We are mid-Bad Panda blog tour and we are visiting Emma at My Book Corner. Have a read of her review here and try her panda quiz too. I got 6 correct answers – can you beat my score?
The Bad Panda Launch Party!
Happy Bad Panda Day to you all! It was a 5am start today but totally worth it because it was the Bad Panda party. Sarah McIntyre, author, illustrator and champion of #PicturesMeanBusiness, hosted the virtual launch alongside Team Faber.
Sheena and I talked through the creative process of creating Bad Panda before I did my first international reading from the book and Sheena led us through a Lin-drawalong.
And then mayhem. It was the ‘Do You Know Your Panda?’ quiz where Sheena and I were annihilated by everyone in the chatbox who clearly knew their pandas, (dogs, tapirs, skunks and drawings of Mean Cat).
We rounded off the event with questions from everyone and a long list of thank yous to all the Bad Pandas who helped get the book published. THANK YOU to absolutely everyone who came along and celebrated Bad Panda with Sheena and I – bear hugs to you all.
Bad Panda blog tour: Book-Bound
Day three of the Bad Panda blog tour stops at Book-Bound and their wonderful review of the book which you can read here.
Bad Panda in Inis Magazine
Thank you so much to Alan O’Rourke for this brilliant review of Bad Panda in Inis Magazine.
Bad Panda blog tour: Book Monsters
It’s day two of the Bad Panda blog tour and today we are stopping off at Book Monsters. I love this brilliant review – thank you so much, Ally. Have a read of the full review here.
Bad Panda blog tour: WRD Magazine and Reading Rocks
It’s the Bad Panda blog tour this week! Keep an eye on Twitter and the following bloggers for exclusive content and giveaways.
Today, WRD Magazine have a pandatastic giveaway and Reading Rocks has posted a brilliant review of the book. You can read it here.
Storylines Tour: Day Five
It was the final day of the Storylines Tour yesterday and now I’m at home, tucked up in my duvet in a proper Dunedin winter, reflecting on what was an EPIC week.
Heather, Raymond, Ben, Andrew and I saw over 7000 Auckland children in total over the week of which I got to share stories and books with around 2000 of them. And I’ve left a trail of half-drunk cups of tea in school kitchens all over Auckland to prove I was there.
My Storylines week was rounded off with a visit to Botany Downs Primary School where I met with 30 children from the Reading Enhancement program.
We talked about Bad Panda and I gave them my top tips on creating characters. They told me about teenage cucumbers on missions to escape salad bowls and slices of toast looking for love to make toasted sandwiches. I was so impressed with their creativity. You should all know there are 30 young authors in the making at Botany Downs so watch this space and make space on your shelves for their incredible stories.
Heather and I then headed to Ormiston Primary School where I met with Years 3 and 4 for a pre-lunch Grizzly Bear storytime and creativity exercise. We talked about ideas and where they come from and all my favourite books.
My final visit was to Alfriston School with Raymond and whilst he met with the juniors, I had the pleasure of chatting with Years 0 to 2 in the gorgeous school library. We talked about Grizzly Bears and sinkholes and actual holes in actual sinks and, rather randomly, going to the opticians, leaving me with favourite question of the week: why do you wear glasses?
This has been a rollercoaster of a week. There were the highs of meeting so many wonderful children, the apprehension of being stuck in a van with five strangers and the lows of homesickness but overall, despite being completely exhausted, I have come away chuffed to bits to have met so many creative little minds and thrilled to have five new Storyline friends.
Now I reckon it’s time for a well-deserved cup of tea and nap by the fireplace.
Storylines Tour: Day Four
Today, we headed to the North Shore. Heather and Raymond joined me at Birkenhead Primary where Heather and I spoke to Years 4 and 5 about our picture books.
Once we had dropped Heather, Raymond and Andrew off at their second locations, Peter took me on a quick tour of the beautiful harbour at Devonport. Though I know I will be home tomorrow, homesickness has taken hold and the sound of water lapping the shore was just what my soul needed.
My next event was with Devonport Library who were hosting Years 1 to 4 from St. Leo’s and Year 5 from Devonport Primary. With today being the official publication day of Bad Panda, the lovely staff and pupils let me host an impromptu Bad Panda book launch.
I read from the book for the very first time and we created sixty brand new Bad Panda stories together. And we were even joined by The Devonport Flagstaff.
I rounded off my day, teamed up with Raymond, for our final Thursday visit to meet Years 0 to 4 at St. John’s School. I had a blast meeting all the children and Raymond and I loved getting them excited about creating art and books.
My favourite question of the day: I have two of your Dave Pigeon books and they are quite, quite, quite, quite, quite good.