Hello, Port Chalmers!

Swapna HaddowThe Bad Panda Club, The Terrible Trio

It’s been a fun morning of story planning and reading at Port Chalmers School today. I started my day with Years 3 and 4 and then Years 5 and 6 and introduced them to the world of The Terrible Trio. It was so brilliant to meet readers who already knew Zeb, Barry and Marge so well and new readers who were itching to find out what happens next to the characters.

After Morning Tea, I meet up with Years 7 and 8 and I introduced them to the recipe of panda cake which inspired part of a story in the Bad Panda series. We also created more stories for The Terrible Trio pals, including stories of political uprisings.

Finally, I ended my morning of events with Years 1 and 2 and we read Why Not?. I loved telling them all about the research I had done of bizarre incidents in libraries and we played a game of guessing which ones were true and which ones were not so true. The pupils definitely won that game against the teachers!

Thank you so much to the staff and pupils of Port Chalmers School for such a fun morning and to Read NZ Te Pou Muramura for organising the event.

Storylines Notable Book Awards 2025

Swapna HaddowThe Terrible Trio

The Storylines Notable Book Awards 2025 booklists have just dropped and I’m chuffed to bits that The Terrible Trio: The (not so) Superheroes has made it on to the Junior Fiction list:

The list is packed full of incredible books by awesome authors and illustrators and I’m thrilled Zeb, Barry and Marge are sitting alongside such brilliant fiction for young readers:

Hugest thanks to the judges, booksellers, bloggers and readers who have all supported the book. We are working on two more books in the series so there will be heaps more fun to come in 2026.

Why Not? and The Terrible Trio Story Workshops

Swapna HaddowScrapbook, The Terrible Trio

Today, I visited Halfway Bush School to meet all the pupils from Year 1 to Year 6. First up were Year 1 and 2 and I got to share Why Not? with the pupils and surprise them with all the interesting library facts I had been collecting whilst researching the book.

After a delicious morning tea of cheese and choccie biccies, I met with Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 and told them all about The Terrible Trio.

We then created brand new story ideas for the character of Zeb and we heard about smelly dogs, stories in the middle of the ocean and commotions so huge they made poor Zeb’s tummy wobbly.

Thank you so much to Lizzie, Janelle and the staff and pupils at Halfway Bush School who made me feel so at home. I had a brilliant time!

The Terrible Trio x Reading Heroes

Swapna HaddowThe Terrible Trio

I was chuffed to bits to be invited to talk with Rachel and the children who are part of Reading Heroes.

I introduced my books, and of course The Terrible Trio, right before we had a reading and created a bunch of new adventures for the characters. We had stories about rainbow rocks, time machines, witches and spider forests and heaps of doggies for good measure.

I loved meeting everyone, and hearing all their brilliantly imaginative ideas, across the miles and I’m so thrilled that Reading Heroes are sending The Terrible Trio: The (not so) Superheroes out to everyone who came along.

Thank you to Rachel and the brilliant team at Reading Heroes for having me.

Happy Diwali!

Swapna HaddowScrapbook

Happy Diwali to all of you! I hope your year is full of light, love and stories. It’s made my day to hear about so many of you sharing The Night Before Diwali with your loved ones and in your classrooms. Keep up the awesome reading!

And those of you doing the activities from All About Diwali do share your creations – I’d love to see them!

Happy, happy Diwali!

Dave Pigeon (Turkey Dinner!) is out now!

Swapna HaddowRoosting With Dave

Just in time for Thanksgiving and Christmas, Dave and Skipper have jumped on the turkey bandwagon. They are back with a brand new story and their shiniest cover yet in Dave Pigeon (Turkey Dinner!).

It’s the most wonderful time of the year: there’s frozen white dust on the ground, the Human Lady has decorated her nest with shiny things, and the scent of scrumptious goodness is wafting from the kitchen . . . But then Tinkles the Canary comes with unprecedented news. That tasty smell is not just deliciousness with a sprinkling of yumminess . . . It’s the smell of TURKEY – a turkey being COOKED!

Can Dave and Skipper save a bird that’s delivered in a plastic wrapper? (Probably not. But they are going to try their hardest anyway!)

Happy Reading and Happy Turkey Dinner Day to you all! I hope you enjoy Dave and Skipper’s latest adventure.

The Terrible Trio reading and crafts at the library

Swapna HaddowThe Terrible Trio

The Terrible Trio are on the shelves at Dunedin City Library! To celebrate, I ran a character and crafts workshop in the story pit.

We made capes, decorated penguins and I read from the book. We then we created heaps of brand new terrible superheroes including a poo-walking pigeon and a torpedo-eating elephant.

Thank you to everyone who came along and created awesome new characters and capes. You were all brilliant! Thank you also to the staff at the library who always make me feel so at home when I visit.

The Terrible Trio x Scholastic Book Club Live

Swapna HaddowThe Terrible Trio

Thank you to the 150 schools who signed up to hear all about The Terrible Trio with Scholastic Book Club Live – that’s a whopping 4500 pupils who joined in!

I loved sharing a reading from the book and the inspiration behind the story. Minky’s drawalong was so much fun – I can’t wait to see all your drawings of Barry. Do send them in to Swapna Haddow HQ and I’ll add them to the awesome gallery of work.

Stay terrible and happy reading!