The Storylines Northland Tour: Day 3

Swapna HaddowOn the Road

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?

The Storylines Northland Tour: Day 2

Swapna HaddowOn the Road

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.)

The Storylines Northland Tour: Day 1

Swapna HaddowOn the Road

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!

But Then… is out today!

Swapna HaddowHalfway Round the World with the Haddows

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.

Check out this awesome review in The Natural Parent Magazine:

And 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!

Dave Pigeon story-planning with Theydon Bois

Swapna HaddowRoosting With Dave

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!

Book Week at Trinity College

Swapna HaddowHalfway Round the World with the Haddows, Scrapbook

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.

Reggie Rabbit and the Great Carrot Heist out now!

Swapna HaddowPawsome News

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!

Happy World Book Day!

Swapna HaddowScrapbook

It’s World Book Day but the World Book Day fun started, for me, last week with the Pass the Pen takeover on Twitter. World Book Day in collaboration with BookTrust champion emerging authors and illustrators and I was paired with the BRILLIANT Natalie Denny who took over my account on 27th February to talk about her fantastic series Keisha Jones.

Here in Aotearoa, Gavin Bishop was the World Book Day speaker at the University of Otago. He showed what it looked like to be creating books for an impressive forty-six years and gave us a fascinating insight into his writing and illustrating journey over that time.

I then tuned in with Year 2 at Cliftonville Primary School to talk about our big feelings with my new book Little Dinosaurs, Big Feelings. We talked about all the things that made us angry which included people who were mean and rude, especially to animals. We read Steggie’s story from the book and practiced Dr Diplo’s mindful exercise for dealing with feelings of anger. I had some brilliant questions about why we feel feelings and why we feel angry.

I also got to catch up with namesake Haddow Class, at Horndean CE School, for a bumper Q&A session. We talked about favourite books, counting penguins, how I write and how long it takes to get from Margate to New Zealand!

Thank you so much to everyone who shared pictures of their incredible World Book Day costumes. I’m chuffed to bits that you brilliant readers take the time to create such awesome creations. Here are some of the INCREDIBLE costumes shared on social media:

Bad Panda: Mites, Camera, Action! out now

Swapna HaddowThe Bad Panda Club

The third book in the Bad Panda series, Bad Panda: Mites, Camera, Action! is out now! That’s right! Everyone’s favourite Bad Panda, is back.

A documentary crew have come to the zoo, to film every day life with the animals. But when reality is a bit boring they ship in some animal actors.

Lin and her best friend Fu are less than impressed with the prancing lion that wants to take centre stage. And the smaller animals in the zoo, the mites, are fed up of being overlooked too. It’s time to unleash some bad pandaness!

Insects and pandas unite to create a show about real zoo life that promises to be anything but boring…

I hope you enjoy this one, readers!