A zookeeper's favourite animals: Danni Rae

When a storm carries Lulu far from home, the little blue penguin finds herself on an unexpected journey across oceans, deserts, icy landscapes and remote islands. Along the way she meets penguins from around the world, each with their own remarkable homes, habits and stories to share.

Author Danni Rae tells us about her journey to writing her animal-centered picture books.

Like most authors, I was a reader first. Since I first learnt to read, books have been a constant part of my life. But it wasn’t until I started working with animals and travelling that I first started writing the stories that would see me becoming an author myself.

I was born in Australia and grew up surrounded by wildlife (venomous snakes passing through the backyard is normal right?) and it was in Australia that I began my zookeeping career. Feeding lions and monkeys became a ‘normal day at work’ and sharing their personalities, quirks and wild struggles with guests became one of my favourite parts of the job. Yes, monkeys are just as smart and cheeky as you imagine and big cats like boxes just as much as your pet cat does!

Moving to New Zealand in 2016 I discovered a large, flightless, nocturnal parrot. The kākāpō. The more I researched the species the more I knew I had found the perfect character for my first book, Kara the Kākāpō. The main character dreams of flying, but kākāpō are NOT known for their flight skills. Kara’s story teaches children about resilience and creative thinking as she figures out a unique way to achieve her dream.

Many kids first learn about different types of animals in books. My aim through all my picture books is to connect children to animals and inspire them to explore, protect and preserve their natural environments. My second book, Harry the Hermit Crab, conveys the importance of keeping out coastlines clean through his quest to find a new home. The beach is a familiar place for many Kiwi kids growing up, but learning to see this landscape through the eyes of a little hermit crab brings a new perspective of a familiar place.

Becoming a zookeeper not only allowed me to work with amazing animals but to travel to some incredible places working on field conservation projects. While working at Wellington Zoo I had the pleasure of joining the zoo’s conservation partner Madagascar Fauna and Flora Group on a baseline fauna study in the Ivoloina region of Eastern Madagascar. I spend several weeks living and working in the forest around Ivoloina Zoo surveying wildlife. Waking up to lemurs calling at dawn, searching for chameleons amid the dense eastern forest of Madagascar and sharing a hut with a giant snail, several geckos and, on one memorable night, even a small bat. Wildlife surveying can be challenging as many species are designed to camouflage with their environment and it was during this survey that the story for Calum the Chameleon began to take shape. Teaching kids about ecosystems around the world, Calum’s story is an interactive hide-and-seek adventure where kids explore different types of environments, learn about what makes each special and discover several animal species that live in each environment. And of course, find Calum hiding on each page!

My latest quest, to gain a degree in Ecology and Archaeology through the University of Otago, also led to little blue penguins. I am currently working as a wildlife biologist and guide with Blue Penguins Pukekura and part of my role is to monitor the colony at Takiharuru/Pilots Beach. Lulu the Little Blue Penguin is inspired by the adorable and ever-feisty penguins I have the privilege see waddling home each night. Her adventure carries her across oceans to discover different penguin species around the world and the amazing habitats that they call home. Learning how we can protect penguins on our shores is a key message conveyed through the fact sheet at the end of the story.

Working with animals over the last 17 years has allowed me the privilege of getting to know the individual personalities of so many different species and to see their intelligence firsthand. My hope is to share my knowledge and passion to inspire the next generation to connect with nature through this picture book series. These books would not be possible without the incredible illustrations of Evan Heasman (soju_shots) and each book is a team effort to combine storytelling through word and illustration. I have already started working on the next book so make sure to keep up to date with my book releases to see what cool creature I am writing about next!