It’s Day 1 of the But Then Library Tour with Dunedin Libraries to celebrate the launch of But Then…. The plan is to have a MEGA readathon of the book at ALL the public libraries across Dunedin.
We started at Blueskin Bay Library and Waitati School came to visit.
And after a reading of the book, the children got to work making their very own Grandad and librarian glasses and designing their own library cards.
Stay tuned for more But Then fun from the But Then Library Tour with Dunedin Libraries.
It’s the end of the Storylines Northland Tour and despite a sore throat, I made it to the end of the week without losing my voice. Day 4 started at Pukepoto School with Years 4, 5 and 6. We talked about my books and I told them the real story behind But Then.
Next up was Awanui School and I was visiting with Vasanti Unka. There was a puppet storytelling and Vasanti and Years 1, 2, 3 and the nearby kindy helped draw Vasanti’s invisible friend Niko.
My last visit of Day 4 was to Waihārara School, the northern most school in the Far North that we were visiting on the tour. I read But Then to the whole school and they helped me out with their impressive animals sounds.
And then it was time for an ice cream during a stop at Cable Bay.
Favourite comment of Day 4: I have seen a penguin. Unfortunately, it was because my dad ran over it.
And then it was time for Day 5 and I was off to visit the final school of the tour. It was a fantastic finish to the week as Years 0, 1, 2 and 3 from Oruaiti School helped me design library card full of overdue excuses that included sliding down a rainbow and dropping it, leaving it on the moon and Mum holding on to it for too long.
What an awesome tour. Here are some epic stats: in total, we travelled over 1420km, saw approximately 3223 pupils and made 29 stops! Thank you to brilliant Anne for looking after us so well all week. And thank you, beautiful Northland!
Favourite comment of Day 5: My favourite place to read my book is in my classroom with my class.
Kia ora Day 3 and finally a full day of the famous gorgeous Northland sunshine! My day started at Ohaeawai School with Years 0, 1, 2 and 3. They did a brilliant job of sussing out all my fibs in a game of Two Truths and A Lie and then we created 76 brand new library cards full of excuses for overdue books. There were naughty nanas, cruise ships and pirates.
I then got to visit Kawakawa Primary School and spoke to Years 2, 3 and 4. We came up with 45 brand new But Then… stories and we heard about sharks, volcanoes and teachers who stole books!
My final visit was to Umawera School, where Vasanti Unka, Angie Belcher and I teamed up to talk about out books. I love listening to Vasanti and Angie and came away inspired to get back to my desk to write again.
After an ice cream and a trip to Ahipara beach, it was time for dinner and a sleep.
Favourite question of the day: Is that Angie riding a hammerhead shark?
It’s Day 2 of the Northland tour and my first stop was St Joseph’s Catholic School. I had the best time creating library cards full of excuses for overdue library books with Years 0, 1, 2 and 3.
We then headed to Kaihu Valley School where only two pupils were in from the roll call of six! It was wonderful to finally hear Vasanti Unka, Philippa Werry and Angie Belcher talk about their writing journeys.
The last school of the day was Opononi Area School and I was back with Years 0, 1, 2 and 3 where I read them But Then… and we created lots of library card designs.
Favourite question of the day: I left my book on my other waka. (Yes, like yesterday, technically not a question but this was a brilliant response to my question about overdue library book excuses.)
It’s a girls trip up north to beautiful Northland with Vasanti Unka, Phillipa Werry, Angie Belcher and Anne Dickson. We had an absolute blast today visiting heaps of schools and I’ve been taking But Then... on tour.
First up, I got to visit Ōrewa Primary School and spoke to 180 Year 0 to Year 2 who helped me design a library card with all the best overdue library card excuses they could think of including a crocodile eating it and a ghost stealing it.
I was then off to see 420 Year 2, 3 and 4 at Whangapāraoa School where we created 420 brand new excuses for an overdue book. Most of excuses involved poo but thankfully their brilliant librarian reassured me this was an excuse she had never heard or seen.
