Rachel Driscoll

Rachel is an award winning children’s book illustrator who had the wonderful task of creating The Tree Hutt characters – Wiki the Weta, Matilda the Morepork, Lulu the Huhu, Sam the Tuatara, Poko the Kakapo and Pip the Kiwi. These loveable wee characters are on hand to guide children as they experience the Tree Hutt.

“Bringing characters to life is one of my very favourite parts of being an illustrator” says Rachel, “and these little guys have a very important role to play at The Tree Hutt so I had to make sure that they were extra special.”

Rachel was a part of the team that helped Ann to paint the mural and she also illustrated the giant blooming rata tree that greets visitors as they enter The Tree Hutt and The Brunsdon Train Station, which sits amongst the tree tops in the waiting area.

You can see more of Rachel’s work in her books Old Hu-hu written by Kyle Mewburn (winner of the 2010 New Zealand Children’s Book of the Year) and The Mouse that Danced written by Margaret Beames. Both are published by Scholastic New Zealand.