Crunch! Kaboom! Launch — Alene Illustration

On Sunday I had the pleasure of joining author Clodagh Starr in launching Crunch! Kaboom! Mighty Mining Machines at the AH Bracks Centre, Melville Library.

Lorraine Horsley (Melville Library), Me, Clodagh Starr and Samantha Probate (Creative Learning Producer)
Image Credit: Shannon Starr

I was initially worried that I wouldn’t be able to make the launch, as I’d come down with pharyngitis (on a weekend of course, when I couldn’t find any doctor with an available appointment), but I managed to get there. I have form when it comes to pretending that I’m full of beans when I have a migraine or something but it’s impossible to pretend that you don’t have pharyngitis. I would of course been devastated if I’d had to bail out, and I hate letting people down, so I’m glad I made it!

Fortunately, Clodagh had my back. She was already doing the story time (which she did excellently, getting into those sound effects with absolute gusto. It’s always a pleasure to hear really good reading aloud!)

Clodagh also lead the sing-along, with the sounds from the book set to the tune of The Wheels on the Bus. You can see me here controlling the slides and leading the percussion while everyone else gets stuck into singing.

Image credit: Janette Mutton, Shannon Starr

I then lead a draw-along, teaching kids how to draw a Haul Truck, the big hero truck that is on the cover of Crunch! Kaboom! Haul Trucks have a lot going on, so I simplified it down as much as possible. Our Haul Trucks were quite squat, as my paper was in portrait.

I can’t tell you how grateful I am that Melville Library has a sound system! I was miked up and didn’t have to try and project what little voice I had. What a relief!

After the reading, sing-along and draw-along it was time for activities. Melville Library were so good about setting up multiple activities for the kids to do. Those shallow trays were filled with dry pasta and cereals, for sensory play with the toy diggers, and I had sent through a colouring page and and activity to make a haul truck with paper plates ahead of time - library volunteers very kindly cut the activities out for me, too, they were amazing!

If YOU would like to colour in your own Haul Truck, you can download the colouring page here.

And if you would like to make your own paper plate Haul Truck, you can download the template here. It’s sized for A4 paper and 17cm paper plates (and has extra hubcaps included)

Thank you so much to Samatha and Lorraine, and to Melville Library for hosting us, and Fremantle Press for arranging the launch. And thanks to Clodagh, too, who flew all the way in from New Zealand, and was there to have my back when I wasn’t feeling 100%.

I love visiting libraries for events, librarians love books and children’s literature so much, and they are so enthusiastic and worth their weight in gold.

If you would like to read more about the process behind illustrating Crunch! Kaboom! you can do so on my Substack.

If you would like to to read about other recent library visits I have done, check out these blog posts:
Teen School Holiday Workshop: Travel Sketchbooks and Sketchbook Journaling.
Book Week 2024 at Victoria Park Library.

Crunch! Kaboom! Mighty Mining Machines is out now!