Honky-tonky kind of tale a runaway success

IAIN MCGREGOR/The Press

BESTSELLER LIST: Busking may be a thing of the past for Craig Smith after his successful song/book combination. Below, the book's bright cover.

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A spunky, hanky-panky, cranky, stinky-dinky, lanky, honky-tonky, winky, wonky donkey is making a run at being the country's biggest-selling Christmas book.

The Wonky Donkey book, the brainchild of musician Craig Smith and illustrator Katz Cowley, has been top of the New Zealand children's book bestseller list for six weeks, and has recently made it to No 10 on the all-books bestseller list. Despite only being released in October, The Wonky Donkey is third on the year-long children's book bestseller list.

Cowley said the success of the book took all those involved by surprise.

Publisher Scholastic initially envisaged a 3500-print run, but demand had boosted copies to 35,000, she said.

The picture book is based on Smith's award-winning song, which is included on a CD in a sleeve in the back cover.

Smith wrote the song three years ago, and this year won the New Zealand Children's Song of the Year award.

The Children's Bookshop on Victoria St introduced Smith to Scholastic, and together with Cowley and Christchurch firm Book Design, The Wonky Donkey book was born.

Cowley is a former illustrator at Britain's Aardman Animation, of Wallace and Gromit fame.

- © Fairfax NZ News