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Hero image for A Tall Long Faced Tale

A Tall Long Faced Tale

Television (Excerpts) – 2008

In this documentary, children's author Margaret Mahy is interviewed at her Governors Bay home by friend and fellow author Elizabeth Knox. Many of Mahy's beloved storybook characters also appear to put her on the spot about their origins. In this excerpt, the famous lion from A Lion in the Meadow thanks her for making him yellow, and Mahy talks about eating porridge thrice a day as a young solo mum. Yvonne Mackay directed this seamless mix of real life and Euan Frizzell-created animation. Read more about the documentary here.

Three meals of porridge a day is nutritious, just not very interesting.
– Margaret Mahy on being a poor solo mother

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