And I finished off my day at Wellsford Primary School with Years 2, 3 and 4 and we made up even more excuses for overdue library books – over 100 of them! There were brilliant excuses that involved candy, eagles swooping in and clowns in cars.
Favourite question of the day: I love books! (Yes, technically not a question but I’m a sucker for a statement of love for books.)
Stay tuned for more adventures from Te Tai Tokerau this week!
My brand new picturebook, and my first book to be published in Aotearoa New Zealand, is out today!
But Then… The almost true story of an overdue book is the far-fetched, tall tale of why a library book is 293 days overdue! The story follows a child and their grandfather who are returning a book to the library. When the librarian points out it’s two hundred and ninety-three days overdue, Grandad recounts an outrageous, funny and far-fetched story of why it took so long to get the book back to the returns desk. Illustrated by Daron Parton, inspired by my friend who had a five-year overdue book and featuring the beautiful animals found around Aotearoa, comes the best excuse for an overdue library book.
My publisher, Scholastic NZ, have teamed up with SLANZA to create resources for a free Story Walk you can host at your school. You can find free resources here.
Here is the awesome Ōpaheke School with their Story Walk:
Readers, I can’t wait for you to read But Then so I’m running a giveaway on Twitter and Bluesky with winners picked on 12th August – follow my socials and be in it to win a copy of the book. And if you don’t win, you’ll be able to pick up a copy from your local bookshop or order online.
I will also be doing events in Northland and a huge library readathon in Dunedin to celebrate the book in August so watch this space and come along and join the library fun!
This is the aftermath of an online visit with me!
Today, I caught up with Theydon Bois Primary and guess what? They have their very own pigeons! Two racing pigeons were donated to the school from the Royal Loft and the pupils get to keep a close eye on them.
We spoke about how brilliant pigeons were and then had a go at creating heaps of new story ideas. I’m really hoping the pupils get round to writing their Dave Pigeon fan fiction that is set in the brilliant Theydon Bois school.
Thank you to the everyone who joined in today – you are all pigeontastic!
It’s Book Week at Trinity College and I was invited to meet with years 7, 8 and 9 to talk all things books. I spoke with the pupils about discovering books as a child, my connection to Matilda and why ALL our stories are important.
It was fantastic to get so many questions about writing, being an author and how to stay on track as a writer. My top tip for the day was to read and read widely if you want to be an author – it helps you figure out what kind of stories you want to tell and how you want to tell them.
Thank you so much for inviting me to celebrate books with you all, Trinity College – I had such a wonderful time.
Bad Panda: The Cake Escape has been shortlisted for The Laugh Out Loud Book Awards 2024 and Lin needs your help! If you have read the book and enjoyed it you can vote for Bad Panda: The Cake Escape in the Lollies NOW. That’s right! RIGHT NOW! Click on this link to vote and have a look at the other awesome books in the shortlist too.
Good luck to all the nominees and happy voting, readers!
Here is the first book in my brand new young fiction series, Reggie Rabbit and the Great Carrot Heist.
Illustrated by the Becka Moor and written under my pseudonym, ‘Swapna Reddy’, published by Oxford University Press – THIS ONE IS OUT TODAY!
I’ve had the most fun writing this detective series. In this first book, you will meet Reggie Rabbit who wants to be a big-shot detective in Bearburgh City, just like his hero Detective Fox. His parents, however, have other ideas: they would rather he stayed at home and worked on their vegetable stall.
But when a carrot-snatching crime wave hits the canals, the family stall is in danger of closing. Even worse, the famous Detective Fox won’t take the case. Reggie decides to step in, and his best lead is the new parakeet at school, Pipsquark, who has heard rumours of foul (or should that be fowl) play.
You’ll have to pick up a copy at your local bookshop or library to find out if this tiny, fluffy detective can brave the big city and crack the case!
