Sarah Brennan Funny & Fabulous Blog

Last chance for entries into my Clever Competition!

Times up TOMORROW AT MIDNIGHT for your entries into my Clever Competition! We’ve had some terrific entries – and today the very first entry from a school in Cape Town in South Africa! So if you’ve written that story about Trouble in Paradise – or almost written it – you’ve got one more day to go to get it finished and sent to me at the email address on the Clever Competitions page!

Home again in Hong Kong – and a quick reminder!

Hello Hong Kong! It feels like ages since I’ve been home! After a fabulous two weeks at the Byron Bay Festival and visiting schools in Brisbane and the Gold Coast I got a horrible, awful, completely ghastly lurgy which laid me low in a hotel by Mascot Sydney Airport for SIX DAYS waiting for medical permission to fly! Aaaargh! So I can tell you I was happy to come home to my lovely family and my gorgeous dog!

And now it’s time to remind you all about that Clever Competition! Just six days to go so you’d better get those skates on! We don’t have many entries yet…must be all that sand and sea! So if you can get an entry in now, you’ve got a great chance of being one of the lucky winners! Go to my Clever Competitions page above right away for all the details!!

Introducing a very special Boat Poet

Introducing Sam, a Churchie student and man of many ideas. Sam not only created the wonderful welcome display you see behind us (above) but also explained to me his fantastic idea for Boat Poems. Sam makes boats out of paper, then writes poems on the side, and then sends the boats down the river to whoever may find them. Isn’t that a magical idea? Now that’s a great way to spend the summer holidays, for all you lucky kids still on break in the Northern Hemisphere. Why don’t you make a boat too, write a poem on it, and send it sailing – and if you take a photo of it and send it to me at sarah@auspicioustimes.com I’ll publish it on my blog!

A big thank you to Churchie!

Hello to all the fabulous Grade 4 boys at Anglican Church Grammar School in East Brisbane and a big thank you to their lovely teacher librarian Rose Hoger for a great day on Tuesday! We had lots of fun with my Poetry Workshop, exploring all the different types of poems, unscrambling limericks, decoding haikus and thinking of some truly terrific rhyming words, as well as finding out all about my daughter’s evil hamster Houdini! Photos to follow!

AB Paterson College Rules!

Hello all you funny and fabulous kids from AB Paterson College in Arundel near the Gold Coast! I had such a great time today meeting you all! What with story readings for the Kindies up to Grade 4s, then workshops for the Grade 5s and 6s, it was a full-on day! Here are some photos courtesy of lovely teacher librarian Nikki Carpenter – thanks Nikki (pictured below) for hosting such a wonderful day and making me feel so welcome!

What a fabulous time at Mt Tamborine Library!

Thanks to the lovely Carolann Barwell at Mt Tamborine Public Library for a fabulous event yesterday! It was great to introduce the mountain kids and their mums and dads to the Chinese Calendar Tales and especially Pin Yin Panda! And it was even better to have my Mum and Dad there! Here are some lovely pics, courtesy of Carolann!

Hello Ashgrove State School!

A big hello to all you fabulous writers and readers of Ashgrove State School in Brisbane! I’ve been having a great week this week with the gifted and talented writers of Grades 4 to 7! We’ve been learning how to publish illustrated story books; how to write riveting stories; and how to construct a story plan and write a first draft! And of course I’ve been telling them some of my Chinese Calendar Tales! Just one year left tomorrow – the gorgeous Grade 3s! See you soon!

Here I am with the fantastic Grade 5s today:

Famous Olympics athlete in Brisbane!!

Well here he is…Run Run Rat, posing in front of his very own story….!

And he’s starting to sniff out that steamed bun…

And he’s off!!!

To find a nice comfy spot on his mum’s shoulder with a ratty friend!

Thanks to my lovely niece Rachel Brennan (mum); Plum (Run Run Rat) and Peach (Run Run’s friend) for posing for my blog story!!!

Goodbye Byron Bay!

Well that was a fabulous long weekend at the Byron Bay Literary Festival last weekend! Here I am with Kayne and Amberley from ABC3 before my session with the kids! They were VERY funny!

And having fun with Singapore author Shamini Flint:

And here I am with Pin Yin Panda, Chester Choi and the famous Byron Bay Lighthouse – isn’t it beautiful?

Meet the authors at Byron Bay!

What a fabulous time I’m having here at the Byron Bay Writers Festival! Byron Bay is a very beautiful part of Australia – it’s the easternmost point, with snowy white beaches, lush green countryside, a famous lighthouse, and best of all a famous writers’ festival, with fascinating authors galore! Here I am with famous Australian children’s author Morris Gleitzman – I’m holding his latest book, and he’s holding mine! Below is the incomparable Andy Griffith, king of goofy stories, and to the right, you’ll see me and my books at Mary Ryan’s Bookshop in Fletcher Street. This place is a treat!