and words about human beings' beastly habits - including Dad 'hibernating' after copious amounts of KFC and beer, feral kids running amok in mud, and subplots about backbones, milk and rabies.
Michael says he first began writing My Animal Family four years ago to entertain Abraham and Violet, now aged 10 and 8.
"The book was inspired by a debate with my daughter when she was 5 about whether or not humans are animals. It reminded me of when I was in primary school being told that people are part of the animal kingdom and it blew my mind.
"I think few things are more important for kids than understanding your place in the universe and gaining joy from scientific discovery – especially since Kiwi kids have been out of education all summer."
The front cover of My Animal Family.
Illustrator Emma Weakley began work on the book's illustrations in November 2019 and the book went through "a huge amount of back and forth" before the pictures and text were finalised in time for printing in late November, last year.
"There were so many complications making the pictures match the words in the right places – and rhyme, and look perfect on the page – plus I'm extremely impulsive, so poor Emma had to endure my late-night requests to add artistic detail or extra guinea pigs," says Michael.
"What we've ended up with is a beautiful book that's fun to cuddle up with your kid and read.
"Every line on every page of the book is a conversation starter that should spark scientific curiosity and nudge your child towards a career in STEM … or, you could just enjoy the hilarious rhymes and pictures. In the book, I don't shy away from getting kids to think about the significance of Linnaeus, taxonomy and even nipples."
One of the complications on the book's journey was being declined a Creative Communities grant in June 2021 because the assessors said the book was "educational in nature".
Michael instead bootstrapped the costs of the book himself and built up a fanbase delivering readings and poster drawing workshops in schools, bookstores and libraries.
"The 'too educational' feedback had me despairing for Northland's intelligence, especially when our schools were shut down for months," Michael says. "Meanwhile one of the best-selling children's books has been about a kid having a crack in his butt. I decided we can do better and set the standards way higher."
