Congratulations to the winners of the Story of a Sassy Snake writing competition!
April 28, 2025 at 7:41 pm | Posted in Books about Chinese Zodiac, Children's Chinese Zodiac Books, Hong Kong International School, Stamford American School Hong Kong, The Year of the Snake, Writing competitions for kids | Leave a commentTags: Chinese Calendar Tales, Clever Competitions, Snake stories, The Tale of Sybil Snake, Writing Competitions for Kids, Year of the Snake
Congratulations to the winners in my Sassy Snake Story Competition! Charles Bruser Zarin, from Hong Kong International School, placed first in the Grade 4 to 6 Category, while Sera Leya Abraham from Stamford American School Hong Kong placed first in the Grade 1 to 3 Category. They each win a signed copy this year’s Chinese Calendar Tale, The Tale of Sybil Snake, as well as TWO further books available on my sales website here. You can read their fabulous stories on my Clever Competitions Page right away!
The famous legend that inspired The Tale of Sybil Snake!
February 8, 2025 at 12:41 am | Posted in Children's Chinese Zodiac Books, Chinese legends | Leave a commentTags: mythology, snakes, Stories about Chinese Zodiac animals, Stories about snakes, The Legend of Lady White Snake, The Tale of Sybil Snake, The Year of the Snake
Some years before writing The Tale of Sybil Snake, I came across a famous Chinese folktale called The Legend of Lady White Snake, renowned as one of the four great folk tales of China. There are many versions of this tale, dating as far back as the Tang Dynasty.
My favourite tells of a beautiful, immortal, snow-white snake who frequented the shores of the West Lake in Hangzhou, a gorgeously scenic place where the Emperors used to take their holidays. One day the snake met a handsome young Chinese scholar, falling deeply in love with him. But he did not return her love, until she transformed herself into a beautiful woman. Then they married and happily settled down to run a Chinese medicine shop together. One day, a vengeful Buddhist monk, who was also immortal, and had been beaten in battle by the snake many years earlier, told the young man that his wife was really a snake. The poor husband refused to believe this, until the monk persuaded him to give his wife a magic potion at the time of the Dragon Boat Festival. After drinking the potion, the wife turned back into a snake, and the husband, in shock, fell into a deadly coma. The snake rushed to the mountains to find secret herbs to cure her husband, but the monk chased her there, and fought her, overcoming her this time because she was pregnant with the couple’s first child. She was locked up in a pagoda by the West Lake, but finally freed by her son, who, having escaped the pagoda when he grew up, came to his mother’s rescue. Lady White Snake and her husband (who fortunately seems to have recovered) lived happily ever after by the West Lake.
I wonder if you can pick the similarities between this wonderful folk tale and The Tale of Sybil Snake?
Even better, can you think of a famous Hans Christian Andersen story which also sounds quite a bit like The Legend of Lady White Snake?
If you can, why not let me know by posting a comment (see link above) – but remember to ask a parent for permission first!
Ssssssss! Welcome to the Year of the Snake!
January 29, 2025 at 9:34 pm | Posted in Children's Chinese Zodiac Books, Chinese New Year, Chinese New Year Activites, Special Offers, Writing competitions for kids, Year of the Snake | Leave a commentTags: Clever Competitions, Snake Mask, Snake story video, The Chinese Calendar Tales, The Tale of Sybil Snake, Wicked Words
Kung Hei Fat Choi from Sybil Snake, the sixth and sassiest of all the Chinese Calendar Tales characters! It’s time to start off a fabulous new Year of the Snake with lots of fun and some great offers!
(1) A sssensssational new writing competition on the Clever Competitions page!
This fun writing competition is open to kids of primary school age all around the world! Take a look at the Clever Competitions page for all the details. The deadline is Friday 4th April, so start planning your story NOW!
(2) Some ssseriousssly sssuper new words to impresss all your friendsss!
Click here on the Wicked Words page to learn three fabulous new words inspired by Sybil Snake – then stun your family, teachers and friends with your newfound vocabulary!
(3) A sssensational Snake Mask to make and wear!
