Little Star Magazine’s writing competition awards in Shanghai!
April 12, 2016 at 9:35 am | Posted in Being an Author, children's literacy, workshops, Writing competitions for kids | Leave a commentTags: Little Star Magazine, The Tale of Ming Kee Monkey, YCIS
No sooner that I was back from Bologna, than I was on a plane to Shanghai, to attend the Awards Ceremony on Saturday in the Little Star Writing Competition for over 500 kids in Beijing and Shanghai schools! As the final judge, I was there to officiate at the Awards Ceremony hosted by Yew Chung International School’s Gubei campus, and to talk to the exceptional writers who won First Place in each of the four age categories. We even fitted in time for a story reading of my latest Chinese Calendar Tale for the kids, mums and dads, and a Writing Workshop for everybody at the end! Many thanks to Little Star Magazine, YCIS and the fabulous kids and parents who gave me such a warm welcome. And huge congratulations to all the talented finalists!
Phew! The deadline is extended in my Clever Competition!
March 22, 2016 at 7:10 pm | Posted in Writing competitions for kids | Leave a commentTags: Clever Competition, Year of the Monkey
I know you’ve all been super busy this term, with a million things to do at school and for homework…because you’ve been telling me! So by special request, I’ve decided to extend the deadline for my Mischievous Monkey Story Competition till 12 midnight, Sunday 10th April, so you can write your story during the Easter holidays ! So now you’ve got a bit more time…and I’m looking forward to some fantastic entries! Click on my Clever Competition tab (above) right away for all the information!
The Deadly Deadlines are chasing YOU!
March 8, 2016 at 4:11 pm | Posted in Book Awards, Books about Chinese Zodiac, Writing competitions for kids | Leave a commentTags: Chinese Calendar Tales, Clever Competition, The Tale of Rodney Ram
YIKES! The deadlines are coming, thick and fast! There are just:
3 MORE DAYS to vote for The Tale of Rodney Ram in the Younger Readers category in the Golden Dragon Book Awards 2016! So if you are a school student, teacher or parent living in Hong Kong, and you haven’t cast your vote yet, here is your final reminder! Please go to
http://www.hkgoldendragonawards.org/voting.html right away to cast your vote! If you’re not sure if your school is affiliated with the Awards, speak to your teacher or librarian at school right away and ask them to contact the organisers urgently!
16 MORE DAYS to enter my Mischievous Monkey Story Competition! If you are a primary school student anywhere in the world, you are eligible to enter, and entry is FREE of charge! Please go to http://www.sarahbrennanblog.com on the Clever Competitions Page for all the details!
So you’d better get a move on, or those deadlines are going to eat you up for dinner!
And finally, if you want to see what Rodney Ram, Ming Kee Monkey and I have been up to for the last 6 months in schools in Australia, Singapore, Guangzhou and Hong Kong, including some great new Youtube videos, press, photos and school testimonials, go to my website at http://sarah-brennan.com for my latest mega-update!
Thank you MLC!
February 24, 2016 at 6:54 pm | Posted in Chinese Calendar Tales, Chinese New Year, Chinese Zodiac, Melbourne schools, Monkey story, School visits, Uncategorized, Writing competitions for kids | Leave a commentTags: Chinese Calendar Tales, Chinese Zodiac, Story Readings, The Tale of Ming Kee Monkey, Writing Competitions for Kids, Year of the Monkey
A big THANK YOU to the lovely Tracey Ricchini, Junior School Teacher Librarian, and the fabulous girls and staff at Methodist Ladies College, for a wonderful day today! It was so good to see you all again, and to introduce you to my maverick Ming Kee Monkey, as well as the rare and exotic plants and creatures of the jungles of Yunnan Province…not to mention Emperor Taizong of Tang, the extraordinary Buddhist explorer Xuanzang, and the Legend of the Monkey King and the Journey to the West! You made a fantastic audience; thank you so much for your enthusiasm and interest! I look forward to receiving LOADS of MLC entries in my Clever Competition!
Exactly 1 month to go to enter the Mischievous Monkey Story Competition!
February 24, 2016 at 4:34 am | Posted in Monkey story, Uncategorized, Writing competitions for kids | Leave a commentTags: Chinese Calendar Tales, Chinese Zodiac, primary school, The Tale of Ming Kee Monkey, Writing Competitions for Kids
You’d better get cracking! There is just ONE MONTH to go to get your entry into my Mischievous Monkey Story writing competition! Click on the Clever Competitions button above for all the details!
A fabulous day at Kingston International School, Kowloon Tong!
