The international Kids’ Lit Quiz rules!!
December 11, 2019 at 7:50 am | Posted in children's literacy, Hong Kong events, Hong Kong Schools, International literacy competitions | Leave a commentTags: German Swiss International School, Harrow International School HK, Hong Kong Homeschools, Kids Lit Quiz, King George V School
Yesterday I had the huge pleasure of co-judging the Hong Kong Kids’ Lit Quiz 2019-2020! Twenty teams from around Hong Kong battled it out at Harrow International School HK in the exciting heats in the morning, and in the afternoon the five top scoring teams took part in the Finals! The questions were really tricky and I was so impressed by the extensive knowledge of the teams! Congratulations to the five finalist teams from German Swiss International School, King George V School, HK Homeschools (two teams) and Harrow International School Hong Kong!
And huge congratulations to King George V School Team #1 which won the Hong Kong title with a stunning performance! Here they are above, from left to right: Ruo Zhao, Rosie Sun, Thomas Chan and Audrey Lee. They will be representing Hong Kong in the 2020 World Finals in New Zealand on 13th July 2020 against teams from Australia, Canada, Indonesia, New Zealand, South Africa, Thailand, the UK and USA!
And here is the HK Kids Lit Team, flanked by Wayne Mills (the fabulous Creator and Quiz Master of Kids Lit Quiz) to the right and Yupa Mills, business manager of KLQ to the left. From second left to second right: Mary Jones (Head of Library at Harrow International School HK), Sabine Simpson (former world finalist and HK Team runner); Anne Simpson (National Co-ordinator Hong Kong), Liz Mills-Campbell (from Scholastic) and Kelsey Chau (Assistant Librarian, Harrow International School HK).
Memo to teachers and librarians: The KLQ is a great way of encouraging kids to read as widely and well as possible! And unlike other school literacy quizzes, there’s no book list to read!
Memo to kids: The KLQ is SUCH FUN!! And if you love reading, a fabulous way of testing your knowledge of all your favourite authors, books and characters!
If you want to get your school involved next year, just ask your librarian or Head of English to take a look here!
Meet some me and some Famous Big Girls this Sunday at Bookazine Princes Building!
October 16, 2019 at 6:48 am | Posted in Bookshop event, girls' education, Hong Kong events, Room to Read | Leave a commentTags: Agatha Christie, Amelia Earhart, Bookazine Princes Building, Frida Kahlo, International Day of the Girl, Marie Curie, Room to Read
For everyone who loves GIRLS WHO MAKE A DIFFERENCE – and that means all of us, everywhere, young and old, girl or boy, mum or dad, family or friend – this Sunday is a very special day!
Yes, it’s the International Day of the Girl and fabulous Hong Kong bookstore Bookazine is celebrating with a fantastic FREE event from 10am to 12noon at their Princes Building Store!
And there will be some very famous ladies represented there! No less than Amelia Earhart, Agatha Christie, Marie Curie and Frida Kahlo, each of whom have made huge contributions to the worlds of aviation, writing, science and the arts respectively!
And yes, you’ll see me all dressed up as Agatha Christie, one of my favourite mystery authors of all time, as I tell you a little about her life and work! (You’ll also see three other real life inspirational Hong Kong women colleagues, all leaders in their fields!)
I can’t wait to see you there! But remember to email the link here to RSVP to reserve your place!
And if you want to support girls’ education and literacy to give them the very best start in life, just click on this link to find out more about international charity Room to Read, for whom I am a very proud Writer Ambassador!
Hear me read The Tale of Ping Pong Pig at the Asia Society this Saturday afternoon!
