The Great Weta Robbery

Once again I have failed to meet the Tuesday deadline with a poem, I'm trying to keep up posting every week and get a new book out, but in the meantime, I'd like to link you to a book I co-wrote with Peter Friend, a few years ago now, called The Great Weta Robbery. It's a great little book published by Gilt Edge for early readers. There's an audio version at the above link, and even better for teachers, there's an educator's guide here.

The blurb: When your after-school job is looking after weta the size of cats, it'd be understandable if you thought that your life couldn't get any more exciting or dangerous. But there is a darker secret lurking in the laboratories of Krell Reserach and it's down to one boy – with his sidekicks Snapper, Fluffy, Five-Legs and the other mega-weta – to get to the bottom of it.

I hope you enjoy it (even though it's definitely not poetry!)
A.J. Ponder



Links (for people who like to see where their links are going)

The Great Weta Robbery Book and Audio Link
 https://www.giltedgepublishing.co.nz/products/the-great-weta-robbery-1

Educators Guide
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/54aabd1ee4b037e9bad286f6/t/58b4336459cc684cc88b9a63/1488204656597/Friend%2C+Peter+and+Alicia+Ponder.+THE+GREAT+WETA++ROBBERY.pdfteach

Is it Tuesday Today?

Is it Tuesday today?

I need a little poem,
just a little poem -
any type of poem will do...

No, sorry I'm barren this week - next week - if I start early I'll be able to focus a little better - 

It's been a big week, my husband completed 71 troops for the WWI diorama that will be on the display in the Dominion Museum over Anzac, sorry no pictures allowed!!! :) My daughter reached her second decade, so for Hobbit fans she is now officially a tweenie! (And as she was a Hobbit extra that's about right)...

Lost in the Museum SJV awards: A.J. Ponder
(editor), Eileen Mueller (sub-editor) and Geoff
Popham (artist) with Sir Julius Vogel looking on.

 

 

 

And in book related news, I was involved with a book that won two Sir Julius Vogel awards, okay so one was for cover-art, by the amazing Geoff Popham who is on the left holding his Sir Julius Vogel Award. (Actually it's a stand in award because Weta has been too busy with the WWI diorama - but he will get one just like it very soon!)  and the other was for the anthology itself, which I was heavily involved in. Helping with typesetting, design, coralling authors, and gluing all the stories in Lost in the Museum together with commentaries by Tui Merriweather. Believe it or not Tui was quite a tricky character to work with, we didn't even have her correct name until the last minute, and without Eileen Mueller (in the centre holding the book), and Lorraine Williams (almost as elusive as Tui Merriweather herself), she would never have come out of the shadows in quite the same way.

Lost in the Museum was written by Phoenix Authors Writing Group and invited authors including Lyn McConchie, Phillip Mann, Tim Jones and Glyn Maclean, and is available in many Libraries, and good New Zealand bookstores, (including Children's Bookshop & Rona Gallery), and of course Amazon.

What I'm Up To: White Cloud Worlds

ok, normally this is my job, advertising events, but fortunately Paul Tobin from White Cloud Worlds did most of the heavy work including this part of the flier - so instead I've been running around in circles and accomplishing...who knows...

At least the launch for Baby Teeth went off without a hitch (well done to Dan Rabbarts, Eileen Mueller, and a whole tonne of other people)  Now it's wait and see how this all pans out, looking forward to the Opening, expecting lots of the artists, and quite afew Weta people - so if you want an invite now's the time to ask (Rona Gallery 562 8062) and of course the life drawing demonstration will be fun.  Gino's also threatened to break out the movie makeup on the 10th during the signing which will be seriously cool!!!!