Octopus Colouring Sheet and other nature crafts

Running out of kids' activities for the holidays?

Thanks to illustrator Fraser Williamson, each of the "Whose?" books has a matching activity which helps extend the children's thinking about the book concepts.

Whose Beak is This? has a kākā mask to colour and make; Whose Feet are These? has a gecko to colour and add some 'sticky' feet; now there is a colouring sheet for Whose Home is This? based on the colourful illustration of wheke, the octopus.

DOWNLOAD A4 Colouring Sheet

Forest, Fungi and Whitebait - West Coast Stories

The West Coast of New Zealand's South Island is rich in history and rich in nature's wonders. So it's no wonder that I enjoyed taking part in the week long Storylines National Festival Story Tour of the region. The tour started in Hokitika, where the sea comes crashing in against the beach and surging up the river - sometimes it rained, sometimes the sun shone.

Driftwood sign on the Hokitika shore

Our team drove up the coast visiting schools, libraries and early childhood centres. Everywhere we went we met with a friendly welcome.

Schools visited on day 1

Some schools had book displays, others had books for me to sign, all had children keen to learn about being an author. Here are some of the Greymouth schools...

Tūī Takeover - tūī chicks growing up in the garden

I always enjoy spending the quiet of the Christmas - New Year break in Pukerua Bay. People leave the cities and suburbs for holiday spots, leaving us to enjoy a laid back week or so in our little suburban village. The bonus this year has been settled warm weather so I'm spending more time relaxing in our wild garden. On Christmas Eve while pottering around in the garden, I was startled by loud, insistent cheeping. Looking for the source, I found myself face to face with a tūī fledgling.

Tūī fledgling

The fledgling hopped around from plant to plant, making an occasional fluttering attempt, but as its wings weren't really developed it fluttered lower and lower until it was on the ground. I thought it wouldn't live through the night -  last year we lost two tūī chicks to neighbours' cats - but Cheepy (as she/he soon came to be called) was still there the next day and the next.

Matching Birds to their Beaks - activity for children

I've been reading 'Whose Beak is This?' and 'Whose Feet are These?' to audiences in schools and libraries. It's interesting to see which birds children already know well enough to guess it from its beak, or which animals are easy to guess from their feet. This has to be the easiest!


Beaks are amazing adaptations to the environment and the food birds eat. There are beaks for nectar sipping, beaks for shellfish digging, beaks for fishing and so on. If you pay close attention to the ones in the book, you could then guess what food is eaten by a bird with a similar shape beak. For example, bellbirds (korimako) have a similar curved beak to a tui and they are also nectar eaters.

Beak Matching Activity

Make a Gecko with Sticky Feet

Did you know that geckos have 'sticky' feet? They can even walk upside down on ceilings or up a pane of glass! Children at Porirua, Cannons Creek and Whitby Libraries had a go at making their own geckos with sticky feet yesterday as part of my author tour.

A brightly coloured gecko with googly eyes

Make a Kaka Mask - beaky fun

Kākā play a role in my book 'Whose Beak is This?' illustrated by Fraser Williamson. To celebrate its publication Fraser created a super kākā mask. Print it out on A3 paper to fit a child's face. See the instructions below.

These children added feathers to their masks
at Storylines in Dunedin in 2016

When it's Raining - Kiwi Book Corner Craft

While it's great to be outdoors with kids, on some rainy, wintery days it's good to be inside. Sometimes, too, it's fun to follow up outdoor observations with indoor activities. Here's a fun idea that I tried out recently at the Storylines Family Days in Dunedin and Christchurch.

Kiwi Book Corners
These cute origami kiwi hold the place in your book.

Kiwi book corners

"Whose Beak is This?" Finalist for Elsie Locke Award

I've always been a huge fan of Elsie Locke, so it's such an honour to be named a finalist for the Elsie Locke Award for non-fiction in the NZ Children's Book Awards for 2016. (The NZ Children's Book Awards and the Lianza Book Awards were combined this year, the non-fiction section is now the Elsie Locke Award.)

"Whose Beaks is This?" is a guessing game in a book and a fun way to learn about bird adaptations. Fraser Williamson's funky and colourful illustrations hit the spot with kids.

Return to Blue Lake - More Blue Ducks

Last month I returned to Blue Lake. I'd visited the lake a year ago and blogged about it in Trouble In Paradise after witnessing an attempted attack on an endangered blue duck or whio by a rat. I'd told my tramping companions about the blue ducks we'd sighted last time, so we had high expectations of seeing some beautiful whio again - and we were hoping not to have a repeat of the rat incident!

Mountains and clouds reflected in Blue Lake

Summer Reading for Outdoor Parents and Kids - My Bookshelf Summer 2016

Being an active outdoor's person and enjoying books might seem an odd mix to some. But for many people some of the pleasure of getting outdoors is in planning trips and learning more about the places they're going to or have been, or reading about others outdoor adventures. For kids and teens who love the outdoors, these books will encourage reading and for the young ones that love reading they'll be encouraged outside!

Top Outdoor books from my Bookshelf (or selected to go under the Christmas tree):  

Family

NZ Backcountry Cooking

New Zealand Backcountry Cooking: recipes for trampers, campers and other outdoor adventurers by Paul and Rebecca Garland was a welcome new title this summer. Full of ideas for quick meals and lightweight foods, this will be fun for families planning camping trips or picnics as well as trampers looking for a change from readymade de-hy packaged meals. I'm getting good ideas for my next tramp and the Date and Walnut Loaf has already been tried and met with approval. The only drawback is there is no index, just a list of recipes at the beginning of each section.