Chinese New Year is a great time for making animal masks! Click here for a fun free download from Education.Com for a sssuper Snake Mask to wear at your Chinese New Year party!
(4) A sneak peek at your favourite sssnake ssstory!
If you want to find out a bit more about this year’s Chinese Calendar Tale, and why I wrote the books, take a look at this youtube video!
(5) Ssstay up to date by sssubssscribing to my blog!
If you want to keep up with more news and fun about the Year of the Snake ahead, just ssscroll down this page on the right and enter your email address (of course, you should check with mum or dad first)!
(6) Two sssuper sssasssy dissscountsss on our sales website!
Go to the Chinese Calendar Tales website right away for two ssseriously sssasssy discount offers on the Complete Set of Chinese Calendar Tales and this year’s special story, The Tale of Sybil Snake!
Enjoy!
TWO very special Chinese New Year Offers!
February 9, 2024 at 4:39 pm | Posted in Buying my books, Children's Chinese Zodiac Books, Special Offers | Leave a commentTags: Chinese New Year, The Chinese Calendar Tales, The Tale of Chester Choi, Year of the Dragon
Happy Chinese New Year my friends! I am very excited to announce TWO VERY SPECIAL OFFERS just in time for all your celebrations!
OFFER NUMBER ONE: From today to the end of March, you can purchase a COMPLETE SET OF ALL 12 CHINESE CALENDAR TALES PLUS THE TALE OF PIN YIN PANDA for just HK$999-00! That’s a whopping 17% discount! So if you don’t have your set yet, or you want to replace your much-read favourites with some new ones, now’s your chance!
OFFER NUMBER TWO: And in honour of the brand new Year of the Dragon, The Tale of Chester Choi goes on sale today for just HK$79 until the end of March!
So what are you waiting for! Click here for the Complete Set and here for The Tale of Chester Choi to place your order NOW!
Thank you Berkelouw Books, Rose Bay!
August 20, 2019 at 4:53 pm | Posted in Berkelouw Books, Book signings, Buying my books, Children's Chinese Zodiac Books, Sydney Bookshops | Leave a commentTags: Berkelouw Books Rose Bay, Storm Whale, The Chinese Calendar Tales
This afternoon I dropped into one of my favourite Sydney bookshops, Berkelouw Books, where I signed copies of Storm Whale. You can buy your very own signed copy there, and you can also order all and any of my Chinese Calendar Tales from them, including our fabulous Boxed Set! A warm thank you to manager Bru Hammer (above) for all the support!
My interview with Noreen Mir, RTHK3!
February 9, 2018 at 8:02 pm | Posted in Book launches, Bookazine Princes Building, Children's Chinese Zodiac Books, Chinese New Year, Radio interviews | Leave a commentTags: 1 2 3 Show, Chinese history, Chinese New Year, Ching Shih, Hong Kong, RTHK3, The Tale of Desmond Dog, The Year of the Dog
This afternoon I had a wonderful chat with Noreen Mir at RTHK Radio 3 on the 1 2 3 Show all about my new book The Tale of Desmond Dog, the amazing history of Hong Kong and notorious pirate queen Ching Shih behind it, and, of course, the official launch of Harry Harrison’s and my book at Bookazine, 3rd floor, Princes Building, tomorrow at 2pm! You can listen to it here !
And don’t forget to come along! There’ll be a fabulous story reading, a fun quiz with some great prizes, laissee with yummy coins, bookmarks, snacks and drinks for everyone! Be there, or the Red Flags will come and get you – aha me hearties!!!
Hey Beijing kids! What are you doing this Sunday?
January 25, 2018 at 8:42 pm | Posted in Book launches, Bookworm Cafe Beijing, Buying my books, Children's Chinese Zodiac Books | Leave a commentTags: Beijing bookshops, Bookworm Cafe, Ching Shih, Hong Kong, The Tale of Desmond Dog, The Year of the Dog
The Year of the Dog is around the corner, and I’ll be at the famous Bookworm Cafe at Building 4, Nan Sanlitun Road, Chaoyang District at 1.30pm on THIS SUNDAY for the Beijing launch of my latest Chinese Calendar Tale, The Tale of Desmond Dog! It’s all about a noble dog, wicked pirates, and a little fishing village called Hong Kong! Come along to hear me read my story! Here’s your official invitation! I can’t wait to see you there!
