Kung Hei Fat Choy!! It’s officially the Year of the Pig!
February 5, 2019 at 10:59 am | Posted in Chinese festivals, Chinese New Year, Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: The Chinese Calendar Tales, The Tale of Ping Pong Pig, The Year of the Pig
Illustration credit : Harry Harrison from The Tale of Ping Pong Pig
She’s singing! She’s dancing! And she’s gobbling…A LOT!!! Just what any happy little pig should do at Chinese New Year, especially when it’s HER year!! Ping Pong Pig and I would like to wish all our fans – be they pig-lovers or pork-lovers – a very happy New Year of the Pig!
May your mornings be full of joy, your afternoons full of mirth, and your nights full of peace! And may your tummies be content, always!
Kung Hei Fat Choy!
I’m posting the Competition Results today!
November 18, 2018 at 10:18 am | Posted in Clever Competitions, Poetry competitions for children, Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: Clever Competitions, Harry Harrison, Perfect Pet Poem Competition, The Tale of Run Run Rat
I’ve been busy as Run Run Rat going to the market in Harry Harrison’s wonderful illustration above! See The Tale of Run Run Rat
Huge thanks, and apologies, to my loyal writer fans who have been waiting so very patiently for the results of my Perfect Pet Poem Competition! I’ve been HUGELY busy the last two weeks, with my lovely daughter Annabel sitting her final IB exams (which requires a lot of mother love and attention!) and a very busy time at work getting ready for the release of my next Chinese Calendar Tale, The Tale of Ping Pong Pig, into the shops! So I’ve had not a moment to finalise the results! But today, the house is quiet, I’m putting the final touches to my judging – and you’ll hear from me later today! YAY! Thank you so much for your patience!
Long live libraries!
October 26, 2018 at 12:58 pm | Posted in children's literacy, libraries, school libraries, Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: libraries, Library ideas, school libraries, The Atlantic
Photo credit: https://www.pexels.com/photo/row-of-books-in-shelf-256541/
If you’re anything like me, you just LOVE libraries. In fact, in my opinion, in any school, the library is both its heart and its soul, and should be treasured accordingly. And placed accordingly too! Not in a far distant wing of the building, or in the basement, or up under the roof – but RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE of the school’s ground floor, where kids can see it, and use it, every single day.
So take a look here, in this wonderful piece from The Atlantic on Wednesday, at photos of some of the most extraordinary libraries in the world, in countries where, clearly, the real book is still cherished and promoted to its citizens! And ponder if your country and your school cherishes books the same way. And if not, do something about it, FAST!
After all, as the great American astronomer, astrophysicist, cosmologist, author and thinker Carl Sagan once said: “I think the health of our civilization, the depth of our awareness about the underpinnings of our culture, and our concern for the future, can all be tested by how well we support our libraries.”
Friday: Hutchins School Visit!
May 30, 2018 at 9:33 am | Posted in Australian schools, Hobart, The Hutchins School, Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: Books about whales, Chinese history, National Simultaneous Story Time, Storm Whale, The Chinese Calendar Tales, The Tale of Desmond Dog
My Hobart visit kicked off with a fabulous morning with the boys at The Hutchins Junior School! It just happened to be National Simultaneous Story Time that very morning, so we started off with a fabulous story from the Headmaster, Dr Rob McEwen! He was a spectacular story-reader! Then the Grade 1 to 3 boys listened to me reading Storm Whale and simply didn’t stop asking questions and making some great observations about whales afterwards! Before my second session, the Grade 4 to 6 boys and I listened to the Deputy Principal Alan Jones (wearing a very interesting hat!) reading yet another story to the kids, after which I introduced them to the evil pirate queen Ching Shih and some fabulous Chinese history with The Tale of Desmond Dog! Many thanks to my dear friend, and head librarian, Kate Read, for inviting me again! More photos to come!
Desmond Dog at Discovery Bay International School!
