It's time for another newsletter, and this one has lots of good news, the most important being that my darling husband Terry is much improved in health. This year he's had two minor strokes that have literally limited our movements; but his mobility is restored and he enjoys a walk each morning to get mail and paper. The mail is always full of good tiding even if the newspaper isn't. Out of our mailbag come fat envelopes with pictures drawn over them. Wouldn't it be nice if our accountants and banks were as good at drawing as 5 and 6 year old children?

Last week in Christchurch, I visited a museum that must delight the child in us all. It is Jane's Bears, a teddy bear and doll museum in Northam House, 22 Salisbury Street. I admit I've never been keen on dolls with their fixed stares and pretence to elegance, but I can relate strongly to teddy bears, fur worn from hugs, noses smudged with kisses, a missing eye replaced at an odd angle. Jane has the biggest collection of bears I've seen, hundreds big and small and mostly old, including a contemporary of the original Winnie-the-Pooh. If you are near Christchurch, do go and see Jane's bears. They are still crowding my head, demanding that I write a story for them.

Early this year, while we were at the Sounds, I completed a memoir that will be published by Penguin NZ in October. Actually, Penguin asked for this nearly ten years ago and they have been making gentle requests ever since. The book is called "Navigation" and is a tribute to the many people who have formed me as a person and a writer, especially family, teachers, children, and friends who have been fellow pilgrims in faith. I'll attach to this letter, a photo of the cover which shows that a few years have past since some of the web photos.

From time to time, I encounter children who are very gifted as writers or illustrators, and I have been in the fortunate position of being able to publish their work. The latest book is a story I wrote for eleven year old illustrator Amber Edwards who has a very funny and inventive cartoon style and loves drawing cats. "Too Many Cats" is a rhyming picture book of 32 pages with detailed black and white drawings. My daughter-in-law Janice Cowley who is a genius on the computer, put it all on disc and Copy Press in Nelson printed it. If you are interested in getting a copy, the email for Amber Edwards and her parents Phil and Roz, is: edwardsfamily@inspire.net.nz

Some of you will know that I am a patron and trustee of Storylines, the Children's Literature Foundation of New Zealand. Each year Storylines puts on a Festival of Children's literature in the main centres, including a free family day that attracts many thousand children and adults. We have no government funding, and raising money for the festival is always a challenge. I am probably the least active member of the trust but I've been able to contribute another way by writing a book about writing. It is called "Writing from the Heart" and it covers lifetime experience in writing for children of all ages, including notes from workshops in the United States, New Zealand, Singapore and Hong Kong. Storylines will be publishing the book as a fundraiser and all profit will go to the Storylines activities for children. This book will also be out in October. When it is launched, I'll have some details on the website.

Terry's health concerns have put a big dent in travel and I haven't gone far in the last three years; however, in 2011 I'll be in the United States, at the Reading Recovery Conference in Columbus Ohio in February, and back at Chautauqua in July, with the Highlight Writing Workshops. How I look forward to that! It is such a pleasure to work with the next generation of writers.

I am still writing early reading books, and am guided by the wisdom of six years old Timothy who wrote: "I like stories that make my eyes light up with laughter."

Don't we all?