Pupils from Halfway Bush School had the opportunity to meet with Dame Joy Cowley at her home, Summerset at Bishopscourt Retirement Village, for the launch of her new book, Twigs and Stones, yesterday.
The book is Dame Joy’s follow up to her award-winning collaboration with illustrator Gavin Bishop, Snake and Lizard, from Gecko Press.
Her new book captures the essence of friendship and provides a gentle reminder to be kind to others and to avoid name-calling.
Dame Joy said the inspiration for Twigs and Stones came from a childhood experience when she tripped backwards over a milk crate in a classroom and her teacher said "watch your feet, Jumbo".
"After that, all the children called me Jumbo and I hated it because I was called that at the school always," Dame Joy said.
Teachers used to ask her to write something about name-calling because she found it distressing and they were not sure how to talk to children about it.
Dame Joy did not want to write a story that was too "preachy or teachy" and used snake and lizard characters to talk about the issue without pointing fingers at children.
The book had resonated well with the children as a result, she said.
Dame Joy also presented the Halfway Bush pupils with $500 worth of vouchers from University Bookshop Otago for their school library.
Until recently they did not have a school library, and a parent Lizzie Kennedy volunteered her time to help create one.
"A school needs a library," Ms Kennedy said.
The vouchers would be used to buy "new, fresh and relevant" books for the pupils.
