As the Rat prepares to leave town, the Ox gets ready to move in!
January 24, 2021 at 9:34 pm | Posted in Chinese New Year | Leave a commentTags: Books about China for kids, Books about Chinese Zodiac, The Chinese Calendar Tales, The Tale of Oswald Ox, The Tale of Ping Pong Pig, The Tale of Run Run Rat
At last it’s 2021, and as the Year of the Rat draws to a close in 19 days’ time, a new Zodiac beastie is coming to town! Yes, it’s Oswald Ox, carrying hundreds of great ideas for the New Year on his back! As well, of course, as his very best friend Eleanor the Cattle Egret, who loves to keep her big buddy free of annoying flies and mosquitoes, whilst at the same time keeping herself fit and healthy by eating them for dinner! Just drag the arrows above to watch what happens when Run Run Rat follows Ping Pong Pig out of the picture, and Oswald Ox moves in!
Now we all know that oxen are wise and patient animals, quietly watching as the other animals on the farm scurry hither and thither, and so often overlooked. That is, until something goes wrong – and then the good old ox moves in to solve the problem. Let’s just say that in 2021, we’ll be in better hands than last year!
And if you haven’t read The Tale of Oswald Ox, and don’t know yet how he solved a great mystery on a little Chinese farm, you can get your very own copy here!
Some happy kids meet Ming Kee Monkey!
November 24, 2020 at 11:42 pm | Posted in Hong Kong Schools, Kids4Kids HK | Leave a commentTags: Books about Chinese Zodiac for kids, Books about monkeys, Chinese Calendar Tales, Kids4Kids Hong Kong, Po Leung Kuk Wong Wing Shu Primary School, The Tale of Ming Kee Monkey, The Year of the Monkey
Thank you David Wong, Director of Operations at one of my favourite reading charities, Kids4Kids Hong Kong, who has just sent me this photo of a fabulous bunch of kids from Po Leung Kuk Wong Wing Shu Primary School in Hong Kong, each holding a copy of my book The Tale of Ming Kee Monkey! I was delighted to donate the books to this wonderful charity a few months ago, and it’s great to see my mischievous little monkey spreading some happiness and fun to the kids of Hong Kong!
A Story Reading to start your week!
November 16, 2020 at 5:24 pm | Posted in Story Readings | Leave a commentTags: Allen & Unwin, Asia Society Hong Kong, Books about whales, Jane Tanner, Kids4Kids, sperm whales, Storm Whale
A big thank you to Pauline Wong at Asia Society Hong Kong for sending me this link to the very first session of the Young Adventurer’s Book Club, a fantastic joint initiative from Kids4Kids and Asia Society HK, which we recorded back in June! Click on it to hear me reading Storm Whale, my multi-award listed story illustrated by celebrated Australian artist Jane Tanner and published by Allen & Unwin, inspired by my childhood summer holidays in Tasmania. You can see Jane Tanner‘s beautiful pictures as I read. You can also see me chatting with Fontaine Gibb from Kids4Kids all about summer holidays in Hong Kong, and even more interestingly, about the extraordinary sperm whale which features in my story!
Did you know that sperm whales:
- make the loudest sound of all animals on the planet?
- can dive 3km in search of food?
- have their blowholes on the side of their heads?
Listen to our fun session to find out more fascinating facts about these giants of the deep! And next week I’ll be posting the link to another fun session with the Young Adventurer’s Book Club recorded earlier this year, when I read my book The Tale of Pin Yin Panda!
Thank you Class 3R for your fabulous book reports!
November 11, 2020 at 11:23 pm | Posted in Glenealy School, Hong Kong Schools | Leave a commentTags: Books about China for kids, Books about Chinese Zodiac, Books about Rats
I was so happy to receive 13 wonderful book reports about my book The Tale of Run Run Rat, and equally great pictures from Class 3R at Glenealy ESF School following my Zoom visit there recently! Here are just a few pictures, from Ludovic, Chloe, Samaira, Dylan, Freda, Henie, Burhan and Adhiraaj. Aren’t they fantastic?? Thank you so much, Class 3R, for making my day!
Run Run Rat zooms into Glenealy School in Hong Kong!
November 3, 2020 at 8:51 pm | Posted in Hong Kong Schools | Leave a commentTags: Books about China for kids, Books about Chinese Zodiac, Glenealy School, The Chinese Calendar Tales, The Tale of Run Run Rat
Last Wednesday I had a fantastic time visiting all the kids of Glenealy ESF School in Hong Kong by Zoom! We had two fabulous sessions, from P1 to P6, where I shared my very first story in the Chinese Calendar Tales series, The Tale of Run Run Rat, in a fun story reading, complete with those extremely naughty Chinese crickets Yin and Yang!
And right in the middle of my session with P1 to P3 the village bells here in my village in France rang out the 7am carillon, and I was able to open the shutters so the kids could hear it! It was a truly magical moment! A big thank you to the lovely Gisele Stones, primary librarian, for inviting me!
Hello from France!