February 19, 2019 at 10:50 am | Posted in Hong Kong events, Story Readings | Leave a commentTags: Asia Society Hong Kong, Books about Chinese Zodiac, Books about Pigs for kids, The Chinese Calendar Tales, The Tale of Ping Pong Pig, The Year of the Pig
On Saturday afternoon I’ll be reading Ping Pong Pig’s hilarious Tale at the Asia Society in Admiralty at a fun family event, and afterwards you can buy your own copy, and compete in a fun quiz for a cute baby panda toy! Find all the details here! You’ll even get a FREE Year of the Pig bookmark! See you there!
Oh what a lovely Launch!!
January 31, 2019 at 9:53 am | Posted in Book launches, Bookazine Exchange Square, Books about Chinese Zodiac, Bookshop event, Boxed Set, Chinese Calendar Tales, Chinese New Year, Fabulous fans!, Hong Kong events, RoomtoRead, Writer Ambassador | Leave a commentTags: A Dirty Story, Bookazine Exchange Square, Harry Harrison, Room To Read Writer Ambassador, The Chinese Calendar Tales, The Tale of Ping Pong Pig
Phew is it busy at the moment!!! I’m so busy with lots of lovely school visits and book orders that I’m very late with my blog-posts! So, my lovely followers, you are going to receive quite a number today!
First and foremost, I want to tell you about last Saturday, and the wonderful launch of The Tale of Ping Pong Pig and our beautiful new Boxed Set of Chinese Calendar Tales at Bookazine Exchange Square! We had a fabulous crowd of fans there, old and new, including many old friends who had come to our launches at the very beginning of the series!
First we had speeches from Shonee Mirchandani of Bookazine, who with her sister Arti has hosted ALL my book launches ever since A Dirty Story back in 2004; then from my dear friend Jennie Orchard, who spoke about RoomtoRead, the wonderful children’s literacy charity for whom I am a very proud Writer Ambassador. 20% of the proceeds of sale at the launch is being donated by me and Bookazine to the RoomtoRead library in India that Bookazine is generously funding! You can find out more about RoomtoRead’s fantastic work in India here.
Then I was very pleased to talk about the series and all the wonderful people who have contributed so much to its success. First and foremost, that had to be Harry Harrison, our fabulous illustrator!
Then our designers e5 and printer KK Mok at Zhongtian Colour Printing HK Ltd, who sadly could not be with us.
Then Arti and Shonee of Bookazine of course!
Then my beautiful family – my daughters Bea and Annabel (who surprised me with a gorgeous bouquet of flowers so I cried :))
And my darling husband Philippe who has supported me in every way, through thick and thin, during the 13 years of writing and publishing the series. Here he is on the right with me, Jennie Orchard and Harry!
And last but never least, my fantastic fans, including kids, mums and dads, teachers and librarians, all over Hong Kong!
Next came my story reading of The Tale of Ping Pong Pig – our very last Tale in the series, out just in time for The Year of the Pig! The kids in the audience were such fun to read to, and they and their mums and dads enthusiastically joined in whenever poor little Ping Pong ran into trouble from her nemesis, the Minister of Most Important Things! Then Harry’s annual quiz for everyone from 2 to 102, with prizes of tiny pandas for the right answers…
And then a real treat! Harry showed everyone how he draws his characters…and then the kiddies joined in!
And finally, our traditional book signing, when it’s such a pleasure to meet our lovely fans!
My daughter Annabel got her annual finger signing from Harry and me of course!
It was such a happy, exciting and colourful event, and I’d like to give my warmest thanks again to Clemence Robine, who organised the event for Bookazine and who generously allowed me to borrow some of the photos on Bookazine’s FaceBook page. You can see more here!
Ping Pong Pig gets an early start to her Year!
January 17, 2019 at 6:07 pm | Posted in Book launches, Chinese New Year, Hong Kong events | Leave a commentTags: Bookazine Exchange Square, The Chinese Calendar Tales, The Tale of Ping Pong Pig, The Year of the Pig
Ping Pong Pig got an early start to her upcoming year this week! She’s visited three wonderful Hong Kong schools with me and all her fellow Chinese Calendar Tales beasties – and we all had SUCH fun! Keep visiting this page for all the photos and news – and don’t forget to register your name for Ping Pong’s funny and fabulous Book Launch at Bookazine Exchange Square on Saturday 26 January at 2pm by clicking on the link here!
