Mid Canterbury in pictures

Mary Blain with her book, “Explore with me Mid Canterbury.” Anisha Satya

When Mary Blain’s first son was born, she was given a children’s book about New Plymouth.

“I read that to him, and he wanted to hear it a hundred times, so I came to know all the places in New Plymouth,” she said.

“When I visited, I knew all the places I wanted to go.

“I thought, ‘why don’t we have one here?’.”

That series of events is what led to Blain writing, illustrating and producing “Explore with me Mid Canterbury,” which is now available for purchase at Paper Plus.

It’s her tribute to the region, having moved here from the Hawke’s Bay and instantly falling in love - in more ways than one.

“I came here 10 years ago on a teacher placement for six weeks, and didn’t leave.

“I met my husband, Steve, and we’re on his family cropping farm.”

The book features two main characters, a local ewe and a kōtare (kingfisher), who journey through the fields and hills of the region together.

The book was a year-long slog of writing and rewriting, Blain said.

“The hardest part would have been the words, making it all flow.

“You have to be quite compact for a children’s book; I had to really think about what to include, which places and activities.”

The images were another hurdle, which were overcome with the use of AI.

“I am a bit of an artist, and I started trying to do it the traditional way… I wasn’t going to have a book on the shelves until 2050.”

“I taught myself how to use AI for the images. I’m not a computer person, so there was a lot of learning involved.”

Blain tested the book by reading it to her friends’ children, and her own two boys.

“Also, I’m a relief teacher at Hinds School. So one day I went in and read it to the kids without telling them I’d written it.

“Some of the boys actually went home from class that evening and wrote their own stories.”

Blain aims to kill two birds with one book; two dollars from every book sold goes to local charity Kai for Kids, made possible by the many local sponsors backing her story.

“One of my success measures is to raise $3000 for Kai for Kids.

“Children learn better when they’ve got a full tummy.”

The books are available at Ashburton’s Paper Plus from this week.

“I want to thank the sponsors, and also the family and friends who have supported me along the way,” Blain said.

She also hopes it might inspire more kids, like those in her Hinds School classroom, to try their own hand at writing a book.