We have some great authors and illustrators that live in Canterbury; Gavin Bishop, Jenny Cooper, Bill Nagelkerke, Joanna Orwin and Helen Taylor, just to name a few. By far, two of our most famous Canterbury authors and illustrators are Margaret Mahy and David Elliot. Margaret lives over in Governors Bay and David is originally from Ashburton, but now lives in Dunedin.
Random House have just published a beautiful picture book written by Margaret Mahy and illustrated by David Elliot, called The Moon and Farmer McPhee. Farmer McPhee wants nothing more than to take off his boots and get into bed after a long day of work, but the farm animals want to dance and sing in the moonlight. He decides to shut all the animals in the barn, but when he gazes at the moon he finds “his crossness melting away” and realises that it’s time to stop frowning and start frisking.
David Elliot’s illustrations are stunning and the pages seem to be lit up by moonlight, and Margaret Mahy’s amusing wordplay dances across the page with the animals. The cut-out pages and fold-outs also add another dimension to the book.
To celebrate the release of The Moon and Farmer McPhee, we will be having a special farm themed Storytime on Thursday, 25 November at Central Library from 10:30-11am. Come along for stories, rhymes, music and a chance to win a copy of the book.
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