Alice learns how to draw a Hugglewug!

As some of you may know, I often run workshops with children on How to draw a Hugglewug with easy step by step instructions. Last Friday I met Deirdre my book publisher and Alice head of PR for Walker Books and over lunch in The Winding Stairs, I showed Alice how to draw a Hugglewug. She had real fears that she wouldn't be able to draw one, but as you can see her Lola Hugglewug is marvelous!

This Weekend-Drawing Day!

Nearly missed hearing about this but spotted a teeny tiny article in my local paper this morning!

This Saturday the 22nd May Fingal County Council are hosting their annual Drawing Day in Malahide Castle, featuring Oliver Jeffers and Nicky Phelan from Brown Bag Films and a host of other brilliant artists!

The full programme can be downloaded here.

Places must be booked but its a free event. Hurray!
Contact Julie Clarke, Julie.clarke@fingalcoco.ie or T: 01-890 5960

More on the weekend...

More on the CBI conference here on Sarah Webbs Blog. Thanks Sarah for the kind words!
And more illustrations and notebooks doodles on the IGI site here and on The Squeaky Door Blog here.

Now I better do some work!

David Maybury's Round Up

In case you didn't get to come along to the brilliant Children's Books Conference last weekend, you should know that David Maybury has a great round up here.

He has some notes with added doodles and roughs from my talk here (shameless plug).

Thanks David!

Giant shoes to fill...

What a weekend!

I had booked into The Children's Books Ireland Summer Conference yesterday and was really looking forward to seeing Michael Rosen and the UK Children's Laureate Anthony Browne speak.

I was digging out my books to bring in to get signed when I heard my phone blip. It was a message from CBI to say unfortunately Anthony Browne couldn't make it Dublin because of volcanic ash and would I speak instead.
After scraping myself off the ground I put some of my images on a key drive and thankfully Conor the Walker Books rep collected and drove me into the National Art Gallery.

Nerves didn't stop me from really enjoying Michael Rosen's talk, I especially loved his idea of a poetry friendly classroom, that there should be a poetry corner available in every class. I have lots of poetry books at home and I was thinking of having a poem friendly corner in my own house where my kids can dip into poems,and where they can hang up their poems.

I loved when Michael's read at the end of the session; he was funny, touching, and he painted great images with his words. The brother with a ruler trying to scratch into his brothers room...'scrape,scrape, scrape, scratch, scratch, scratch!'

I was so lucky to have fellow writer Sarah Webb chat to me, she did have a difficult job of keeping me on track! The audience were wonderful and my highlight was getting everyone to their feet jumping and shouting to the Hugglewug Song!

David Maybury has some excellent insights into the conference over on his site in case you missed the weekend.

Many thanks to Mags, Jenny, and Tom of Children's Books Ireland. I am honored that they even considered me and thank you to the wonderful Sarah Webb and to Conor Hackett for helping me to stay upright and always going beyond the call of duty!

And lastly huge thank you to the CBI audience who where very supportive of my appearance yesterday.

Laureate na nÓg

"Children are the best readers in the world!"

Siobhán Parkinson was named yesterday as Laureate na nÓg, Ireland's first laureate for children's literature.

One of her main aims as laureate is to ensure that "every child in the country has access to a nice, bright, warm, cheerful, comfortable library, where they can go and find the books that will open their minds and bring them off into wonderful imaginary places. That sense of excitement and joy about books I want every child to have, and not all children do get that." she also believes that "that children's literature lays the foundations of the imaginative life of a people, and that every child deserves to have access to a reading haven."

Siobhán has done trojan work over the years in the name of Children's books, she has written over twenty books, winning the Bisto Book of the Year, she has been the editor of Bookbird and Inis and is now a publisher and commissioning editor with Little Island.

Quite simply Siobhán Parkinson will be a fantastic advocate for Children's Books in Ireland, she will listen and absorb what the needs of young readers are, and she will raise the profile of Children's Books in Ireland and all over the world.

This is a wonderful day for Irish readers and writers alike. I am absolutely delighted for Siobhán. Bravo!

Crafty Weekend

We had a great Bank Holiday weekend we all went out west and spent Sunday at the Roscommon Lamb festival. We all went along to the Wool Craft Village which I heard about on Michelle's Blog here.In one corner they were shearing sheep, another corner three women were spinning wool. A knitters paradise!

I came across Michelle's blog when I googled for articles about knitting a while ago. She is a confessed craftaholic (I love that expression) It was Michelle's article here that prompted me to go down to the wool village. I was so happy that I did...

I got to meet Michelle, have a look at her lovely website Michelle made this which shows all her crafty creations. I am her blogging groupie! She was part of organising the Wool Craft Village with her knitting club The Cast Offs. There was lots of wool and needles so anyone could give it a go.

I sat and knitted with Megan, Oscar, and Aoibhe in the knitting circle and they were all so welcoming. This Is Knit the shop from Dublin had a stand and we ended up buying lots of wool and even knitting needles for my kids. I am knitting a scarf and the wool is so fine it is like knitting with spiders web. I'll post up a photo when I am finished.