You are invited to a Kids4Kids event tomorrow in Hong Kong!
October 6, 2021 at 10:59 pm | Posted in Hong Kong events | Leave a commentTags: Books about Hong Kong history for kids, Kids4Kids, The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah, Virtual author visits
If you’d like to take part in a fun virtual event at Kids4Kids tomorrow afternoon at (HK) 5.30pm, just click here to register or scan the QR code! See you there!
A REAL Hong Kong mystery for you to solve!
September 30, 2021 at 3:43 pm | Posted in new books | 1 CommentTags: Hong Kong history, Hong Kong mysteries, Sir Paul Chater, The Chater collection, The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah
Introducing Sir Paul Catchick Chater, whose missing paintings are at the heart of the mystery in my new book The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah ! Sir Paul was a VERY important man in Hong Kong, but apart from Chater Road in Central and Catchick Street in Kennedy Town, most Hong Kongers today know nothing about him! Born in Calcutta to Armenian parents, he was orphaned at the age of just 7, and came to Hong Kong to be near his sister when he was 18. But he was clever, and very good at business, and by the time he died he was so well-loved and important to Hong Kong that he was called the “father of Hong Kong”! Here’s a small list of just some of the things he did:
- he founded Dairy Farm (which owns Wellcome, Mannings and Marketplace) with a Scottish partner
- he founded Hong Kong Electric, one of the first electric companies in the world!
- at night, he could be seen in a sampan, measuring the depth of the coastline, which resulted in Hong Kong’s very first land reclamation, where Statue Square, the old Legco Building, Princes Building and the Mandarin Hotel stand today! As well as Chater Road of course…
- he built the fabulous Marble Hall as his family home, on Conduit Road. Here’s a picture:
So why is he so important to my new book?
Well, he also collected VERY valuable paintings and etchings of China’s early contact with Europeans, the most valuable of which went missing during World War II, and have have never been found since ! Today they would be worth at least 30 million Hong Kong dollars or 3 million pounds sterling! They must be somewhere in Hong Kong – but where?
You’ll have to read my new book to find out how they disappeared and where they might be now! Maybe you’ll be the one to find them!
And if you want to find out more about the fabulous Sir Paul Chater, just click here!
At last I get to hold my new book!
September 18, 2021 at 9:24 pm | Posted in new books | 1 CommentTags: Blacksmith Books, Books about Hong Kong for kids, Books about Hong Kong history for kids, Charly Cheung, The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah
I’m so excited to hold my new book – at last! It’s taken weeks for it to arrive here in France!! It’s so hard not being in Hong Kong right now to celebrate with illustrator Charly Cheung and publisher Pete Spurrier at Blacksmith Books – not to mention all of you, my lovely fans! But as soon as those l-o-o-o-o-ng HK quarantine rules disappear, I’ll be back to see you all in a flash! And in the meantime, wait up for some more funny animations by Charly to introduce you to the characters in my book in the coming weeks! And if you want to join Maggie and Methuselah on their exciting Hong Kong adventure, you can buy your own copy at Hong Kong bookstores or by clicking here!
A fun video clip from my new book!
September 4, 2021 at 7:19 pm | Posted in Animation, Video | Leave a commentTags: Charly Cheung, Hong Kong mysteries, Sarah Brennan Author on YouTube, The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah
Just ask Mum or Dad to click here so you can see a fun new video clip featuring my new book, The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah! Huge thanks to creator Charly Cheung (who also just happens to be the fabulous illustrator of the book) for the images and Lenny To for the sound!
Isn’t it fun? And if you haven’t bought your own copy yet, you can get it at this link or at any good bookshop!
A fun virtual visit to Sunnybank State School in Brisbane!
September 3, 2021 at 6:37 pm | Posted in Brisbane schools, Virtual visits | Leave a commentTags: Chinese history for kids, Great children's books about Chinese culture, Stories about Chinese Zodiac characters, Sunnybank State School, The Chinese Calendar Tales, Virtual author visits
Say hello to the fabulous school captains of Sunnybank State School in Brisbane, Queensland! I had the great pleasure of visiting the Grade 6s virtually last Friday for a fun author session, where we talked all about the Chinese Calendar Tales. We had some great Q&A about why I wrote them, how I got my inspiration for each story, and how I plan my stories generally, with a little bit of fascinating Chinese history thrown in! Huge thanks to Principal John Greenup for hosting my visit. I hope you all enjoy reading my books and that they inspire you to write your own stories! And make sure you enter my next Clever Competition, coming soon!
