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have you ever seen…

A smack of jellyfish, a dazzle of zebras or a glimmer of dragonflies?

In April 2018 my first ever illustrated children’s book was published!

A Kaleidoscope of Butterflies & other such collective nouns is full of vibrant illustrations and hand lettering, depicting 25 of our planet’s most fabulous, colourful creatures complete with their wonderful, wacky group names. It is a huge hit with children and adults alike!

 This book started in 2014 as a passion project, so to see it finally become a book was a great feeling. The idea came about after a friend came back from Africa and told me that a group of zebras was called a ‘dazzle’. I just loved that and started researching and drawing other crazy collective nouns of animals. Read more about the process and watch some behind the scenes videos here…

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  • “Your absolutely beautiful book has just arrived – it is totally amazing and I know that my 5 month old granddaughter is going to get great enjoyment out of seeing it. She lives in China with my daughter and her Cuban dad. The book has so many of our family favourite animals in it – some of which are - my granddaughter already loves all birds, especially owls and flamingos, and unicorns; my daughter’s favourite animals are sloths, and marine creatures; my Mum used to paint ladybugs; and I have a regular market stall to raise money for African animals – so many special pages in your book for us”

    – Wendy

  • “Hi Kate. Received your book last week in double quick time. I absolutely love it and cant wait to show my grandson. Your illustrations and clever use of words are very cool.It is so refreshing to see something pop up on FB which has been produced in NZ, and readily available. I will be showing all my friends with grandchildren!!”

    – Jill

  • “Your beautiful book has arrived this morning – it is so wonderful!!!Thank you for creating such a gorgeous book – I have bought it to share with my grandson Finn – I can’t visit right now because we are in lockdown but I can’t wait to show him – we will all love looking at your creative and lovely artwork together and revelling in the wonderful language! My daughter and I have a mutual fondness for the quirkiness of collective nouns so we will so love introducing him to them.”

    – Sue

  • “There are some books where everything comes together in a gorgeous packagethat you just want to hold and touch and look at before you’ve even turned the first page.A Kaleidoscope of Butterflies and other such collective nouns by New Zealand artistKate Hursthouse is definitively, one stunning book.”

    – The Best Nest

  • “The circus of puffins has an old-fashioned carnival feel,influenced by the lettering once found on circus advertising posters;the lounge of lizards has a California-poolside-1960s vibe;the army of caterpillars wear combat hats and the slumber of sloths are doing just that”

    – NZ Herald

  • “This a book I found myself picking up again and again, poring over the illustrations each time.The level of detail meant I found something new in every reading, and could quite happilystare at a single page for some time.”

    – The Sapling