We’ve just posted a new movie on YouTube featuring Niamh Sharkey’s Interactive Monster Doodle at Tallaght Library on YouTube. You can see it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBRR9lVIeYM

Niamh Sharkey working with children in Tallaght and virtually in her Monster doodle workshop

Laureate na nÓg Niamh Sharkey led a special illustration workshop at Tallaght Library to launch the Children’s Book Festival 2012. This online, interactive Monster Doodle workshop involved library and school groups from around the country, including Carlow Library, Carrickmacross, Clones and Cabra Libraries, and schools in Shankill and Ballinteer.

Niamh worked with children in Tallaght Library and used Google Hangout technology to allow for the participation of the other groups during the session. Google hangout is essentially a free video chat conferencing application and participating groups will use a laptop and videocam, as well as a laptop projector and screen in order to take part.

The event was streamed via Youtube and was also filmed by the laureate team in Tallaght Library. The Laureate na nÓg Monster Doodle Workshop was hosted by South Dublin County Libraries, in collaboration with Bord Gais Energy Book Club and Children’s Books Ireland.

The Children’s Book Festival runs for the month of October every year and sees libraries, schools and bookshops across the country hosting events with the very best Irish and international children’s writers and illustrators. The 2011 festival comprised of more than 1,200 events and involved almost 50,000 young readers spread across every county in Ireland.

Cara magazine, Aer Lingus’s prestigious inflight magazine, has included Niamh Sharkey in a feature on Irish writers in the latest issue of their magazine. The magazine can be dowloaded at http://issuu.com/caraaugust/docs/cara_september/44?mode=window&backgroundColor=%23222222

Niamh Sharkey has spoken of her desire to give a book to every new born child in Ireland in an article for the online publication, Journal.ie. You’ll find the full article here: http://www.thejournal.ie/readme/column-why-i-want-to-give-a-book-to-every-child-born-in-ireland/

Niamh Sharkey with President Michael D. Higgins with some young readers at her inauguration as Laureate in May 2012

Laureate na nÓg Niamh Sharkey has lent her support to a new programme that aims to encourage parents and grandparents to spend more time reading with their children and grandchildren. The programme, Read Together, is an initiative of the Bord Gais Energy Book Club and is run in association with the public library service.

The Bord Gáis Energy ReadTogether fun starts in Tallaght South County library, Friday, 22nd June with Gerry Boland and illustrator extraordinaire Àine McGuiness. Additional events include Blanchardstown library (30th June), Ringsend Library (7th July) and Douglas library, Cork (14th July). To find out what’s happening in each library, log onto

bordgaisenergybookclub.ie/readtogether.

To find out what each library event has to offer or download any of the ReadTogether packs, posters and tips for parents visit www. bordgaisenergybookclub.ie/readtogether.

Niamh Sharkey at the launch of the Bord Gais Energy Book Club Read Together programme

Laureate na nÓg Niamh Sharkey had her first public event in Belfast on Saturday with a guest appearance at the newly opened Easons store on Donegall Place for the Belfast Book Festival. Niamh read from I’m a Happy Hugglewug, and kept her young admirers busy learning how to draw their own monsters.

Niamh Sharkey shows young readers how to create their own monsters.

Laureate na nÓg Niamh Sharkey will be in Belfast this Bloomsday for the Belfast Book Festival. She’ll be appearing at 3.30pm in Easons, Donegall Place, and promises to get everyone involved in a monster doodle. You can get more information here: https://crescentarts.ticketsolve.com/shows/873482573/events

Laureate na nÓg Niamh Sharkey is one of a number of Irish illustrators and animators mentioned in a feature on Irish animation appearing in the prestigious US online journal, the Huffington Post. The article discusses the focus on Ireland at this year’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival and mentions the Brown Bag film production for Disney of Niamh’s The Happy Hugglewugs. You can read the article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/maura-kelly/irish-animation-industry-international-_b_1565063.html?ref=tw

Laureate na nÓg Niamh Sharkey is travelling to Cologne, Germany, today at the start of a two-week celebration of Irish illustration and Children’s Literature. Niamh, who is travelling with former laureate Siobhán Parkinson, will join other Irish writers and illustrators at the event. On 2nd of June, there will be opening of an exhibition of Irish illustrators, which will feature Niamh’s artwork along with fellow illustrators P.J. Lynch and Marie Louise Fitzpatrick.

After 6 days in Cologne, Niamh will travel to Annecy in France for the Annecy Animation Festival where the spotlight will be on Irish animation. So it will be a busy week for the Laureate.

New Laureate na nÓg Niamh Sharkey’s first official engagement as Laureate was to address a seminar organised by Bernardos on the topic of Literacy and Numeracy for Early Learners. The seminar took place at the Hilton Hotel in Kilmainham, Dublin, and was attended by educators, librarians and policy-makers in the Early Learning Sector. Niamh spoke about her own process as a picture-book maker, the impact that picture books had on children, as well as the influence that illustrators such as the late Maurice Sendack and Jim Henson had had on her work.

Imelda Graham of Barnardos with Laureate na nÓg Niamh Sharkey at the Literacy and Numeracy Seminar