Susan Moffat - author of Alfonso the Tortoise

Prince Alfonso the tortoise woke up one sunny morning in his small hut in the Land of Garden. Still feeling sleepy, he slowly plodded out of his hut and then yawned.   He felt the sun warm up his face and brown shell. He smiled and said to the world, 'hello world.'   'Hello, Mr Royal Prince,' said a cheeky little worm, who had just popped his head up out of the grass. 'Ooh, hello. I didn't see you there. What's your name?' 'I’m Willie and I’m so excited to meet you. I’ve been hearing all sorts of stories about you. Your crown is amazing!' 'Thanks,' replied Alfonso, chuckling to himself. It seemed lots of folk had heard about him.  'Are you enjoying life here in the Land of Garden? Can you tell me about how you got here? Do you think you'll stay here?' asked Willie eagerly, keen to know everything about Alfonso. 'I do love living here! A beautiful garden, filled with friendly c...

Over the last few years, we have seen the emergence of Art Therapy books filling the shelves of book stores, supermarkets and other retailers. It has become a great trend to enjoy spending our time colouring in the tiny details of each image, allowing our minds to relax and forget about the daily stresses. These books have been a wonderful way of introducing colouring to both adults and children. Alfonso the Tortoise Of course, art as therapy has been around for a long time and has been used by health professionals to help people with all sorts of health problems. Even early man, enjoyed producing art – as the cave walls provided the outlet for the first drawings. All colouring books do provide a means of losing ourselves in the page. The more complex and difficult the colouring, the more we have to concentrate and improve our skill levels. This hobby is definitely not just for children, and we can all enjoy this precious relaxation technique. You don't have t...

For a relaxing treat this festive season I decided to finally colour in the Alfonso the Tortoise Christmas colouring page that I created. I usually use Copic markup pens, but have used coloured pencil crayons this time to create a different effect. It was great fun! You can see my coloured in creation below. If you want to share your coloured in version then feel free to photograph or scan your colouring, and then share on Twitter. Don't forget to tag me (@AlfonsoTortoise) so that I can see your creation. Free Merry Christmas Colouring Page of Alfonso the Tortoise This colouring page features Alfonso the Tortoise, enjoying his reindeer costume, as well as Jeremy the bird and Willie the worm who are all ready for Christmas! You can read about Alfonso and his friends, including his new friends Eric the hedgehog and Georgina the fish in the Royal Tortoise Tales series of books: Alfonso the Tortoise Alfonso and the Prickly Visitor Alfonso and t...

Imagine a world ruled by tortoises... Imagine if the oldest prince didn't want to rule the kingdom, and fancied a life of fun, friendship and adventure... Meet Prince Alfonso, a royal tortoise who no longer lives at the palace, and instead decided to make his home in the Land of Garden. However, this has made his dad, the King, very cross! Prince Alfonso is enjoying his easy life – when suddenly his breakfast is interrupted by a terrible shaking and quaking. All is no longer calm in the Land of Garden. Alfonso must bravely find out what is causing this rumbling and grumbling, and save himself and his friends. Alfonso and the Monster is the third book in the Royal Tortoise Tale series. A series of books that reveal the secret world of the animal kingdom. These funny children's books are fully illustrated, and teach the values of friendship and family, kindness and sharing. The book also includes a link to a printable mini colouring book....