Meet Trevor, a maths-obsessed stay-at-home Dad!
October 20, 2021 at 2:16 pm | Posted in new books | Leave a commentTags: Books about Hong Kong history for kids, Charly Cheung, Hong Kong history, Natural History Museum South Kensington, The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah, True Hong Kong mysteries
Trevor is Dad to Maggie, one of the three heroes of my new book The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah! He met Maggie’s mum, Ursula, back when he was working as an animal conservator at the Natural History Museum in South Kensington, London. He’s shy, he’s kind, and he loves his daughter Maggie to distraction! But he also loves MATHS PROBLEMS! In fact, his ambition is to solve the world’s greatest maths problems, which is one reason why he loves being a stay-at-home Dad, especially when Maggie is at school and he can work on his computer!
If you click on the link here you can see a fun animation by our fabulous artist Charly Cheung of Trevor busily taking notes back at the museum! Isn’t it fun?!
You can find out more about Trevor and the rest of the characters in my book THIS SATURDAY at the official launch! Make sure you register on this link, and REMEMBER TO BRING A CLIPBOARD!
Just 4 days to go till the most mysterious, exciting book launch for pre-teens in town!!
October 19, 2021 at 5:30 pm | Posted in Book launches | Leave a commentTags: Blacksmith Books, Bookazine Princes Building, Books for preteens, Charly Cheung, Hong Kong history for kids, The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah, The Mystery of the Missing Chater Collection, World War 2 in Hong Kong
There are just FOUR more days to go until the most EXCITING, MYSTERIOUS book launch for pre-teens in Hong Kong!!
Learn about the HIDDEN TREASURE still waiting to be found in Hong Kong! Find out all about all the MYSTERIOUS TUNNELS still lying underneath the city! WIN some creepy prizes in our QUIZ! LEARN HOW TO DRAW a very funny, loveable PARROT with award winning artist Charly Cheung! WIN an original signed Charly Cheung drawing! TAKE HOME some fabulous activities! Get your book SIGNED! I can’t wait to see you there!
NB: Make sure you register for the event by clicking HERE !
NB: And make sure you bring a CLIPBOARD for the drawing lesson!
YAY! You are invited to the Official Launch of The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah!
October 14, 2021 at 9:52 pm | Posted in Book launches | Leave a commentTags: Bookazine Princes Building, Books about Chinese history for kids, Charly Cheung, Hong Kong history, The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah
Sound the trumpets! Beat the drums! And above all, get ready to have FUN! This is your official invitation to the Official Launch of my exciting new chapter book for pre-teens, The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah (A Mystery in Hong Kong)!
If you love mysteries about missing treasure, adventures in dark tunnels, and above all, crazy rhyme-loving African Grey parrots, you’ll just LOVE hearing all about my new story at 3pm on Saturday, 23rd October, at Bookazine, 3rd Floor Princes Building!
I’ll be Zooming in to read you a fun chapter, and to fill you in on all the fascinating, fabulous Hong Kong World War II history behind the story!
PLUS you can learn how to draw that crazy rhyme-loving African Grey Parrot (a.k.a. Methuselah) from brilliant artist Charly Cheung (but only if you remember to bring a clipboard so you can draw on it!)
PLUS you can win some fun prizes in our QUIZ and Drawing Competition!
PLUS you’ll be going home with a tricky Maze and some Colouring-In to complete, and a great bookmark! Not to mention a signed book if you wish :)!
So make sure to save the date in your diary, and we’ll see you there!
Thanks Kids4Kids for a great virtual event!
October 7, 2021 at 7:50 pm | Posted in new books | Leave a commentTags: Government House, Hong Kong history for kids, Hong Kong mysteries, Kids4Kids, Sir Paul Chater, The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah, The Mystery of the Missing Chater Collection
Huge thanks to the fabulous team at Kids4Kids (pictured above) who invited me to and hosted me at our event together this morning! A whole gang of young Kids4Kids members joined us via Zoom for a funny and informative introduction to my exciting new chapter book for kids, The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah (A Hong Kong Mystery). We talked all about the fascinating Hong Kong WWII history behind the story, and especially the mystery of the missing Chater Collection! But I think what excited the kids most was the fact that there are still tunnels all over Hong Kong, from, Kennedy Town to Chai Wan to Repulse Bay, guarding their WWII secrets! There’s even one behind the Kids4Kids headquarters in Wanchai! Now the kids are busy completing a questionnaire about the history, and the person who gets the most questions right…and writes the best description of the place where they think the paintings are hidden…will win a free copy of my book! Best of luck kids! And thanks for joining the session this morning!
You are invited to a Kids4Kids event tomorrow in Hong Kong!
