Sarah Brennan Funny & Fabulous Blog

What a fabulous two days at Discovery College!

A big thank you to the lovely Leeanne Sercombe and Dianne McKenzie, primary librarian and Head of Library at Discovery College, for a fantastic visit on Monday and Tuesday! We had story readings and publishing workshops and a whole lot of fun with Rhonda Rabbit! See you all again soon!

Another great day at Shatin Junior School!

Well that was a fun way to end last week – four fabulous sessions with the clever kids of Grade 4 and 5, Shatin Junior School! Thanks to Karen Middleton and all the staff for a great final visit this term, and hope to see you all again soon!

Thank you Commercial Press!

A big THANK YOU to Christa Tam and all the wonderful staff at Commercial Press bookshop, Miramar Shopping Centre in TST for a fanastic event on Saturday morning! There were lots of little bunnies in attendance with their mums and dads, and we all had a lot of fun finding that rogue rabbit Rhonda! There she is…!

A real story about Emperors and Carrots!

Here’s a real life story about Emperors and carrots! I received a lovely email the other day from one of my favourite Shanghai librarians who told me that on a visit to the Forbidden City in Beijing recently, her 5 year old girl daughter Daisy, who was passing a piece of ground with a little bit of grass on it, turned to ask her “Is this where the Emperor planted his carrots?” I thought that was really adorable! Here’s a picture of me with Daisy Greenslade when I was in Shanghai in March – isn’t she a cute bunny?!

Tick Tock Tick Tock….just 8 days left on the Clock!

If you haven’t put your entry into my Clever Competition: Chocolate and Chinese Emperors Story Competition yet, you’d better get hopping; there are just 8 days left to the deadline on 31 May! Hurry, hurry…but remember to follow the rules and send your entry to the email address in the instructions on my Clever Competition page NOT to my blog!

Kowloon Junior School was HOPPING!

Hello all you rampant rabbits at KJS Gillies Street – didn’t we have FUN yesterday! Rhonda’s cousin Rulin Rabbit wants to say thank you for a fabulous day, and especially for keeping her secret! SHHHH……! Here’s some of the clever KJS 3rd-graders who’ve been winners or place-getters in my Clever Competitions: 

Thank you to all those bouncing bunnies at HKIS!

Thank you to Kim Opfer, wonderful Lower Primary librarian at HKIS, and all those hoppy kids and teachers for a fabulous two days at their school this week! I hope you all had as much fun as Rhonda Rabbit and I did!

Just 13 days left to the Chocolate Emperor Competition deadline!

Hello all you chocolate lovers out there!  There’s only 13 days left till the deadline for my story competition about Chocolate and Chinese Emperors so you’d better get writing if you want to be one of the winners! See my Clever Competitions page for all the details!

NB Please remember NOT to send your entry by posting to my blog – you must send it to my email address – see the instructions on the Clever Competitions page!

A bad bunny in the Yuyuan Garden in Shanghai!

What better way to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon in Shanghai than to visit the beautiful Yuyuan Gardens! They were SO exquisite…so Rulin Rabbit has decided to show you some of her favourite photos!

The Yuyuan Garden is located near the Bund in the Old Town of Shanghai. It was built during the Ming Dynasty by Pan Yunduan, a wealthy Chinese man. He wanted to please his Dad, an important official in the government,  by creating a lovely place for him to spend his retirement. He spent almost twenty years, from 1559 to 1578, on this special project, and used up all his savings! Now that’s filial devotion for you! 

Your tour begins here! Your job is to spot the bunny!

The famous ZigZag bridge:

 The exquisite pavilions:

Tranquil gardens, rockeries and ponds:

Even the interiors of the pavilions were lovely:

Look at this flying dragon!

Everything was touched by beauty: even the rooftops, walls and gates!

The magnificent carved windows and doorways:

But danger lurks in hidden places!

And bunnies have to watch their Ps and Qs, or something horrible might happen!

I think it’s time we left and found ourselves a nice cup of tea!

Dusk is falling as we leave the magical Yuyuan Garden… and the lights are going on all over Shanghai…

Goodbye beautiful Shanghai – we’ll see you again soon!

Hello all you SAS Puxi kids!

Well that was fun…three fabulous days with the kids of Shanghai American School Puxi! What with story readings and whistlestop workshops and lunches with the Library Experts and chats with aspiring authors, it was full on! Thanks to all the staff and especially Rosemary Kinyanjui for all the excellent preparation and support!