Remember to bring a torch!
August 28, 2021 at 6:13 pm | Posted in new books | Leave a commentTags: Blacksmith Books, Books about Hong Kong history for kids, Books for pre-teens, Mystery in Hong Kong, The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah
A big THANK YOU to Charly Cheung who created this fabulous poster for my new book! Isn’t it fun! And so are all her 80+ fantastic illustrations inside the book! The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah is out in bookstores now – and available all over the internet too! You can buy your own copy here!
A sneak peek inside my new book!
August 7, 2021 at 9:09 pm | Posted in new books | Leave a commentTags: Blacksmith Books, Charly Cheung, Hong Kong history, Hong Kong stories for pre-teens, The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah, WWII history of Hong Kong
Here’s a sneak peek inside my funny new adventure book for 8 to 12 year olds! You can see a really bo-o-o-oring reception at Government House in Hong Kong, which Maggie’s mum insists she attend. It’s also where the exciting action starts! And it’s just one of over 80 fun illustrations by award-winning artist Charly Cheung which you can enjoy in my new book! Just ask a grown up to click here to purchase your very own copy!
HOORAY!!!! The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah has finally arrived!
August 5, 2021 at 4:43 pm | Posted in Hong Kong, new books | Leave a commentTags: Blacksmith Books, Charly Cheung, Government House Hong Kong, Hong Kong history, Hong Kong WWII history, Missing Chater Collection, The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah
After months of waiting…my new book is finally available!! It’s been a marathon for all of us: me, my wonderful publisher Pete Spurrier at Blacksmiths Books (top left) and our fantastic award-winning illustrator Charly Cheung (with Pete, top right). HUGE thanks to all the lovely parents and kids who pre-ordered the book for their patience. By now, the book should be in your hands! We hope you love it as much as we do!
Here’s a bit from the blurb:
Maggie loves hanging out with her best friends Methuselah (her talkative African Grey parrot) and Edmund (the richest boy in Hong Kong), but she loathes attending boring parties with her high-flying mum and dad! Little does she know that a Family Fun Day at Government House will trigger a thrilling adventure involving one of Hong Kong’s greatest mysteries: what happened to the immensely valuable Chater Collection, which was hidden on the eve of the Japanese invasion in World War Two? A funny, exciting story for pre-teens set in one of the world’s most exotic cities, where cultures meet and risks are for the taking!
For readers aged 8 to 12 who love mystery, history and adventure! With 80+ illustrations.
So if you’d like to purchase your own copy, just click here, or visit your favourite Hong Kong bookstore! And keep visiting this blog as I tell you more about the story and the fascinating Hong Kong history behind it!
A photo from a fabulous fan!
July 6, 2021 at 9:36 pm | Posted in Fabulous fans!, Favourite kids' books | Leave a commentTags: Books about Chinese history for kids, Books about Chinese Zodiac, The Tale of Oswald Ox, The Tale of Rodney Ram
Don’t you just love this photo? Here’s Glynnis, who has just this week received The Tale of Oswald Ox and The Tale of Rodney Ram in the post! Her mum, who very kindly sent me this photo, tells me that Glynnis has read the books already, and now she (her mum) is reading them to her again at bed time! Now that’s what I call a fabulous fan! Thank you so much to Glynnis’s mum for letting me post this photo on my blog!
At last! The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah is at the printers!
June 30, 2021 at 10:22 pm | Posted in Book launches, new books | Leave a commentTags: Blacksmith Books, Books about Hong Kong for kids, Charly Cheung, Chater paintings, Hong Kong mysteries, The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah
HOORAY!! At last my exciting, funny new chapter book for pre-teens has gone off to the printers! It’s looking just fabulous, thanks to our incredibly talented illustrator Charly Cheung, who has drawn more than 100 illustrations!!
It’s all about two adventurous kids living in Hong Kong: expat Maggie Magill and her best friend Edmund Ma, Maggie’s very funny African Grey parrot Methuselah, and a fabulous Hong Kong mystery which is real and has never been solved! Not to mention some spooky World War II tunnels, some very valuable treasure and an exciting helicopter rescue!
The publisher Pete Spurrier at Blacksmith Books tells me that it will take just two weeks to get printed – so all you lovely parents and kids who have been so patient with us over the last few months will get their copies by mid-July! At last!!
We’re planning a fabulous Hong Kong launch, so watch this space and I’ll let you have all the details as soon as possible!
And if you haven’t ordered your own copy yet, you can pre-order it now by clicking this link!
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