Writing
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Jasmine The Butterfly Girl - Book One Release
Posted by Marghanita on 12 Jul 2007 | Tagged as: Writing, Family, Illustration, Environment
Jasmine the Butterfly Girl Book One Out Now
Jasmine is a butterfly girl, half human, half bug, so she’s just like you only she can fly and talk to the animals of the forest. Jasmine and all her
Butterfly friends are the protectors of nature. But Jasmine, is growing concerned. So much damage is being caused to Mother Nature that the girls are working extra hard to keep it safe, but they need help…
Who will they choose?
Join Jasmine on a magical flight to find the girl who can help the Butterfly Girls.
Book Launches in UK at the Edinburgh Book Festival in August Marghanita will be book signing at the Scottish Book Trust ‘Butterfly Girl Event’ on 10th August and at the Glasgow Botanic Gardens ‘Butterfly Girl Event’ on 13th August. Click here for more details and other Butterlfy Girl book launch events and news.
David Suzuki - an inspiration
Posted by Marghanita on 12 Jul 2007 | Tagged as: Writing, Environment
Having spent the evening with David Suzuki listening to his captivating speech regarding Global Warming and other environmental issues was a speech I won’t forget. I left feeling fired up and ready to take on the challenges that lie ahead. David Suzuki has been a great inspiration to me since arriving in Canada.
Today the first book from the Little Humbugs series- Jasmine the Butterfly Girl arrived from the printers. Nervously I unwrapped the parcel hoping my front cover illustration was as I had imagined it being. (Having done picture books in the past where my illustrations were all full colour covering most of the pages I had to turn my brightly coloured illustration into black and white for this novel and that was rather painful). At least my illustration on the front was in full colour and to my delight,the cover looked great.
This book has been such an exciting yet frustrating subject to work on. Global Warming is effecting us all and the speed in which it is increasing is frightening. I hope that by writing this series of books I will have encouraged children to take more of an interest in their environment and help to protect it.
I really love working on my Butterfly Girls and can’t help myself creating new ones all the time.I’m so looking forward to meeting some of the children who are reading the book and taking on the Little humbugs challenge, to help look after Mother Nature and the environment.
I will be doing several book launches in Scotland. One during the Edinburgh International Book Festival at the Scottish Book Trust building in Edinburgh on Friday 10th August and another at the Glasgow Botanic Gardens on 13th August. Both run from 2-4pm with the chance for girls to get to make Butterfly Girl Pod sticks, a Butterfly Girl Hunt and lots of other Butterfly Girl fun. Please join me if you can, I’d love to meet you.
Later in September I will be launching the book in North America - Vancouver and Calgary.
The short novel with a simple environmental message is aimed at girls 6-9 yrs.
Synopsis: Jasmine is a butterfly girl, half human, half bug so she’s just like you only she can fly and talk to the animals of the forest. Jasmine and all her Butterfly friends are the protectors of nature. But Jasmine, is growing concerned. So much damage is being caused to Mother Nature that the girls are working extra hard to keep it safe, but they need help…
Who will they choose? Join Jasmine on a magical flight to find the girl who can help the Butterfly Girls.
We can all make a difference
Posted by Marghanita on 04 Jan 2007 | Tagged as: Writing, Family, Environment
Last night I watched The Inconvenient Truth and found myself in disbelief that their hasn’t been a major shift in peoples attitude towards Global Warming.
It’s even worse than I had thought with the evidence in the film we are, by all accounts running out of time. That is why I felt compelled to create The little Humbugs. I felt I could use my abilities as a children’s illustrator/designer to create a children’s environmental website encouraging young kids to take an interest in their environment and looking after Mother Nature. www.littlehumbugs.com www.littlehumbugs.tv
The websites are fun and educational, getting across important issues like recycling and other environmental tasks that children can manage themselves. After all our children are the future.
I used a set of engaging characters such as the enchanting Butterfly Girls and their friends the mischievous Dragonfly Boys and not forgetting Little Baby Bee. The Little Humbugs are half human, half bug, they are the link between man and mother nature.
Children love animals and will always want to help protect or look after an animal that needs help. With this in mind I knew the children would listen to the Little Humbug characters when they spoke of how the animals of the forest were needing their help.
The little Humbugs mission is to get as many children involved in making small changes in their everyday lives so that it becomes second nature to switch off the lights, the computers, walk or cycle instead of using the car, turn the tap off when brushing their teeth and recycling more. All these are small achievable tasks which would lead to reducing the effects of global warming.
I have a huge admiration for Al Gore and his mission and hope that people will take on board the truthful message he is telling before it’s too late.
We are all contributors to global warming and we all need to be part of the solution.
My love for nature and the wilderness and my fear that the next generation won’t be able to enjoy and experience wildlife and nature as we know it today pushes me to work harder. My full time work is devoted to developing the Little Humbugs and spreading their mission.
