A series of children's books featuring a Maori boy and his pet moa have been signed up by American virtual animation company, Fire Hydrant Creative Studios.
The company plans to publish James Waerea's Pukunui series and create spin-off games, merchandise and animations.
Mr Waerea, from Ngati Kahungunu and Te Arawa, wrote the first draft of Pukunui in 1962 when he was working as a primary school teacher, but took years to find a publisher because of concerns about its use of Maori words.
"I was very frustrated we were teaching kids value systems that belonged to a country 12,000 miles away and there were no actual books about New Zealand - well, very very few," he told Waatea News.
"So I thought why don't I write a book," he says.
James Waerea says the five Pukunui books have sold over 50,000 copies since the first was published 30 years ago.
