Ming Kee Monkey creates mischief at WISS!
November 7, 2016 at 9:05 pm | Posted in Children's Chinese Zodiac Books, children's literacy, Chinese Calendar Tales, School visits, Shanghai schools | Leave a commentTags: Chinese culture, Chinese history, competitions, Halloween, The Tale of Ming Kee Monkey
Today Ming Kee Monkey and I – and all the other Chinese Calendar Tales beasties – had a fabulous day at Western International School Shanghai! We had three fun story readings, where everyone from the Grade Ones to the Grade Fives heard The Tale of Ming Kee Monkey and all the scrumptious history behind it! Here I am above with my lovely hosts, Head of Libraries Fiona Collins on the right, and Primary Librarian Isolde Rosevear on the left, who looked after me beautifully all day! I can’t wait to read all the WISS entries in my Horribly Hilarious Halloween story competition!
A fabulous evening with Room to Read at Bookazine!
September 9, 2016 at 8:45 am | Posted in Bookshop event, children's literacy, Room to Read | Leave a commentTags: Bookazine Princes Building, BuyABookGiveABook
I had a wonderful time at the Hong Kong launch of Room To Read’s BuyABookGiveABook campaign last night at Bookazine in Princes Building! For the rest of September, when you buy any of 50 fabulous titles at one of Bookazines stores at Princes Building, Exchange Square, Lyndhurst Terrace, Repulse Bay or the Shui On Centre, a local language book for a child in an underdeveloped country will be funded by Bookazine! These books include titles by Hong Kong’s Room To Read Writer Ambassadors Bhakti Mhatur, Nury Vittachi and myself 🙂 , Kids Fest books, and books by Room To Read founder John Woods (see top right!). All books included in the campaign have a fun sticker attached to help you find them.
John Woods gave an inspiring talk about the fabulous work Room To Read are doing, reaching literacy targets ahead of time in their quest to end illiteracy for all children, everywhere. Read more about Room To Read’s amazing work building libraries and schools, and publishing local language books, for kids in underdeveloped countries (and find out how you can get involved) here: http://www.roomtoread.org/
If you’d like to support the BuyABookGiveABook campaign, just pop along to one of the above Bookazine stores this September! You can update your collection of Sarah Brennan books at the same time 🙂 !
The Results are out in my Sunny Summer Poem Competition!
September 7, 2016 at 2:52 pm | Posted in children's literacy, Writing competitions for kids | Leave a commentTags: Clever Competition, Sunny Summer Poem Competition
Phew! I’ve just finished the judging of my Sunny Summer Poetry Competition! It was tremendous fun, but exhausting… I think I need a good long drink of lemonade with ice!
There were a total of 79 fabulous entries this time, from 21 schools in 8 cities around the world: Calcutta, Chicago, Hong Kong, Perth, Seattle, Shanghai, Singapore and Sydney! A big thank you to everyone who entered for your very hard work and wonderful creations!
Congratulations to the Top Ten entrants in each Category, whose winning poems have just been posted on my Clever Competitions page above!
Special congratulations to Madeline Painter of Dryden School in Chicago who won the Years One to Three Category, and to Aria Fafat of UWCSEA Dover in Singapore, winner of the Years Four to Six Category. Their poems are outstanding.
So if you want to soak up the last of the summer sun while reading some fabulous poetry, go to the Clever Competitions page right away to enjoy all the winning entries!
Time’s Up!
September 1, 2016 at 5:51 pm | Posted in children's literacy, Writing competitions for kids | Leave a commentTags: Clever Competition, Sunny Summer Poem Competition
Thank you to all you fabulous poets from 21 schools in 8 different countries who sent entries in to my Sunny Summer Poem Competition! The judging starts today, and reading the quality of the entries, it’s going to be really tough to decide the ten finalists in each category. So please be patient with me and I’ll let you know the results as soon as I can!
If your family loves books…here’s an event for your mums and dads on International Literacy Day!
