The Big Teddy Bear Sleepover

Swapna HaddowHalfway Round the World with the Haddows, Scrapbook

October 12th marked Bookshop Day. Here in Dunedin, University Book Shop hosted The Big Teddy Bear Sleepover with The Sleepy Storytellers.

Making up The Sleepy Storytellers were me, Emma Wood, Gillian Torckler and Susan Wardell. Children were invited to bring along their teddy bears for a story time and a crafts session where they made a bed for their bear.

First they had to check their bears in:

Then we had storytime and I read But Then to all the children, bears and their grown ups:

Once all the children tucked their bears in, they said good night before leaving their bears at the sleepover.

The staff at UBS and the awesome foursome of The Sleepy Storytellers made sure the bears were safe and happy all night.

There was a little mischief, after all their was cake in the fridge, but all the bears were fantastically behaved overall:

The next morning the children came back to pick up their bears and share a porridge breakfast with more stories from Emma, Gillian, Susan and I.

What a weekend! I had such a wonderful time and I know all the bears have made fantastically magical memories. After all, where would be better than a bookshop to have a big sleepover?

Reggie Rabbit: The Ghost of Seagull Rock out today!

Swapna HaddowPawsome News

It’s October and Halloween is around the corner so Reggie is BACK with his second book in the Reggie Rabbit series because there is a spooky mystery in the coastal village of Seagull Rock to solve.

In Reggie Rabbit: The Ghost of Seagull Rock, young detective Reggie Rabbit isn’t sure about his partner Pipsquark’s friend, Kai. The seagull seems too perfect to be true and she tells UNBELIEVABLE stories!

Kai says that a terrible, wailing ghost is haunting her home in Seagull Rock. All VERY suspicious, Reggie thinks, since ghosts don’t even exist! But when he and Pipsquark come face-to-face with the phantom, he begins to wonder…

A real ghost? Or a mystery with a very simple answer? It will take all of Reggie and Pipsquark’s detective skills and bravery to crack this case!

Written by me, as ‘Swapna Reddy’, and illustrated by the awesome Becka Moor, this is the second book in the Reggie Rabbit detective series and I can’t wait for you to get your paws on a copy.

Hoppy reading, everyone!

Back to School Author Event with Mr Dilly

Swapna HaddowRoosting With Dave

It’s launch day for Dave Pigeon (Zombies!) and I got to share the day with Mr Dilly, superstar authors Lisa Williamson, Lucy Strange, Steve May, James Turner, Justin Somper, Anne Fargher AND a whopping three thousand children!

We took on the speed round of introducing our books in less than a minute and then got to share a reading from each of our books – this was my first reading of Dave Pigeon (Zombies!) and I’m so chuffed it was with so many brilliant schools.

Thank you to everyone who sent in questions for the author panel and happy reading to everyone who picks up a copy of Dave Pigeon (Zombies!) in time for the spooky season.

Dave Pigeon (Zombies!) out today!

Swapna HaddowRoosting With Dave

It’s the start of spooky season and Dave and Skipper are back with their latest book. There are zombie animals in the garden and Dave and Skipper think this is the work of some dreaded green jammy biscuits.

But a cookie’s a cookie, and Dave can’t resist taking a peck. Now Skipper is in quite the flap! Is Dave about to turn into a zombie? You’ll have to pick up a copy of Dave Pigeon (Zombies!) and find out.

You can have a go at making your very own zombie cookies with this recipe and check out all the Dave Pigeon free activity sheets here too.

If you are out and about, do check out the immersive spooOOOoky October half term trail at Birdworld Farnham! All the event details are here.

And if you can’t get enough of spooky books, check out my fright-tastic recommendations in the Big Issue.

Happy reading and happy Haddoweeeeen!

The But Then Library Tour with Dunedin Libraries: Waikouaiti Library

Swapna HaddowOn the Road

It was the final day of the But Then Library Tour today and we completed our tour of the Dunedin Libraries with Waikouaiti Library.

Waikouaiti School and Karitāne School joined us for the But Then readathon and they had heaps of questions too. I was asked about how books are made, whether I write in notebooks or on the computer and which of my books was my favourite. But my favourite question of all was ‘do you like watching TV?’ and I couldn’t have said ‘YES’ loud enough!

Thank you to all the schools who joined me on the But Then Dunedin Libraries Tour and all the brilliant librarians who hosted me. In total, I saw over 115 kids and six schools got involved. So the biggest thank you of all has to go to Su Ikin from the Dunedin Libraries outreach programme who organised the tour and looked after me so well.

Did you know September is International Sign Up For A Library Card month? Go get yourself a library card this month, (or any month), if you haven’t already!

The But Then Library Tour with Dunedin Libraries: South Dunedin Pop Up Library

Swapna HaddowOn the Road

It was so exciting to swing by the site for the brand new South Dunedin Library coming next year. With all the struts in place, it was brilliant to see what a incredible space it will be.

But until next year, the awesome librarians at the South Dunedin Pop Up Library are holding down the fort and making sure South Dunedin have access to heaps of books and services in the community. And I got to take the But Then Library Tour to them today.

Bathgate School popped in for a But Then story time and crafts session and even got to take away their very own penguin reading buddies.

The But Then Library Tour with Dunedin Libraries: Port Chalmers Library

Swapna HaddowOn the Road

It’s Day 2 of the But Then Library Tour with Dunedin Libraries and I started the day chatting to Jeff at OARfm about the tour. We spoke about the book and what inspired the story and my love of libraries. I even revealed TOP SECRET news that Daron and I were working on a follow up to But Then… so watch this space for more exciting news on that.

Port Chalmers School popped along to Port Chalmers Library to join in But Then… fun and we created a whole flock of albatrosses and penguins and a herd of seals too!

Thank you to Simon from The Star for popping along and writing about the tour in the paper this week.