Monkey Mayhem in Bologna!
April 12, 2016 at 9:15 am | Posted in Being an Author, Book Fairs, Children's Chinese Zodiac Books | Leave a commentTags: Bologna Children's Book Fair 2016, The Tale of Ming Kee Monkey
Hellooo again everybody! If you’re wondering why I’ve been a bit silent the last week, it’s because I’ve been very, very busy! And that Ming Kee Monkey of mine has been even busier! Here I am, above, at the famous Bologna Children’s Book Fair, 2016 in beautiful Bologna in Italy! Now I was there to work and to introduce my books about the Chinese Zodiac to a lot of lovely publishers…but Ming Kee Monkey decided that it was time to play! You can see what she got up to below!
Bologna is bustling with street music, performance and art! Ming Kee loved meeting the buskers in the Old Town – here she is with a human statue, a musician playing a very modern DidgeriNew and a street artist, with his brilliant creation, Charlie Chaplin on rollerskates!
Here we are in the stunning medieval town square, called the Piazza Maggiore! Ming Kee just had to pose with the famous statue of Neptune, and tried very hard to steal the city keys! You can also see the photographs of the citizens of Bologna who joined the Resistance during the Second World War.
There was a fun competition going on in the main square for a local charity! Groups of entrants were all given identical cardboard boxes, which they had to cut up and make into towers! Above, you can see the beginning of the competition…and below, some of the results! Aren’t they clever? Needless to say, I had to hold on tight to my Monkey, who was very keen to topple those towers!
Now the main church in the square is the famous Basilica di San Petronio. I tucked Ming Kee Monkey into my bag when I visited…I couldn’t risk my Monkey causing havoc in a church! Isn’t it beautiful?
Now after all that peace and contemplation, it was time for a little exercise! Ming Kee Monkey and I climbed all 498 steps up the leaning Asinelli Tower, for a commanding view of the city and surrounding countryside! We even met an adorable little Bolognese girl, who gave my mischievous Monkey a good cuddle!
Needless to say, our climb built up a bit of an appetite! And where better to eat delicious pasta and desserts than in Bologna!
Farewell, beautiful Bologna, city of culture, history and delight. Ming Kee and I hope to visit you again soon!
Ming Kee Monkey’s Serenade!
April 4, 2016 at 1:01 pm | Posted in Being an Author, Video | Leave a commentTags: London, The Tale of Ming Kee Monkey
Lucky Ming Kee Monkey had her first every serenade on Friday with the World Wide Welshman, Liam Stuart Rickard, in Leicester Square! Hasn’t he got a beautiful voice? You can see Ming Kee was sooooo happy she fell over on his guitar! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m25WeDTf07o&feature=youtu.be
Ming Kee Monkey tours London!
April 4, 2016 at 6:34 am | Posted in Being an Author | Leave a commentTags: The Tale of Ming Kee Monkey, Year of the Monkey
This week Ming Kee Monkey flew all the way to London for a fun four day visit, and not surprisingly, she got up to a lot of mischief! Here she is crossing the footbridge from Waterloo Station to The Embankment, with the Thames River and St Paul’s Cathedral in the background!
Here above is the great writer Rudyard Kipling’s house near The Embankment – Ming Kee is trying very hard to behave herself! And on the right, she poses in front of the Eleanor Cross at Charing Cross Station!
And on to Trafalgar Square, where Ming Kee and I met Yoda, floating above the ground! Ming Kee is trying to steal some of Yoda’s wisdom by sitting on his staff! She also met the Trafalgar Lions, and saw the famous National Gallery, as well as Nelson’s Column!
Then it was time for a serenade with the lovely Liam of Leicester Square, and a poem with William Shakespeare, a.k.a The Bard…but oh no!! That mischievous Ming Kee has put a pigeon on his head! Shame on you, you rascally monkey!
And finally, a foray into Leicester Square to see the Angel, though sadly Ming Kee didn’t become any more angelic, having fun instead with that reprobate Spider Man, Harry Potter and a Very Tall Person!
Farewell to wonderful London, one of my favourite cities on the planet! May peace and calm return now that Ming Kee Monkey has left for Bologna!
A great day at Goodwood Primary School!
March 3, 2016 at 5:52 pm | Posted in Being an Author, Chinese Calendar Tales, Chinese New Year, Chinese Zodiac, Hobart, Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: Chinese Calendar Tales, Chinese Zodiac, Story Readings, The Tale of a Dark Horse, The Tale of Pin Yin Panda
What a fantastic time I had with the fabulous kids of Goodwood Primary School today! The Year 1 to Year 3s met my feisty, vain Pin Yin Panda, then the Year 4 to Year 6s learned all about the origins of the Silk Road, the Emperor Han Wudi, and my beautiful, proud Dark Horse! It was great to meet you all, and to introduce you to my books about the Chinese Zodiac animals! I look forward to getting entries from lots of Goodwood kids in my Clever Competition! A big thank you to my beautiful cousin and literacy teacher Susie Eades, who invited me in to the school today! Here we are above with a backdrop of my beloved Mount Wellington, and you can see my soft toy Monkey Monkey hiding inside the yellow box, about to start sky-diving!