August 25, 2016 at 10:32 am | Posted in Being an Author, Bookshop event, children's literacy, Uncategorized | 1 CommentTags: children's literacy, Room to Read
What a great way to celebrate reading books and to help kids in need in Asia and Africa to read too! I look forward to seeing you there!
Remember to register here: https://www.anpasia.com/public/event/RegistrationForm/45465E477946455D43
Our first Summer Writing Class has started – we’re having fun!
August 10, 2016 at 6:41 am | Posted in children's literacy, Summer writing class | Leave a commentTags: children's literacy
Meet the Fabulous Eight – my first Summer Writing Class this year! We’ve been having a lot of fun learning all about Story Planning – and today we start writing first drafts! With magic ingredients like evil genius snails, angry staplers and garrulous guinea pigs, I can’t wait to see the final results!
There are still a few places left in my Summer Writing Class from 22nd to 26th August, so if you’d like to join in the fun, ask Mum and Dad to email me at sarah@auspiciousttimes.com right away!
Do you want to live longer?? Then read lots of books!
August 9, 2016 at 6:27 pm | Posted in children's literacy | Leave a comment
Experts from the Yale University of Public Health have just published a paper which shows that bookworms live longer than people who don’t read books! Here is the link: http://bit.ly/2aU21dA – why don’t you share it with Mum and Dad!
Two additional Summer Writing Course session times!
June 29, 2016 at 1:39 am | Posted in children's literacy, Summer writing class | Leave a commentTags: Writing workshops
Afternoon session 2pm – 4pm, Monday to Friday, 15th to 19th August: just ONE place left;
Morning session 10am to 12 noon, Monday to Friday, 8th to 12th August: SIX places available.Â
So if
- you are between the ages of 8 and 12,
- you will be in Hong Kong this August,
- you would like to improve your writing and
- you’d like to have a lot of writing fun
then don’t delay! Enrol on my Summer Writing Course right away!
Click here for all the details! SARAH BRENNAN’S Summer Writing Classes
There are just 7 places still available, so book soon!
It’s time for a Sunny Summer Poetry Competition!
May 30, 2016 at 6:22 pm | Posted in children's literacy, Writing competitions for kids | 3 CommentsTags: Clever Competition, Sunny Summer Poetry Competition
(Image credit Harry Harrison, The Tale of Ming Kee Monkey)
It’s summer at last, and things are heating up on the happy downward slide towards the summer holidays! So what better way to celebrate the holidays…and to fill in some lazy summer hours – than by entering my Sunny Summer Poetry Competition! (And my apologies in advance to my friends in the Southern Hemisphere, where of course winter has almost arrived. You’ll just have to imagine that summer is coming :)!
This time I’d like you to write me an original poem about all the things you love about summertime. It can be any one of the five following sorts of poem:rhyming verse; acrostic; haiku; limerick; free verse.
There will be two categories: Grades/Years One to Three and Grades/Years Four to Six. Students currently enrolled in Grade/Year 6 are all eligible to enter.
The deadline for your entries is Wednesday, 31st August 2016! So pick up those pens and start writing! I can’t wait to read your Sunny Summer Poem!
Two fabulous ladies at the AFCC 2016 in Singapore!
May 28, 2016 at 10:56 am | Posted in Being an Author, Book Fairs, Children's Chinese Zodiac Books, children's literacy, Singapore, workshops | Leave a commentTags: Asian Festival of Children's Content, Chinese Calendar Tales, The Tale of Ming Kee Monkey
Say hello to two lovely friends – one old and one new – I met at the Asian Festival of Children’s Content 2016 in Singapore’s magnificent National Library this week! To the right is Denise Tan, owner of Closetful of Books which distributes my Chinese Calendar Tales and Dirty Stories to schools in Singapore and which was official bookseller at the Festival for the second year; to the left is the famous Cynthia Leitich Smith, New York Times best-selling author of over a dozen books for kids and young adults! It was a great privilege to hear her speak about writing for young adults; she’s a very funny lady! I had a fantastic time at the Festival hearing remarkable speakers and meeting writers and illustrators from all around the world – especially Asia! Best of all was that every single person I met loves BOOKS!
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