'A Little Bird Told Me' Exhibition at Belconnen Arts Centre

What a fabulous time at the Belconnen Arts Centre in Canberra where I was able to exhibit all the paintings that formed the pages of the book, 'A Little Bird Told Me'!
Opening night was a special occasion with lots of people in attendance including a visit from the lovely artist, Lindy Longhurst.
It was wonderful to see all the paintings on show and there were many positive comments from those who came to see them. 'Beautiful' was a description that came up many times. 'Gorgeous colours and designs' and 'I find this area of story and painting magic and pretty to soul and eye' were just two of the comments. I felt very privileged throughout the three week event which also included a holiday workshop.
I was also honoured to sign lots of copies of the book. A special thank you to the staff and volunteers at the Belconnen Arts Centre and to all those who made the event such a success!

In my letterbox

I had a wonderful surprise when I opened my letterbox yesterday! A lot of lovely letters from some of the children at Namadji School (one of the schools I visited during Book Week).
Thank you to all the children who sent me the letters and drawings - I really love them! And a big thank you to your teacher, too.
I'm glad you like the books and Poppy's song. I can't wait to see your entries for the colouring competition.

Love to you all  from Mimi.

Book Week presentation at Brindabella Christian College

Book Week

What a fantastic time spent in Canberra talking to hundreds of lovely children about how books are made featuring the Poppy books and A Little Bird Told Me.
The children made my visits such a pleasure; asking interesting and sometimes very insightful questions. A great big thank you to the staff of the schools and especially the librarians who were so supportive and helpful!

"Feed the birds..."

30 rainbow lorikeets, 2 galahs and 6 crimson rosellas all at the same time yesterday! The birds are loving it. A king parrot ate out of my hand for the first time, too.

Poppy's creation

There were so many birds at our place but too far away to enjoy them properly, so clever Poppy set up this bird feeder. The parrots that come to get a little bite to eat include rosellas of all kinds, king parrots, lorikeets
and occasionally a wattle bird or two. They are still rather timid but I hope one day to post a photo of this tree full of some of the colourful birds that come to visit.

To quote Ian Boe

Hi everyone,
There's nothing like a good quote! How true the following:

"Life is merely the canvas for which you as the artist are able to create whatever you can imagine."

Premiers' Reading Challenge

Have you heard of the Premiers Reading Challenge? It is a great idea to encourage reading at home. Children just love to have stories read to them and the books that are selected are quality books. I'm not sure how many states offer this but it's a great list  to help you choose good books . 
products.schools.nsw.edu.au/prc/booklist/home.html

Pudding Day

What a wonderful day in the Blue Mountains! Lots of things going on with the focus squarely on childrens literature with lots of fun things to do. I especially enjoyed Emily Rodda, John Marsden and Cartoon Dave. It's easy to see why they are so popular. There were lots of eager children ready to hear a story and buy a book or two - so a great day for me too! 

WOW! A lot has happened!

Poppybooks has just completed another colouring competition. You kids are so clever!
I am always impressed with the quality of the entries and also where they come from. Every state in Australia is always well represented.

I would also like to send an extra special 'thankyou' to the children in the prep/1 class at St Mary's Primary School in Donald in Victoria :) It is always a pleasure to receive the many entries from them.

I hope you all have fun with the new Christmas competition. As a special treat Kieron will choose one or two of his favourites and interpret them into works of art 'a la Kieron'. They will become wonderful treasures for those who win them.
<3 br="br" mimi="mimi">

A competition just for facebook and blog followers!
Just tell us in ONE, TWO or THREE WORDS what you think of the Poppybooks website.
The competition closes on Monday the 4th of July. All you need to do is write your answer in the comment thread at the bottom of this blog.

Poppybooks is on Facebook!

Hi everyone,
Sorry I haven't been in touch for so long. I have been working on some very big changes to Poppy books.
By way of preparation, poppybooks has joined facebook so that over the next few months we can keep you informed as significant things happen and of course provide a forum for anyone who would like to make comments.
Please feel free to visit at:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Poppy-books/123744571040822?ref=ts

Happy Easter.

I hope the Easter bunny has been to your house too. I must admit I love chocolate. Do you?

It seems my holidays are often spent with grandchildren and these holidays have been no exception. I was able to take 4 of my grandchildren to the circus on Saturday. It has been years since I have been to the circus and we all had a great time. The kids all said it was awesome and there was even one moment when we thought an acrobat was going to fall from a wheel at the top of the tent. Everyone gasped and held their breath - very scary! But he regained his balance and was OK.

It has also been a very long time since I've been to the Sydney Easter Show but maybe this year I will get there. There are still a few days left.

I do hope you are enjoying your holidays.
Don't forget to send in your entries to the new colouring competition on the website.
We have already received some fantastic entries and as always it is my job is to collect them from the letterbox - a job I love to do! It's a pleasure to find the beautiful pictures you have created!

A special offer from Maureen

When Maureen realised that I had mentioned her in my blog she said she would like to make you a special offer. If Circus Olympia comes to your town and you go along, just take your ticket to the stand where she sells glow toys, introduce yourself to her, mention Poppy Books or Mimi King and you will receive a free glow stick!
Thankyou Maureen!

A special visitor

I have been very lucky to have a special friend staying at my house this past week.
Maureen works with Circus Olympia which is currently showing in Melbourne. As you can see from the photo, she works with some beautiful fantail pigeons.
The animals have been really missing Maureen while she has been away. One of the miniature horses has even been trying to climb into her caravan to look for her.
If you would like to see a little bit more about Circus Olympia you can go to www.circusolympia.com.au

Recording Poppy books

Happy New Year

I wonder if your holidays have been as busy as mine?
The last of my family leaves today and the big cleanup begins - lots of washing and cleaning little hand prints off windows. But what a fun-filled time we have had!
In amongst all the eating and playing Poppy books were never far from my mind and I managed to persuade some family members to start some recordings for downloadable Poppy books so that you will be able to purchase the books straight from the website for your iphones etc.
I am very excited...!