A Big Hello to Hutchins!
March 3, 2016 at 5:38 pm | Posted in Being an Author, Chinese Calendar Tales, Chinese New Year, Chinese Zodiac, Hobart, Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: Chinese Calendar Tales, Chinese Zodiac, Story Readings, The Tale of Pin Yin Panda
Early this morning I met a big library full of Hutchins boys from Year 3 to Year 6! And they met my vain Pin Yin Panda and all the other characters in my Chinese Calendar Tales series! We had a lot of fun! Warm thanks to my friend, and teacher librarian, Kate Reid, who used to work at the Australian International School in Hong Kong! I look forward to lots of Hutchins entries in my Clever Competition (see button above) and I hope to see you all again soon! More photos to come!
Two fabulous days at Dominic College, Hobart
February 29, 2016 at 2:40 pm | Posted in Being an Author, Chinese Calendar Tales, Chinese New Year, Chinese Zodiac, Hobart, School visits, Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: Chinese Calendar Tales, Chinese New Year, Chinese Zodiac, Story Readings, The Tale of Chester Choi, The Tale of Pin Yin Panda
A big thank you to fabulous librarian Christine Donnelly (above left) and her lovely assistant Cath (above right) for hosting me for two days at Dominic College in Glenorchy, Hobart! Cath prepared some wonderful displays – thank you Cath! – and Christine was one of the warmest, most gracious hosts I have ever had the pleasure of working with! Thank you for a truly memorable visit!
DAY ONE: The delicious Preps and Year Ones met my hungry, lonely dragon in The Tale of Chester Choi; the Year 3s and 4s met my vain but loveable Pin Yin Panda, and I got to see the most fantastic artwork from all the year groups, who have spent weeks learning all about the Chinese Zodiac! It was such fun to see all the wonderful illustrations of characters from my books, as well as beautiful red fans and other Chinese New Year decorations: what a great way to learn all about China’s fascinating history, folklore and culture! Here are just some of the great artworks I saw:
DAY TWO: I met the Year 2s, 5s and 6s, who heard my Tale of Pin Yin Panda and The Tale of Ming Kee Monkey, and then spent a memorable hour with the Year 9/10 Creative Writing Class, giving them some inside information about How to Publish a Picture Book from Brilliant Idea to Final Product! Here is a report about my visit in the Dominic College Newsletter, just published:
A busy book signing at The Hobart Bookshop!
February 27, 2016 at 7:12 pm | Posted in Being an Author, Bookshop event, Chinese Calendar Tales, Chinese New Year, Chinese Zodiac, Hobart, Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: Chinese Calendar Tales, Chinese New Year, Chinese Zodiac, Story Readings, The Tale of Ming Kee Monkey
Today Ming Kee Monkey and I made a special visit to The Hobart Bookshop at Tasmania’s famous Salamanca Place for a book-signing, a story reading, and a chance to meet some new fans and to introduce them to my books about the Chinese Zodiac animals! Many thanks to Janet Grecian for hosting the event! I look forward to meeting more of my Hobart fans at some fabulous primary schools this week!
Helloooo SAIS in Singapore!
February 2, 2016 at 9:06 pm | Posted in Being an Author, Chinese Calendar Tales, Chinese New Year, Chinese Zodiac, Singapore schools, Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: children's literacy, Chinese Calendar Tales, Chinese Zodiac, SAIS, Story Readings, The Tale of Ming Kee Monkey, Writing workshops, Year of the Monkey
Today I visited my fabulous friends at Stamford American International School in Singapore again, for the first of three great days chock full of writing workshops and reading sessions for the Grade 5s, and talks to parents and teachers about creating bookworms and writers in the digital age too! It was wonderful to see you all, and especially to introduce you to my mischievous Ming Kee Monkey! I can’t wait to work with more of you tomorrow!
A Publishing Workshop at WIS!
November 27, 2015 at 4:33 pm | Posted in Being an Author, Hong Kong Schools, School visits | Leave a commentTags: Publishing workshops, West Island School
Yesterday I had the huge pleasure of meeting 16 enthusiastic writers and artists from Year 7 at West Island School, as part of the WIS Arts Festival, with my special workshop about Publishing Picture Books from Brilliant Idea to Final Product! It was wonderful to meet so many talented young people, and to show them some real life examples of manuscripts, artist’s sketches and scamps, layouts and dummy books. I wish them the very best of luck for their future publishing careers!
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