Exhibition will cast a spell over kids | Bay of Plenty News | Local News in Bay of Plenty

The magical combination of Margaret Mahy's poetic genius and David Elliot's enchanted pen come together in a delightful exhibition at the Tauranga Art Gallery, The Making of the Word Witch.

The exhibition is based on the book The Word Witch, featuring Mahy's poems.

And children will have the opportunity to interact with professional storytellers reading from that book during the upcoming school break.

The Word Witch is a collection of Mahy's poems, from school readers, collections, picture books and her personal papers, a project spearheaded by author Tessa Duder in 2008, the year after Mahy won the Hans Christian Anderson Medal.

Each of the book's 66 poems has been illustrated by David Elliot, either with a single image or with a storyboard.

Dunedin-based Elliot is an award-winning children's illustrator and author who has written and illustrated five of his own books, as well as illustrating books for many other New Zealand authors such as Jack Lasenby, Janet Frame, Joy Cowley and Pauline Cartwright.

Elliot also illustrates work for international writers such as UK author Brian Jacques (Redwall and Castaways) and for the US authors, TA Barron and Jeffrey Kluger.

The Word Witch is his first book for Mahy.

The Making of the Word Witch is a glimpse into Elliot's creation of the book, from beginning ideas and sketches, to the finished illustration. It shows the way Elliot transforms an idea into delightful images that mirror the spirit of Mahy's magical verse.

The exhibition has been curated and toured by Ashburton Art Gallery.

It opens in Tauranga on Saturday and is on until December12.

Story-telling sessions are at 11am and 1pm on Wednesday, September 29, and Wednesday 6, October. Children are asked to bring along a gold coin and a cushion.