Ōtautau woman Zerika van Jaarsveld drew the illustrations for Curly Cat the Acrobat written by Jennifer Somervell, of Oxford.
Ms van Jaarsveld said she was "on cloud nine for days" after the release of her 10th picture book, which took two years to create.
"Illustrating picture books is my passion. It’s a dream come true."
It was the third time she had worked with the author and the second book in the award-winning Curly Cat series, published by Landing Lights Press.
Having survived bullying in the first book, Curly Cat brims with confidence and dreams of becoming a trapeze flyer.
He climbs confidently up to the high trapeze platform, only to be paralysed with fear when he looks down.
Ms van Jaarsveld first saw the story in February 2023, when she met the book’s author in Riverton.
She knew nothing about trapeze but immediately had a picture of a cat in a stripey leotard.
"I had no references on how to make a cat’s paw curl around a trapeze bar."
Her aim was to make the illustrations riveting but also to work technically.
After hours of research and video watching she figured it out.
"It took me a long time to grasp how the structure in flying trapeze works."
She loved building on the characters of the first book.
‘‘For the second book it was like opening the door and having them all run back in again for another adventure."
NZ Booklovers reviewer Rebekah Lyell said there was humour on every page.
" Each character bursts with charm and Curly Cat's tail is a thing of magnificence."
