Q&A with Danni Rae

Danni Rae recently published her first book ‘Kara the Kākāpō’. She is a zookeeper at Wellington Zoo who spends her days working with primates and carnivores and we were lucky enough to steal some of her time.

Q: We understand you are writing this animal adventure series as a way to inspire conservation connections, what inspired Kara the Kākāpō as the first book in the series?
A: I wanted my debut book to reflect how much I fell in love with NZ’s beautiful landscapes and incredible species when I moved here 6 years ago, as well as convey the optimism, determination and creativity I have witnessed with conservation efforts across the country. These are the qualities I would like to inspire in children who read Kara’s story and hopefully take with them as I progress into more specific conservation themes throughout the series. 

Q: Are the rest of the books in the series going to focus on animals/birds that are native to New Zealand?
A: I will not just be focussing on New Zealand species through this series, we are going to be going on a journey to discover the stories of animals all around the world.

Q: Can you tell us what animal will be the starring character in your next book?
A: Ohhh spoiler, the next book is going to follow a little Hermit Crab but you will have to wait and see what his story will be :)

Q: If you had to choose, what would you name as your favourite NZ native bird?
A: This is such a hard question, as much as I love the Kākāpō, the cheeky Kea and so many more I think my favourites would be the Piwakawaka or NZ robins as they will always join me on my hiking adventures, flitting along catching bugs and sitting on my pack at snack stops.

Q: Do you have a favourite children’s book about animals?
A: The first book about animals I remember reading was a giant book with the pictures and names off all of these amazing species (I can’t even remember what it is called now, just that at one point the book was bigger than me) and I would go through and learn about all of these amazing animals I had never seen before.

Q: As a debut author, what was your favourite part of releasing this first book?
A: My favourite part of releasing this first book was to see it actually tangible and not just an idea in my head, then having the opportunity to share it and have kids reading Kara’s story.  

Q: Kara the Kākāpō has a wonderful rhyming scheme, did you always intend to write a rhyming book or did the rhymes come after the story?
A: The concept for the story came first but when I started writing it, the rhymes just flowed so beautifully that I decided to continue with a rhyming scheme that would share the story but also make it enjoyable to read aloud.

Q: When and where do you write? Do you ever write at the zoo on your breaks, inspired by all the animals around you?
A: I write mostly at home (I’m far too busy to write at work but the animals I have the opportunity to care for definitely inspire me), usually ideas will come when I’m in the shower and I have to remember them until I can write them down, or when I should definitely be asleep.

Another great place to write is out hiking (it’s a great way to clear my mind from the millions of day-to-day thoughts) and I have all these little notes written on my phone to write down when I get home again. 

Q: If you could choose 1 animal to be for a day, which animal would you choose and why?
A: I would love to be so many different animals for so many different reasons;

What would it be like to fly, to have a tail, to live underwater, to see ultraviolet light…. But if I could only choose one it would be an octopus because I think sensory wise that the experience of living underwater and having 8 arms is so foreign to what I could possibly imagine that it would be interesting to experience for a day.

Q: I think a lot of children aspire to be zookeepers and authors, you’re truly living the dream as both! What would you say to children wanting to follow in your footsteps?
A: I would say you can have more than one dream so as long as you are willing to put in the work, go for it! You can learn a lot from animals and there are so many different paths to explore so don’t ever feel like you can only do one or the other. One of my favourite roles is sharing the amazing animals I care for with visitors and helping them learn about them, and to be able to do that through my stories now as well is very fulfilling.

If you are interested in zoo-keeping start volunteering with animals (there is a lot more cleaning and a lot less playing with animals than you might expect) but you also have the opportunity to forge connections with some pretty incredible species.

As for being an author, WRITE, it doesn’t have to be perfect when you start, just keep writing, keep reading and keep learning until you are ready to share your stories with the world.

Kara the Kākāpō by Danni Rae, illustrated by Evan Heasman is out now.  If you haven’t read it yet pop into the shop to get a copy for that little reader in your life!