Say hello to our beautiful new Boxed Set!
January 10, 2019 at 6:17 pm | Posted in Bookazine Exchange Square, Boxed Set, Buying my books, Hong Kong events, Literary Festivals, Online Sales, School visits | Leave a commentTags: Book launch, Bookazine Exchange Square, Boxed Set, The Chinese Calendar Tales, The Tale of Ping Pong Pig, The Year of the Pig
Well, after 13 years of publishing, we have finally finished the Chinese Calendar Tales! And we’re celebrating with this beautiful Boxed Set!
And what a fabulous 13 years it has been, ever since the publication of The Tale of Chester Choi way back in 2007! Little did Harry Harrison or I know then that this tale of a hungry, lonely dragon living by the South China Sea would be the first in a big series devoted to all the animals of the Chinese Zodiac!
Nor that the Tales would take me around the world visiting schools and literary festivals from Hong Kong to Edinburgh, Sydney to Shanghai, London to Singapore, Byron Bay to Beijing, Cambridge in England to Hobart in Tasmania and more!
Nor that I would meet such amazing fellow authors at Literary Festivals around the world such as Thomas Keneally, author of Schindler’s List and dozens of award-winning Australian novels; Tony Ross, Korky Paul and Francesca Simon, English authors of The Little Princess, Winnie the Witch and Horrid Henry series respectively; Witi Ihimaera, New Zealand author of the legendary Whale Rider; a host of famous Australian children’s authors and illustrators including Jane Tanner, Suzanne Gervay, Morris Gleitzman, Graeme Base, Leigh Hobbs, Tristan Bancks and Glenda Millard. And many other international authors, too many to list here!
Nor that I would meet Lord Christopher Patten in his office at the House of Lords and a day later, meet the Edinburgh Zoo pandas in their new home in Scotland! Nor that I would meet classrooms by Skype in Los Angeles and Western Australia; nor that I would meet young writers in countries as far away as India, South Africa, the United States and the United Kingdom in my writing competitions!
It’s been a fantastic ride – albeit a roller coaster sometimes – and it’s hard to believe that the series has now come to an end.
And the great news is that now all my followers and fans can purchase a beautiful Boxed Set of all the Chinese Calendar Tales at a very attractive price! Click the link here to find out more!
And remember to come along to the launch of our final Tale, The Tale of Ping Pong Pig as well as our beautiful boxed set at 2pm on 26th January at Bookazine Exchange Square! You can register for this free event at this link!
Happy 2019! And a special date for your diary!
January 5, 2019 at 10:39 am | Posted in Book launches, Bookazine Exchange Square, Buying my books, Chinese New Year, Hong Kong events | 2 CommentsTags: Bookazine Exchange Square, Books about Chinese Zodiac, Books about the Year of the Pig, The Chinese Calendar Tales, The Tale of Ping Pong Pig, Year of the Pig
A very Happy New Year to all my lovely followers! I hope that Father Christmas brought everybody all they wished for, and that you look forward to your best year yet!
Speaking of which…here is the BEST POSSIBLE way to celebrate Chinese New Year, which is just around the corner, and of course the new Year of the Pig! Our annual launch party will be the BIGGEST and BEST ever, because this year, we’re launching our very last Chinese Calendar Tale in the Chinese Calendar Tales series, The Tale of Ping Pong Pig!
You’re going to love our feisty little Pig! She’s kind, she’s pretty, she loves to dance and sing…and she’s also VERY tasty! Everybody loves her, but the problem is, the mighty Yongle Emperor loves PORK even better! Come and listen to me read her funny, exciting story, set in Ming Dynasty China in the brand new Forbidden City, and then watch Harry Harrison draw his amazing pictures! And of course, you can buy your very own copy and have me and Harry sign it!