October 6, 2021 at 10:59 pm | Posted in Hong Kong events | Leave a commentTags: Books about Hong Kong history for kids, Kids4Kids, The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah, Virtual author visits
If you’d like to take part in a fun virtual event at Kids4Kids tomorrow afternoon at (HK) 5.30pm, just click here to register or scan the QR code! See you there!
A REAL Hong Kong mystery for you to solve!
September 30, 2021 at 3:43 pm | Posted in new books | 1 CommentTags: Hong Kong history, Hong Kong mysteries, Sir Paul Chater, The Chater collection, The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah
Introducing Sir Paul Catchick Chater, whose missing paintings are at the heart of the mystery in my new book The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah ! Sir Paul was a VERY important man in Hong Kong, but apart from Chater Road in Central and Catchick Street in Kennedy Town, most Hong Kongers today know nothing about him! Born in Calcutta to Armenian parents, he was orphaned at the age of just 7, and came to Hong Kong to be near his sister when he was 18. But he was clever, and very good at business, and by the time he died he was so well-loved and important to Hong Kong that he was called the “father of Hong Kong”! Here’s a small list of just some of the things he did:
- he founded Dairy Farm (which owns Wellcome, Mannings and Marketplace) with a Scottish partner
- he founded Hong Kong Electric, one of the first electric companies in the world!
- at night, he could be seen in a sampan, measuring the depth of the coastline, which resulted in Hong Kong’s very first land reclamation, where Statue Square, the old Legco Building, Princes Building and the Mandarin Hotel stand today! As well as Chater Road of course…
- he built the fabulous Marble Hall as his family home, on Conduit Road. Here’s a picture:
So why is he so important to my new book?
Well, he also collected VERY valuable paintings and etchings of China’s early contact with Europeans, the most valuable of which went missing during World War II, and have have never been found since ! Today they would be worth at least 30 million Hong Kong dollars or 3 million pounds sterling! They must be somewhere in Hong Kong – but where?
You’ll have to read my new book to find out how they disappeared and where they might be now! Maybe you’ll be the one to find them!
And if you want to find out more about the fabulous Sir Paul Chater, just click here!
At last I get to hold my new book!
September 18, 2021 at 9:24 pm | Posted in new books | 1 CommentTags: Blacksmith Books, Books about Hong Kong for kids, Books about Hong Kong history for kids, Charly Cheung, The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah
I’m so excited to hold my new book – at last! It’s taken weeks for it to arrive here in France!! It’s so hard not being in Hong Kong right now to celebrate with illustrator Charly Cheung and publisher Pete Spurrier at Blacksmith Books – not to mention all of you, my lovely fans! But as soon as those l-o-o-o-o-ng HK quarantine rules disappear, I’ll be back to see you all in a flash! And in the meantime, wait up for some more funny animations by Charly to introduce you to the characters in my book in the coming weeks! And if you want to join Maggie and Methuselah on their exciting Hong Kong adventure, you can buy your own copy at Hong Kong bookstores or by clicking here!
A fun video clip from my new book!
September 4, 2021 at 7:19 pm | Posted in Animation, Video | Leave a commentTags: Charly Cheung, Hong Kong mysteries, Sarah Brennan Author on YouTube, The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah
Just ask Mum or Dad to click here so you can see a fun new video clip featuring my new book, The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah! Huge thanks to creator Charly Cheung (who also just happens to be the fabulous illustrator of the book) for the images and Lenny To for the sound!
Isn’t it fun? And if you haven’t bought your own copy yet, you can get it at this link or at any good bookshop!
A fun virtual visit to Sunnybank State School in Brisbane!
September 3, 2021 at 6:37 pm | Posted in Brisbane schools, Virtual visits | Leave a commentTags: Chinese history for kids, Great children's books about Chinese culture, Stories about Chinese Zodiac characters, Sunnybank State School, The Chinese Calendar Tales, Virtual author visits
Say hello to the fabulous school captains of Sunnybank State School in Brisbane, Queensland! I had the great pleasure of visiting the Grade 6s virtually last Friday for a fun author session, where we talked all about the Chinese Calendar Tales. We had some great Q&A about why I wrote them, how I got my inspiration for each story, and how I plan my stories generally, with a little bit of fascinating Chinese history thrown in! Huge thanks to Principal John Greenup for hosting my visit. I hope you all enjoy reading my books and that they inspire you to write your own stories! And make sure you enter my next Clever Competition, coming soon!
Remember to bring a torch!
August 28, 2021 at 6:13 pm | Posted in new books | Leave a commentTags: Blacksmith Books, Books about Hong Kong history for kids, Books for pre-teens, Mystery in Hong Kong, The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah
A big THANK YOU to Charly Cheung who created this fabulous poster for my new book! Isn’t it fun! And so are all her 80+ fantastic illustrations inside the book! The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah is out in bookstores now – and available all over the internet too! You can buy your own copy here!
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