It’s been a whole year since Family Haddow arrived on the shores of Aotearoa and we have had the most incredible twelve months. I can’t even begin to list all the amazing adventures we have had but needless to say, it has been a year of surfing, snowboarding, beautiful hikes and making wonderful new friendships. I keep waiting for the …
How to needle felt your very own Little Rabbit
Alison Friend’s gorgeous illustrations of Little Rabbit in Little Rabbit’s Big Surprise got me inspired to create a plushie of the character. During my travels of New Zealand’s South Island, we stopped off at The Woolshed Canaan to enjoy some delicious ice cream and I took the opportunity to learn about needle felting. That’s right, folks! I needle felted a …
Dave Pigeon at KidsFest 2019
Today, I was at KidsFest, in association with WORD Christchurch, at the beautiful Tūranga in Christchurch where I got to introduce an audience to my terrible but financially rewarding habit of telling tales. We had a game of Guess Which Statement Was One of Swapna Haddow’s Many Many Outrageous Lies and then I got to meet with twenty-two budding young …
It’s time to Return to Wonderland
It’s publication day for Return To Wonderland! Fall down the rabbit hole and return to where it all began with this brand new selection of stories. I’m so proud to have my story ‘The Missing Book‘ in this stunning collection, illustrated by Laura Barrett. I hope you all enjoy!
Return to Wonderland on 27th June…
Just three more sleeps until the Return To Wonderland anthology, illustrated by Laura Barrett, is officially out. I’m so chuffed to have been part of this gorgeous collection of stories alongside some of today’s biggest children’s authors including Robin Stevens, Pamela Butchart, Patrice Lawrence, Maz Evans, Lisa Thompson, Amy Wilson, Lauren St John and Piers Torday. My story, ‘The Missing …
Dave Pigeon at Queenspark School
Today, I visited years 3, 4, 5 and 6 at Queenspark School as part of their Book Week celebrations. We had a blast talking about imagination and creativity and giving Mean Cat the stories she never had in the Dave Pigeon series. Mean Cat got to meet donkeys, toilets, ponies, a meaner cat and a whole lot of poop. Thank …
An Exclusive Dave Pigeon Chapter for Halswell School
I’ve been busy being Patronly and written Halswell School their very own Dave Pigeon chapter as a HUGE thank you for hosting my wonderful Dave Pigeon (Royal Coo!) Launch. You can have a read of their chapter below:
The Dave Pigeon (Royal Coo!) Launch Party
Hurray hurray! The very brilliant Zac and my Patron of Reading school, Halswell School, hosted the Kiwi launch of Dave Pigeon (Royal Coo!) on Tuesday evening. Thank you very much to everyone who came along to celebrate and for those who didn’t manage to make it, here are some pictures from a most pigeontastic evening:
Dave Pigeon visits Ouruhia School
Yesterday, I was invited to speak to the pupils at Ouruhia School. This was the very first time I was taking Dave Pigeon (Royal Coo!) into a school and I was excited to meet the pupils and see what that thought of the new book. I was greeted by a brilliant ‘Swapna Haddow’ display in their warm, cosy library. Years …
Dave Pigeon at Auckland Writers Festival
Kia ora, Readers! I’m back in Christchurch after an epic weekend away in Auckland at the Auckland Writers Festival. I was so chuffed to be invited to this brilliant festival to take part in Family Day and introduce the Kiwi kids to Dave Pigeon. Of course, I went along to as many events at the festival. The line up was …