Meet Burger and Long Long!
January 16, 2018 at 12:59 pm | Posted in Children's Chinese Zodiac Books, Kingston International School Hong Kong | Leave a commentTags: Chinese history, Chinese Zodiac, Harry Harrison, Stories about Chinese Zodiac characters, The Tale of Desmond Dog, The Year of the Dog
Whenever I visit a school to give the VERY FIRST reading of my new Chinese Calendar Tale, I give the kids in the very first session what I call “naming rights” for the two little extra creatures that our fabulous illustrator, Harry Harrison, adds to all the pictures in the book!
Yesterday, at the very first ever reading of The Tale of Desmond Dog, that session happened to be for the kids of Grade One at Kingston International School in Kowloon Tong!
After hotly contested debate, they came up with the following:
Burger the Hermit Crab: Long Long the Sea Louse:
I think those names are great!
So when you get your copy of the book here, make sure you check every page and see if you can find Burger and Long Long!
WOOF! Introducing The Tale of Desmond Dog!
January 14, 2018 at 4:58 pm | Posted in Book launches, Books about Chinese Zodiac, Buying my books, Children's Chinese Zodiac Books, Chinese New Year, Online Sales | Leave a commentTags: Chinese Zodiac, Great children's books about Chinese culture, The Chinese Calendar Tales, The Tale of Desmond Dog, The Year of the Dog
Helloooo everybody and a very Happy New Year to you all! I hope that you had a wonderful festive season full of good fun with your families, and, of course, that you read a whole lot of fabulous books!
Speaking of which…here is the newest member of The Chinese Calendar Tales family, out just in time for the Year of the Dog! It’s full of fun verse, a terrifically exciting plot and Harry Harrison’s wonderful illustrations, as wacky and witty as ever!
It’s 1810, and infamous pirate queen Ching Shih and her Red Flags are terrorizing the South China Sea. Enter Desmond Dog, hero of the fishing village of Hong Kong! He’s noble, honest and kind, and loves to help others. But he’s also strong, daring and brave, with an excellent nose… in fact, he has the makings of an excellent pirate! Will Desmond be lured into a life of crime? And what will become of Ching Shih and her crew? Find out in this exciting tale of trickery, temptation…and treasure!
Don’t forget to buy your copy in your local bookshop OR you can order it online here right away!
And if you’d like to come along to the funny and fabulous Hong Kong launch of The Tale of Desmond Dog, make a note in your diary for Saturday 10th February at 2pm at Bookazine in Princes Building, Central. I’ll be posting your official invitation on this blog soon!
A fab interview with Jed Doherty of Reading With Your Kids in Boston, USA!
June 29, 2017 at 9:44 am | Posted in Children's Chinese Zodiac Books, children's literacy, Podcasts | Leave a commentTags: Books about China for kids, children's literacy, Chinese culture for kids, Chinese history for kids, Chinese Zodiac, Jed Doherty, Reading With Your Kids, United States
I was so excited a few weeks ago to be contacted by one of the United States’ most famous family entertainers, Jed Doherty, from Boston, who asked me to talk all about the Chinese Calendar Tales for his huge Reading With Your Kids podcast audience in the States! We ended up talking for MUCH longer than expected, not just about my books, but also about our shared passion for children’s literacy – and our shared concern about the overuse of digital games and social media which is NOT GOOD AT ALL if you want to be a great reader, with great vocabulary, great writing skills, great general knowledge and a great brain!
We had such a good chat that Jed ended up dividing it into 2 podcasts! The first podcast, all about the Chinese Zodiac, my love of Chinese history and culture, and our funny and fabulous Chinese Calendar Tales, was released to iTunes and iHeart Radio on 22nd June!
You can listen to it here.
And if you want to find out more about Jed and his fantastic work in the States, you can read more here.
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