Cowley said "everyone in the world" had heard about the white kiwi being born at Mt Bruce, but she had never visited the centre herself until she was contacted by publishers Random House.
Learning about Manukura and her significance, and about the work of Pukaha, Cowley was impressed with the "respect and integrity" of the centre's work.
The fact that Manukura was seen as a taonga, or treasure, gave Cowley the idea to use the kiwi's "specialness" as a vehicle for the children to think about their own.
"Every child is a taonga, and I'm not sure that children know that - and I took the opportunity to use the voice of the kiwi to say that."
When the publishers asked who Cowley would like as an illustrator, she recommended Bruce Potter, "because even though it's in the voice of a kiwi, you can't call it a fiction, and I wanted realistic pictures - and Bruce did a beautiful job. "And the people here, they look exactly like that, Darren [Page, wildlife ranger] and Jason [Kerehi, Rangitane iwi adviser]".
Cowley said when writing for adults, "you just write - fly on the wings of language", but the trick to connecting with children is to know the audience.
"You write for one child you know really well".
