Hero of the Hill

Description

"Engine H One-Ninety-Nine worked the Wairarapa line, pulling carriages up the steep incline of the Rimutaka Hill". It's a darned long way to the summit of the Rimutakas, and a steep climb at that. But Engine H 199 used to do its bit to get people and freight through the Rimutaka Ranges. At the end of the story, which is told in Cowley's faultless rhyme and rhythm, is a double-page fact spread about the locomotives and brake vans that were needed to achieve this feat.

Joy Cowley is a prolific, widely published and much-celebrated writer of fiction for adults and children. She began her career writing short stories and novels, followed by children's literature. She has written a remarkable range of children's books and stories, often illustrated by renowned artists. Joy Cowley was made a Distinguished Companion of New Zealand Order of Merit for services to children's literature in 2005. Philip Webb is a Wellington-based illustrator who has previously teamed up with Joy Cowley to produce the picture book Fly Pie, but might be best known for his illustrations in Diana Neild's Piggity-Wiggity Jiggity Jig series. Two titles he illustrated for Scholastic have received Honour Awards at the NZ Post Children's Book Awards - Dragor and Piggity-Wiggity Jiggity Jig.