Te Puke's Kate Ritchie writes book to get kids outdoors

Te Puke's Kate Ritchie has written a children's book called What's In Your Garden.

There was already the seed of an idea in Kate Ritchie's mind, but the Covid-19 alert level 4 lockdown helped it germinate.

Kath, who lives just outside Te Puke town, had an idea for a children's book that would encourage youngsters to explore the natural world.

When the lockdown hit, the need to keep children occupied was paramount, and highlighted the opportunity for a book designed to do just that.

Now the book, called What's In Your Garden, has been printed. The idea has been backed by Te Puke Paper Plus owner Stuart Gunn.

''I always wanted to get the kids off their devices,'' says Kath. ''I wanted them in nature, that's me, I'm outside all the time.''

The book encourages youngsters to explore, to use their imagination, to find plants and insects and notice what is all around them.

All the pictures in the book were taken in Kath's garden - although there has been the odd embellishment such as Photoshopped unicorns and pictures of children shrunk and included in the photos.

''I made toadstools out of concrete, put them all over the place and took photos, all on my phone,'' she says.

There are also fairy houses, a dragon, flowers, fruit and leaves in the photos.

Everything used to make the fairy houses has been recycled.

''The roofs are metal strapping from Farmlands and I used old posts from dad's orchard. I used drift wood and old jewellery. That's part of what I wanted to do, to get kids thinking about what they can do with things.''

It was also a learning process for Kath.

''I did all the photographs, everything. I even learned how to use Illustrator, I was so amazed with myself.''

The book is suitable for reading to children or for children to read themselves.

Kath's grandchildren James, 3, Aria, 1, Nicholas, 4, and Jasmine, 1, have taken to the book.

''I've got two grandchildren here and another couple in Australia and they absolutely love it - one of them said 'it's my favourite book, I'm taking it to kindy every day'.''

They also feature in the book.

''They are walking around the garden and looking at what the different kinds of leaves are and feeling the bark and doing bark pictures and using their imagination.''

The book is Kath's first, but she is already thinking about a follow up which might include what is going on in the fairy houses and who lives in them.

Stuart says he was delighted to pick the book up and run with it.

What's In Your Garden is available in Te Puke Paper Plus.