Dreams of a Moa, Carly Waddleton
Written by Carly Waddleton
Illustrated by Megan Salole
Published by Little Love; 22 May 2023; RRP: $25.00
Media contact: Gemma Finlay, Notable PR
gemma@notablepr.co.nz / 027 628 9695
One night as I snuggled down into my bed,
A question kept swirling around in my head.
“Hey Dad, I just want to know,
WHERE DID ALL THE MOA GO?”
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to sail the Pacific, ballet dance in Paris or stroll on the moon?
In Dreams of a Moa, young readers will meet a moa with big dreams in this quirky tale full of laughter, energy and a few surprises. The story is firmly anchored in New Zealand, with the illustrations celebrating Aotearoa’s flora and fauna.
Debut Christchurch author Carly Waddleton says the idea for the book was triggered by her son’s curiosity about the moa, combined with her desire to encourage him to follow his passions.
“I wanted the book to be about encouraging everyone to give your dreams a try even if you have challenges – like the moa, a bird without wings. In the illustrations you will see that the main character actually has a prosthetic leg. I hope this subtle inclusion illustrates that anyone and everyone can go after what they dream of.”
This is something Carly feels passionate about. Heart issues used to hold her back, but she says her mum was instrumental in showing her she was just as capable as anyone else of giving her dreams a try.
“Publishing this book really epitomises that for me.”
And while the story is a fantastical and joyful romp around the world, Carly worked with a professor from the Canterbury Museum and University of Canterbury to produce a fact page at the back of the book sharing the just-as-extraordinary real-life details of the moa.
“Jam-packed with adventure and humour, Dreams of a Moa is all about following your aspirations despite the challenges you may face, and what better way to communicate this than with a story about a bird with no wings? Moa may not have been able to fly, but that didn’t stop them from playing fancy dress, having high tea out at sea, joining the national ballet in France, and landing on the moon (accompanied by their kiwi, wētā, and takahē buddies of course). ”
Review from Swings and Roundabouts magazine
ABOUT THE AUTHOR – CARLY WADDLETON
Carly lives in Christchurch New Zealand with her little people, husband and fish. Originally from Lincoln, United Kingdom, she moved to New Zealand in 2009, and despite earthquakes, fires and the challenges of a pandemic, she still loves to call New Zealand home.
She has been twisting words into stories and poetry since she was little, and had her first poem published, an unusual tale of a bee, when she was 8. Since then she has had many poems published in anthologies and pamphlets. Despite writing for almost three decades, it is only in the last 18 months that she has truly given herself permission to spend time honing her craft.
Read an interview with Carly by Christchurch City Libraries.
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR – MEGAN SALOLE
Megan describes herself as a rebel-with-a-paintbrush who likes to cook up hair-brained solutions for a world worth living in and handing on. Megan fell into illustration. She was busy doing social entrepreneurship and then started live illustrating at events with her rag-tag gang of jaw-droppingly creative friends. Now Megan's mainstay is 'solving problems with pictures' and she pinches herself every day that this how she gets to make a living.
Megan lives in the beautiful seaside town of Paekākāriki with her artist-gardener-animator-psychiatric nurse husband and her delightful-hilarious-cheeky-happy daughter.