April 25, 2018 at 8:42 pm | Posted in Discovery Bay International School, Hong Kong Schools, Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: Introduction to Poetry Workshop, The Chinese Calendar Tales, The Tale of Desmond Dog
Desmond Dog and I dashed into Discovery Bay International School on Monday for a fabulous day of story readings of The Tale of Desmond Dog for the whole of primary school and a poetry workshop for some selected students – just before I left for Sydney in the evening! Here I am Aha Me Hearties-ing with lovely librarian Melanie Foti who was my host for the day – she makes a great pirate, don’t you agree?! Below you can see me with the fabulous Year 5s and 6s, and beneath that, with Maddy and Grace, Year 6 Library Amabassadors who also make EXCELLENT pirates!
Bear with me please!
April 19, 2018 at 6:05 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment
Hello again, all you patient writers who sent in such fantastic entries into my Dashing Dog Writing Competition! I’ve been working as hard as I can to judge your stories…but alas I have to be in Australia next week and won’t be able to complete the judging till I get back! I’m LOVING all the stories I’ve read so far! So please, bear with me – and I’ll let you know the results just as soon as I’m back in Hong Kong!
A fun morning at FSSA in Yau Tong!
April 18, 2018 at 2:14 pm | Posted in Fukien Secondary School Affiliated, Hong Kong Schools, Story Readings, Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: Stories about Chinese Zodiac characters, Stories about dogs, Stories about pandas, The Chinese Calendar Tales, The Tale of Desmond Dog, The Tale of Pin Yin Panda
Many thanks to Head of English and Deputy Principal Nicolas Delbos (with me above right) and Sunny Ding (above left) for hosting me yesterday at Fukien Secondary School Affiliated Primary School for a morning of fun story readings with all the kids from Primary One to Primary Six! The P1 to P3 kids met my vain but loveable Pin Yin Panda as we explored the Legend of Lord Buddha’s Race and how all the animals got into the Chinese Zodiac in The Tale of Pin Yin Panda, while the P4 to P6s pretended to be fabulously fearsome pirates as I read them this year’s Chinese Calendar Tale, The Tale of Desmond Dog! We had a lot of fun!
Another stunning sonnet from Suzhou…
April 9, 2018 at 3:01 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment
During my visit to Suzhou Science and Technology Town Foreign Language School in China last month, I had the pleasure of meeting an exceptional young man, Ivan Huang Yiheng, whose teacher has sent me his latest work.
Meet Ivan, who is 15 years old, below:
and read his beautiful sonnet, based on the theme of Summer – Ivan has sent me some gorgeous summer photos from China which compliment the poem perfectly!
Summer
Summer is just the grandest time of year;
Unending times of fun and merriment,
Masses of lovely flowers, heaven sent.
Moments of wonderment are everywhere,
Early mornings, the lovely sights appear.
Riveting colors in a wild ascent.
Painted on mountain tops without relent.
Loveliness so rich I can only stare.
Ever deeper reds radiate in the sky
And I am fascinated by the show.
Sun is now shining brightly all around.
Unimpressed by the beauty from a high.
Robins keep right on pecking for they know
Easy breakfasts are waiting to be found.
Thank you so much Ivan – and keep on writing – you have great talent!
Desmond and I take part in the Bookworm Literary Festival this week!
March 12, 2018 at 8:29 pm | Posted in Beijing Schools, Bookworm Cafe Beijing, Changzhou schools, Literary Festivals, Suzhou schools, Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: Bookworm Literary Festival, The Tale of Desmond Dog
Desmond Dog and I are visiting 3 different cities in mainland China for 5 fun days this week as part of the Bookworm Literary Festival! Today we’ve been in Changzhou, tonight and tomorrow we’re in Suzhou, then from Wednesday to Friday we’ll be in Beijing! Keep following this blog to see all the photos and fun!
Woof! Desmond is a best seller in Hong Kong!
February 28, 2018 at 9:47 pm | Posted in Best sellers, Bookazine Festival Walk, Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: Books about Chinese history for kids, Books about Chinese Zodiac, The Tale of Desmond Dog, The Year of the Dog
Woof! It’s official! The Tale of Desmond Dog is one of the Top 5 January Books at Bookazine, Hong Kong’s leading bookshop! Here’s what I found on their new Festival Walk shop screen last weekend!
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