Reading Laurie David’s article on her “light bulb moment” I completely got what she was saying and she has been a huge inspiration for me. Women do look at things differently and my slant is captivating the next generation, hopefully the Little Humbugs will be able to do that.
A Real Tree for Christmas
Posted by Marghanita on 27 Dec 2006 | Tagged as: Writing, General, Family, Design, Artists, Travel, Environment
We have just returned home after a wonderful Christmas Tree Hunt. Like all our past Christmas’s, we wanted to go on a Tree Hunt. Part of a Christmas ritual with us is to hunt down a real tree from a local tree farm. It’s really important to us to shop locally and support local farmers and crafters. We believe buying a real tree is better for the environment.
Fake trees are made with polyvinyl chloride (or PVC, otherwise known as vinyl), one of the most environmentally offensive forms of non-renewable, petroleum-derived plastic.
We will take our real tree to be recycled into mulsh in early January.
Every little bit helps and we all feel better for it.
Christmas Day is over
Posted by Marghanita on 27 Dec 2006 | Tagged as: Writing, General, Family
Keeping Christmas simple made it the best one ever. It snowed on Christams Eve and we were woken up by 3 very excited children, to a Winter wonderland. They poured their contents of their handmade stockings on to our bed and we watched as they took turns to show us the treasures they had received ffom Santa. For parents, Christmas is a magical time of year, from the little drawings they leave for Santa on Christmas Eve and the carrots for all the reindeer to the sledging on Christmas Day and the singing around the log fire.
Another Christmas Day comes to an end, filled with wonderful happy memories ready to embrace the sledging and snow fort building along with yummy hot chocolate on Boxing Day.
I just love these simple slow days where you don’t have anything planned, no driving, no rushing around, just good old fashioned fun with your family.
A Greener Christmas
Posted by Marghanita on 17 Dec 2006 | Tagged as: Writing, General, Family, Design, Illustration, Environment
Time is running out for us mums that still have to find those little extras for the kids, something that isn’t plastic and made in China. A wooden spinning top or a handmade finger puppet would be ideal. Trying to go a bit greener this Christmas shouldn’t be so hard. It does mean you have to hunt that little bit harder but it really is worth it. As the festive season approaches my concerns for the environment grow stronger. All that wrapping paper, all the excess food and not to mention the huge strain on our electricity resources to light up everyone’s home. With my new kids project, the Little Humbugs, I am trying to get a simple message over to young children that they can help take care of their environment, after all it’s their future.
In the latest episode Butterfly Girl helps recycle the Christmas wrapping paper by making Christmas crackers. If we can get kids interested early enough hopefully it would make them environmentalists for life. Every little bit helps.
All to Quick
Posted by Marghanita on 17 Dec 2006 | Tagged as: Writing, General, Family, Artists
Where has the last few weeks gone? Am I the only one who feels every week just gets faster. I really cannot believe it’s only a week now until Christmas. It seems life is so much faster than I remember or are we just living much busier lives? The danger in being too busy lies in not allowing quality time for relaxation, our family, our neighbours, and ourselves. Luckily with 3 kids they keep you young and excited about the most silliest things which all too often as adults we tend to leave as we reach teenage years. Being a children’s author and illustrator I am continually disappearing into my inner child and remembering the most wonderful childhood encounters. Imagination is a wonderful thing and I hope I never lose. Keep young by being a child once in a while, do something daft and have a good laugh about it.
Yoga and kids
Posted by Marghanita on 10 Dec 2006 | Tagged as: Writing, General, Family, Illustration, Environment
Sadly, my Yoga/Pilates class has just finished for the year and won’t start back until January. I’m really going to miss the class, it was the only time throughout the week I was able to switch off and completely chill. What with the festive season approaching, all that extra food and alcohol, I was concerned my body would not survive the next few weeks. So I enlisted the company of my 11 year old daughter as a class mate and set up yoga class in the front room. After a few positions forcing us into fits of giggles we relaxed and had a really great time. I think there should be more mum and daughter yoga classes available or even family yoga on a Saturday.
After doing a bit of research on the internet I realised how beneficial yoga is for kids.
My new children’s book characters the Little Humbugs even do yoga. www.littlehumbugs.com
Writing About Toffee the Highland Cow
Posted by Marghanita on 02 Dec 2006 | Tagged as: Writing
Writing Toffee was such a rewarding time. I think out of all the wonderful experiences I encountered in the last 3 years it has to be the children and their enthusiasm and eagerness to want to read, write and illustrate. My favourite activity was making clay models with the children. Every little Highland cow was as individual as the children themselves, what a joy. I look forward to doing more storytelling workshops and meeting new faces, next year. I will be launching Toffee’s new book and my latests work, The Little Humbugs. I hope to tour both British Columbia and Scotland. I will pop up a list of up and coming events early 2007.