Farah Kausar and myself at Minaret College. I received so many hugs from the children after my talk it was lovely.

Visiting schools during Children’s Book Week which falls in August is an essential part of being an author and illustrator. I love meeting my young readers and spending the time in the school libraries.

I would like to use this post to thank the teachers, librarians and the students who made me feel so welcome.

The school community is always so generous.

Thank you to:

Balwyn North Primary School (Victoria)

Kingscote Area School (Kangaroo Island SA)

Parndana Campus (Kangaroo Island SA)

Penneshaw Campus (Kangaroo Island SA)

Linden Park Primary School (SA)

Campbelltown Library (SA)

East Marden Primary School (SA)

East Torrens Primary School (SA)

St Aloysius College (SA)

Mount Carmel College (Tasmania)

Ivanhoe Girls’ Grammar (Vic)

Korowa Girls’ School (Vic)

Minaret College (Vic)

De La Salle College (Vic)

Serpell Primary School (Vic)

Luther College (Vic)

St Columbus College (Vic)

In appreciation I gave each library an “I love my library” poster.

Last Sunday I attended the Historical Novel Society of Australia Conference at Swinburne. I was on a panel with fellow authors, Felicity Pulman, Wendy Orr, Pamela Rushby and Alan Tucker. We discussed the very important question of why we write for children rather than adults.

My answer to that is – why would I write for any other group of readers? It is in primary school that we discover our love of reading and books. For me it was The Magic Faraway Tree and the Secret Seven. I owe so much to Enid Blyton.

It was fun catching up with fellow authors. From left to right, Wendy Orr, Pamela Freeman, Janeen Brian, Sheryl Gwyther, Lorraine Marwood and Claire Saxby.

To finish, here is a happy pic of Billy and Maru who live on Kangaroo Island with my childhood friend, Wendy.