Tania, Riley and the Dancing Lion ... and Us

Foreign Lands
by Robert Louis Stevenson

Up into the cherry tree
Who should climb but little me?
I held the trunk with both my hands
And looked abroad on foreign lands.

I saw the next door garden lie,
Adorned with flowers, before my eye,
And many pleasant places more
That I had never seen before.

If I could find a higher tree
Farther and farther I should see,
To where the grown-up river slips
Into the sea among the ships.

To where the roads on either hand
Lead onward into fairy land,
Where all the children dine at five,
And all the playthings come alive.

We met Tania McCartney, author of Riley and the Dancing Lion, at the Handmade Markets in Canberra after stalking err... I mean admiring... her blog for some time. We were delighted to make her acquaintance and convey our effusive enthusiam for her writing, and partake of a candy cane from her impeccable stall. But while we were busy declaring our fanatical addiction to her blog and revealing our mutual acquaintance with Shazza, and suggesting a Canberra sequel to her other book, Beijing Tai Tai, and putting our name down to buy a copy of her planned chapter book and heaping praise on her skill as a party planner, we completely failed to inspect the book or buy a thing! So, off to the official launch we shall go with every intention of putting our money where our mouth is, and requesting a signed copy.

Little Wanna had such fun that night colouring-in a sheet depicting one of the exquisite illustrations from Riley and the Dancing Lion. Which just goes to prove that the book is a winner with its intended audience. We look forward to reading it in full and flying off to a foreign land.