She has written forty-one picture books , such as '' The Duck in the Gun '' ( 1969 ) , '' The Terrible Taniwha of Timberditch '' ( 1982 ) , '' Salmagundi '' ( 1985 ) , and '' The Cheese Trap '' ( 1995 ) . '' The Duck in the Gun '' and '' Salmagundi '' are explicitly anti-war books . She has been actively involved in teaching early reading skills and helping those with reading difficulties , in which capacity she has written approximately 500 basal readers ( termed '' reading books '' in New Zealand ) . Cowley was awarded a 1990 Commemoration Medal for services to New Zealand , and in 1992 she was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire ( OBE ) for services to children 's literature . The following year she was granted an Honorary Doctorate of Letters ( D.Litt . ) from Massey University , and was awarded the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal
1990 Commemoration Medal
New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal
Joy Cowley