November 3, 2020 at 8:15 pm | Posted in new books | Leave a commentTags: Blacksmith Books, Dordogne, new books
Hello my lovely fans and friends! I’ve been a little quiet for a while…because my French husband and I have just moved to our lovely house in a little village in the Dordogne in south west France, and we’ve been soooo busy! Here is a picture of it, taken just after we arrived, when the weather was still hot! Now, it’s getting chilly and all the trees are changing colour – it’s very beautiful!
Our little village has a wonderful old church with a bell tower. The bells chime the hour, every hour, and also do a very noisy but pretty carillon at 7am, noon and 7pm! Here are some pictures of our village:
But fear not! I shall still be visiting all my old haunts in Hong Kong, China, the rest of Asia and Australia with my books, whether in person or by Zoom! And I can’t wait to see you all again soon!
Even more exciting, I’ve got a new book in the pipeline! It’s my very first chapter book for kids aged 8 to 12 and it will be published by Blacksmith Books early next year. You’re going to love it! So keep visiting this blog for some sneak previews! And if you want to make sure you don’t miss out on any news, just click the Subscribe button on this page!
Happy International Literacy Day!!
September 8, 2020 at 2:47 pm | Posted in children's education, children's literacy, Room to Read | Leave a commentTags: Benefits of reading, International Literacy Day, Room to Read, Room To Read Writer Ambassador, World peace
Hello my friends, today is International Literacy Day! Here’s what my wonderful friends at Room to Read have to say:
Books are the gifts that never stop giving: to our minds, our hearts and our souls. They make us informed, wise, creative and above all, happy! They are the keys to a wonderful future. But some children – especially girls – never learn to read, and this can only lead to a tragic outcome. Not just for the children themselves (and for them, being unable to read means that they will never be able to lead a happy or successful life), but also for all of us. For we can only have a peaceful, stable, healthy world when everyone holds the keys to happiness and success.
So how to achieve this? It’s easy! Just click here with Mum or Dad to read more about the hugely important work of RoomtoRead, for which I am very honoured to be a Writer Ambassador. And please give as much as you can afford on this wonderful International Literacy Day.
Neats beware! There’s a Grot on the loose!
July 30, 2020 at 5:31 pm | Posted in Asia Society Hong Kong, Hong Kong events, Kids4Kids, Story Readings, Young Adventurers Book Club, Zoom visits | Leave a commentTags: A Dirty Story, Asia Society kids events, Grots, Kids4Kids events, Neats, Sarah Brennan and Harry Harrison books for kids, Story readings for kids, Young Adventurers Book Club, Zoom story readings
Yes, I admit it – I’m a GROT!!! And here am I all dressed up and ready to go for my fun reading session for the Young Adventurers Book Club yesterday, hosted by the lovely Fontaine Gibbs, Student Ambassador (who is definitely a Neat!), and co-sponsored by fabulous Hong Kong charity Kids4Kids and my old friends at Asia Society Hong Kong! Over 50 young participants logged in to hear the adventures of the nifty Neats and the dastardly Grots on the Twinkle Downs in the first kids’ book I ever had published, A Dirty Story, illustrated by the fabulous Harry Harrison! If you haven’t read it yet, here’s a little preview of the Neats below – enjoy! Video link coming soon!
Say hello to Therese, a worthy prize winner in my Clever Competition!
June 19, 2020 at 3:40 pm | Posted in Arden Anglican School, Beecroft, Chinese Calendar Tales, Clever Competitions | Leave a commentTags: Books about Chinese history for kids, Books about Chinese Zodiac, Boxed Set of Chinese Calendar Tales, Sarah Brennan's Clever Competitions, Writing Competitions for Kids
I’ve just received these lovely photos of the talented Therese Li of Arden Anglican School in New South Wales, Australia, who at just 7 years old was the winner of the Years 1 to 3 Category in my last Clever Competition! Here she is presenting the Boxed Set of Chinese Calendar Tales which she won for her school to the junior school librarian, Mrs Maren de Rijk! You can read Therese’s brilliant story here!
Watch our fab session at the HK Young Readers Festival today!
June 10, 2020 at 2:48 pm | Posted in Bookazine Princes Building, Chinese Calendar Tales, Events, Harry Harrison, Hong Kong events, Hong Kong Young Readers Festival 2020, Shatin Junior School, Video, Virtual visits, Zoom visits | Leave a commentTags: Harry Harrison, Hong Kong International Literary Festival, Hong Kong Young Readers Festival 2020, The Tale of Chester Choi, The Tale of Run Run Rat
If you just missed Harry Harrison and my fabulous video and Q and A session with the kids of Shatin Junior School Grade 3 today, you can listen here! It was so much fun! You can find out all about why and how we created the Chinese Calendar Tales, from first idea to final Boxed Set! You can even watch Harry as he draws from preliminary sketch to final painting! Thanks to Catherine Platt, director of the Hong Kong International Literary Festival, for this fantastic event! And to lovely moderator Julia Kuehn; James Ryan, cub reporter, for his fabulous questions on our video; Annabel Cohen (my daughter!) for the fantastic filming and editing; Bookazine for their brilliant offer of 15% off all the Chinese Calendar Tales this June; Hugh Beames and Karen Middleton of Shatin Junior School; and Joseph, our tech advisor and supporter!!
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