Margaret Mahy inspiration

One of my favourite authors of children's books is New Zealand author Margaret Mahy. I took Miss 3 into town this morning and saw a display of Margaret Mahy books at Books A Plenty with a sign for a Margaret Mahy exhibition at the Tauranga Art Gallery so along we went. It was a lovely exhibition inspired by her poetry with beautifully illustrated drawings by David Elliot.  The Art Gallery is holding 'Story Telling sessions' related to the exhibition in the school holidays which sound like fun.

Then we walked along to the library where I got this book out "The hand that first held mine" by one of my favourite novelists Maggie O'Farrell. Amelie chose a couple of DVD's to take home (we really should be taking home books too!)  and I spotted this Margaret Mahy collection so we got that too.

It's got the "The Witch in the Cherry Tree" on it which I loved reading when I was little.

(I found a Brambly Hedge DVD too so had to get that one as well!)

Margaret Mahy's first book published,  "The Lion in the Meadow",  is still one of my all time favourite children's books and is already one of my toddlers favourites too.

I took this book to school the other day for the five year old class I teach in. I read them the story and we talked about how the mother gives the little boy a matchbox with a dragon in it to scare the lion away.  I gave them all their own matchbox and they decorated it with kozo tape and drew and cut out a little animal to put inside the matchbox to scare the lion away (although some decided they wanted the animal in the matchbox to be friends with the lion instead which was cute!)

Happy reading!
Megan