Sarah Brennan Funny & Fabulous Blog

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!….and a fabulous Summer Writing Competition!

School’s out for summer – hip hip hooray! I wish you all a wonderful holiday with your families and friends wherever you may be! In July I’ll be heading off to France with my family – and I’ll be taking along someone rather special! I’ll tell you all about it when I get back! Then in August I’ve been invited to appear at the Byron Bay Writers Festival in Australia – I’m so excited to be introducing my books to my fellow Aussies!

Now what better way to start the summer than with a brand new Wicked Word that’s all about Summer – see my Wicked Word page to learn all about it! And in the meantime, if anyone is looking for a writing challenge to while away those lovely long holiday afternoons, go to my Clever Competitions page right away for all the details of my new Trouble In Paradise Story Competition! It’s all about sea, sand and sun…and a whole lot of trouble! Have fun!

Top Writing Tip Number 3 is ready and waiting!

If you’ve ever been stuck for inspiration for a great new story to write, your troubles are now over! Go to my Top Ten Writing Tips for Kids page right away for a sure-fire way to fire your imagination with a host of fabulous ideas for stories, any day of the week! And with holidays just about to start, there’s never been a better time to start writing!

Pin Yin Panda is good enough to EAT!

A big thank you to Canadian International School mum Teresa Fox who wrote to me today to send me this wonderful photo of Pin Yin Panda as a CAKE! Teresa told me that she and her kids Jessamina, Liliana and Emerson (above) made the cake for the Books2Eat contest at CDNIS this year. Isn’t it fabulous?!

THE RESULTS ARE OUT!

CONGRATULATIONS to the 31 terrific writers who entered my Jade Dragon Mystery Competition! It’s been a real privilege to read such well-written, exciting stories! I’ve just finished the judging now, and it was a very hard job indeed! Extra-special congratulations to FIRST PRIZE winners Arunav Maheshwari, 7 years old, Primary 3, French International School, Hong Kong in the Grade One to Three Category and Silin Chen, 12 years old, Grade 5, Shanghai United International School, Shanghai in the Grade 4 to 6 Category! Go to my Clever Competitions page right away to read all the winning stories in each category as well as some Honourable and Special Mentions. Well done all of you!

The final entries are in and the judging has commenced!

Well done to all of you who got your entries into my Clever Competition in the nick of time before the closing date yesterday! I’ll be busy judging your entries over the next few days and will announce the results by the end of the weekend! Keep those fingers crossed!!

Thank you Shatin Junior School for another day of mayhem with some rampant rhino tales!

Here I am with another great Grade 5 group from Shatin Junior School exploring all the essential ingredients of good story-writing! Thanks for another wonderful day of  workshops! This time our brother-turned-rhinoceros was mistaken for a pig (and eaten at the end of the story in a tragi-comic twist) by one class, bloated with apple pies and exploded by a passing humming-bird by another class…and the third class is writing their version of the tale this very afternoon – I can’t wait to see it! Five very different story plans from an identical starting point from five very creative classes over two days – now THAT’s what I call  narrative planning at its best!

BREAKING NEWS: Competition deadline is extended to Tuesday 12th June!

By special request, because it’s been a very busy month for most of you and some of you have run out of time, I’ve decided to let you have FOUR more days to enter my Dragon and Jade Story Competition. So get those pens out and writing this weekend – and I look forward to your entries!

Hellooooo Shatin Junior School Year 5 Rhinoceroses!

What a fun day that was today – two fabulous Writing Workshops with the clever, creative kids of Shatin Junior School Year 5 working on Oral Narratives and Story Mountains! With everything from a brother turned rhinoceros which morphed into a T-Rex which morphed into a cow which jumped over the moon, to a rhino which ate toxic sausages thrown at it by the US Military in Shatin Central, we had an oral narrative drafting ball! Three more workshops to go tomorrow….I wonder what that Rhino will get up to next? Here’s a photo of us all with one of our story plans!

Dads can be poets too!

What a lovely email I received yesterday from Kurt Verkest, father of Yavanna from Grade 4 Renaissance College Hong Kong after I wrote to Yavanna thanking her for her excellent entry into my Dragon and Jade Story Competition! It was so clever that I just had to share it with you all! Here it is:-

I’d like to thank you from my heart

for making this contest be a part

of Yavanna’s growth as a fledgling author

the better to get her words into order

 She will tell you I’m sure by return of mail

if of your offer she wants to avail

She has my consent to replyy aye or nay

But am certain that yes is what she will say

 I’d like to add a father’s gratitude

for encouraging kids with your great attitude

we love your books and your website too

and when rellies have kids we know just what to do.

 We send them we do with great speedy speed

a handful of books from you for to read

Isn’t that a terrific poem! Thanks Kurt for proving that Dads can be poets too! 

Just 3 days to go till the competition deadline!

Hurry, hurry, hurry! If you haven’t sent in your entry yet to my Dragon and Jade Story Competition you’d better put your skates on! Go to my Clever Competitions page to find out all the details!