February 16, 2016 at 4:40 pm | Posted in Chinese Calendar Tales, Hong Kong Schools, Uncategorized, writing competitions, Writing competitions for kids | Leave a commentTags: Hong Kong Schools, The Tale of Ming Kee Monkey, Writing Competitions for Kids, Writing workshops
Today I had the best day doing workshops with Upper Primary at Kingston International School in Kowloon Tong! The Grade 4s unscrambled limericks and identified haikus and completed the gaps in a horrifying poem called Let’s Destroy the School in my Introduction to Poetry Workshop! The Grade 5s and 6s learned all about How to Write a Riveting Story that will glue the reader’s nose to the page, and left with a fab Story Planning sheet to plan their next stories! And some of them even promised to use them to plan their entry into my current Clever Competition (see tab at the top of this page!). I can’t wait to read their entries! Huge thanks to the lovely Jennifer Shaw for hosting me today! Photos to come!
My Mischievous Monkey Story Competition starts NOW!
January 28, 2016 at 6:30 pm | Posted in Monkey story, Writing competitions for kids | Leave a commentTags: Chinese New Year, Chinese Zodiac, Clever Competition, The Tale of Ming Kee Monkey, Year of the Monkey
Hello again, and a very happy soon-to-arrive Year of the Monkey to you! The Tale of Ming Kee Monkey is just about to launch in Hong Kong and it’s time for another international story competition! This time, I want you to write me a story all about a mischievous Monkey! You also have to include a Chinese setting, a Chinese Emperor, a magic teapot, a big flood and the colour verditer. Hmm…. you’ll have to do a bit of research to find out what that colour is! Entries are welcome from primary school aged students all around the world, so get out those pens and writing pads and start writing! The deadline date is Thursday 24th March. Go to my Clever Competitions page above to find out all the details!
The Results are Out in my Hair-Raising Halloween Poem Competition!
November 27, 2015 at 4:43 pm | Posted in Writing competitions for kids | Leave a commentTags: Hair-Raising Poem Competition, Halloween, Poetry competition, Writing Competitions for Kids
Aaaaagh! Eeeeek! Brrrrr! ! That’s how I’ve been feeling while judging all the entries in my Hair-Raising Halloween Poem Competition! It’s been absolutely terrifying – and not just because of the large number of entries! There were a huge 127 entries this time, from 27 schools in Hong Kong, Singapore, Melbourne, Sydney, Western Australia, Seattle US, and the UK! There were even entries from whole classes! And the entries were all so gruesomely great, making my job even harder! But at last I’ve come to my decision and the top ten entries in each Category have just been posted on my Clever Competitions page – so click on the Clever Competitions link above for a hair-raising literary experience! Special congratulations to Madeline Painter, Grade 3, Stamford International School, Singapore (Winner of the Years One to Three Category) and Aria Fafat, Grade 5, Canadian International School Lakeside Campus, Singapore (Winner of the Years Four to Six Category), for their magnificent entries. They’ll each receive a free signed copy of one of my books!
Your time is up and the judging begins!
November 16, 2015 at 4:06 pm | Posted in Writing competitions for kids | Leave a commentTags: children's literacy
Huge thanks to all the fabulous writers who have entered my Hair-Raising Halloween Poem Competition! There have been over 120 entries from 24 schools in 7 different cities in 5 different countries around the world! I’m so excited to start the judging today…but please be patient! It’s going to take me some time to choose the winners from such fantastic entries!
Mwahaha! My Hair-Raising Halloween Poem Competition for Primary School Kids starts TODAY!
October 5, 2015 at 11:25 am | Posted in Writing competitions for kids | Leave a commentTags: Halloween, Poetry competition, primary school, Writing Competitions for Kids
Mwahaha! Halloween is coming fast, and all the fun of trick or treating, pumpkin lanterns, cobwebs, spiders, ghosts, witches, haunted houses, sweet treats and scary costumes for kids, and, of course, dental bills for Mum and Dad! It’s been five long years since our last Halloween writing competition – so I think it’s high time for another one! You can write any kind of poem, provided it’s about Halloween! I’ll be looking for fantastic vocabulary, original ideas, lots of detailed descriptions and that special CHILL FACTOR to make the hairs rise on the back of my neck! You’ve got just SIX WEEKS to get your entries in this time: the deadline date is Sunday 15th November 2015. Go to my Clever Competitions page above for all the rules and information!
Blog at WordPress.com.
Entries and comments feeds.
Sarah Brennan Funny & Fabulous Blog 