And this time, it’s a costume party! So if you come dressed up in a costume for your year of the Chinese Zodiac, you’re in the running for a fabulous new Boxed Set of Chinese Calendar Tales as first prize, worth HK$1199! Wow!
NB Please note that this year’s launch is at Bookazine Exchange Square NOT Bookazine Princes Building, as we’re expecting a big crowd!
All the details are on the invitation above, and don’t forget to RSVP on this link or by calling 2542 1133!
And if you want to purchase your very own copy of my new book to read Ping Pong’s story before her big day, just click here right away!
Grots Rule at the Bookazine Bookfest last Saturday!
May 14, 2018 at 11:52 am | Posted in Bookshop event, Buying my books, Hong Kong events, Story Readings | Leave a commentTags: A Dirty Story, An Even Dirtier Story, Bookazine Children's Bookfest, Grots, Mothers Day
Yes, it’s me, channelling my inner Grot at Bookazine’s Mothers’ Day Bookfest at The Repulse Bay on Hong Kong’s Southside on Saturday! My 17 and 20 year old daughters absolutely banned me from appearing in this costume – what more incentive does a mother want? So my Dirty Dog Desmond and I attended in full regalia for a fun story reading to a huge bunch of little Grots and their long-suffering parents! After the reading we had a quiz with very noisy whistles for prizes (the mums and dads LOVED that!) , then a Most Disgusting Face Competition, and then the kids went outside to try to find the magic ball in a bucket of slime – eerugh!! A big THANK YOU to Arti and Shonee Mirchandani for inviting me, and to their fabulous events organiser Manon for creating such a fabulous event! More photos below! And if you don’t have your copy of A Dirty Story or An Even Dirtier Story yet, you can purchase it here!
Yay…eurgh!!! A Grotty Saturday at the Repulse Bay Children’s Bookfest this weekend!
May 10, 2018 at 3:33 pm | Posted in Bookazine Princes Building, Bookshop event, Hong Kong events, Story Readings | Leave a commentTags: Bookazine Children's Bookfest, Mothers Day, Repulse Bay
Are you a kid who just LOVES getting dirty? Are you the parent of a kid who just can’t help being a GROT? Are you a MUM whose idea of a great Mothers’ Day weekend is to send Dad out of the house with the kids for the afternoon?
This Saturday join me and the fabulous team at Bookazine at the Children’s Bookfest at The Repulse Bay for a celebration of everything from Mud to Mozzies and a whole lot of Muck in between, as I give a fun story reading of a fabulous Hong Kong favourite, A Dirty Story!
Then join us for some hilarious fun in some VERY GROTTY GAMES!
I can’t wait to see you there!
The Hong Kong Young Reader’s Festival 2018 has begun – and it’s fantastic!
March 5, 2018 at 9:00 pm | Posted in Favourite kids' books, Hong Kong events, Literary Festivals | Leave a commentTags: Chinese Calendar Tales, Harry Harrison, Hong Kong festivals, Hong Kong International Literary Festival, Hong Kong Young Readers International Literary Festival 2016, The Tale of Desmond Dog
Hello again! I’m SOOOO excited! The Hong Kong Young Reader’s Festival 2018 has just begun and there’s so much for kids from 4 to 104 to do and see! There’s a fantastic schools program of course and also some great FREE events! (Not to mention a fabulous official poster by Harry Harrison, above!)
THIS WEEKEND there will be an amazing line-up of famous children’s authors, illustrators and performers appearing at eight FREE public events – you can read about them all at the HKYRF website! The events take place at Lee Gardens Two, outside 217-218, 28 Yun Ping Road, Causeway Bay from 1.45pm to 6pm!
And if you want to meet my dashing Desmond Dog, come along and hear me read his story in my session from 1.45 – 2.45pm! Here are the details! I look forward to seeing you all there!
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