AUTHOR- Clare Scott was 'that kid' - always in trouble at school for talking too much. The teachers even tried sticky-taping her mouth shut so she'd listen more and talk less. It didn't work - instead the words just exploded out of her in writing. She has published a number of her stories as readers with Sunshine Books. Ruru and Kiwi is her first trade picture book. Until recently, she helped young immigrant students learn more about living in New Zealand. But now she's run away north of Auckland to her new home by the beach, where she spends time looking for treasures, shells, clouds, sunsets, rainbows and stories. ILLUSTRATOR- Amy Haarhoff is a 22-year-old illustration student, studying for her Masters from Falmouth University. She was raised on her dad's macabre storytelling, her mum's art materials, and an endless supply of library books. While researching for a project in a bookshop in July 2018, she came across a picture book that changed her life- Cicada, by Shaun Tan. She walked out with a copy of the book and a determination to create stories of her own. In 2019 her exceptional sample pictures for Ruru and Kiwi won her the Storylines Gavin Bishop Award for Illustration and she has worked every spare hour to complete the full book for publication.