A Bookish Adventure

I started this blog to document an extended trip to the US and UK in 2012, introducing children to my Alice-Miranda series. It's hard to believe that it's just on four years since we launched the first Alice-Miranda title - and now there are nine books out in Australia with another five still to come. When I first came up with the idea of this precocious seven and a quarter year old, I had no clue that she would take me on such an amazing journey, not only in Australia but also across the world. I visited 37 schools while we were away in 2012 and gave over 80 talks - it was fantastic. In 2013 I've been on lots of new adventures in the UK - visiting schools from London to Southampton, Lancashire, Scotland, Newcastle and back to London again. After that I headed off to meet readers in Singapore. In Australia I've been to Melbourne, Perth, Albany, Alice Springs and Brisbane. There's a new series too - about a gorgeous little girl called Clementine Rose. She and Alice-Miranda don't know each other yet, but they will soon.

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Charlotte House

With a name like Charlotte House I think I was expecting a story book school filled with gorgeous little girls. And I wasn't disappointed. In a tree line street in Hertfordshire the school occupies a large block of land with plenty of space for the girls to get out and run around. Rows of wellies line the hallways and it is expected that the children will enjoy the outdoors whatever the weather.  Love it!

Alice-Miranda felt right at home - even her uniform was almost the same.  If only the Charlotte House girls wore blue blazers, instead of grey I'm sure Alice-Miranda could have gone off to class and no one would have noticed.

Stephie and I were met at the station by the lovely Sheryl from Chorleywood Bookshop who drove us the short distance to the school where we were greeted by Sallyann O'Dell, the Head of English and Languages. We also met the Head, Miss Jane Mitchell who was very enthusiastic about the visit too. The school exuded warmth and character and I couldn't wait to meet the girls.

They were so attentive but also animated and asked lots of great questions, from 'is there anything you'd change about Alice-Miranda if you could?' to 'how many times do you have to edit your books?'

Tory and Rachel participated in a readers' theatre scene from Clementine Rose and the Surprise Visitor which will be released in the UK in August.  I'm not sure if Tory loved her hair so much but the girls were great sports.  After the talk I had the pleasure of signing lots of books and hope that the girls will be pleased to meet Alice-Miranda and her friends.

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