Sarah Brennan Funny & Fabulous Blog

My Chinese Zodiac beasties and I visit Rose Bay Public School in Sydney!

August 24, 2015 at 2:36 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments
Tags: AISHK, Chinese Calendar Tales, Chinese history, Chinese Zodiac, Rose Bay Public School, Sydney Schools

Helloooo to all my friends at Rose Bay Public School! I had such a fun day today visiting the school, with story readings galore for the whole school! The Kindies met my hungry dragon Chester Choi and found out why some dragons have four toes and others have five, the Grade 1s and 2s met Pin Yin Panda and learned all about the Legend of Lord Buddha’s Race and panda diplomacy, the Grade 3s and 4s met Rodney Ram and learned how rice came to China, and the Grade 5s and 6s heard the mysterious Tale of Sybil Snake, and found out about China’s only female Emperor, Wu Zetian! We had a lot of fun! Many thanks to lovely librarian Sarah Skelton (above), who was my wonderful host for the day. And a reminder to all you budding writers out there to enter my Clever Competition – see all the rules on the Clever Competitions tab above!

Three fabulous days in Tassie!

August 24, 2015 at 2:23 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Here I am in beautiful Hobart, with Mount Wellington in the distance behind me, and standing just outside the school I attended for most of my school days, The Friends’ School! I spent a wonderful long weekend in Hobart from Thursday to Sunday morning, seeing my lovely relatives, catching up with old friends, dropping into some fabulous schools to meet the librarians, and, of course, having a very happy trip down Memory Lane! I look forward to returning next year with my Chinese Calendar Tales!

A Riveting Writing Workshop with the budding authors of Buckley House, Ivanhoe Grammar!

August 19, 2015 at 5:28 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment
Tags: Ivanhoe Grammar, Writing workshops

Warm thanks to Grace Molinaro and Anna Willett from Buckley House, Ivanhoe Grammar, for inviting me again today, with a two hour writing workshop with the talented Grade 6s! First we talked about How to Write a Riveting Story, then the students wrote Story Plans to a stopwatch, before writing their very own riveting stories. I can’t wait to read the finished products! Thank you also to Tim and Annie, the dedicated Grade 6 teachers who were my fabulous hosts for the morning. Photos to come!

My Aussie Book Week tour started at Loreto Mandeville Hall!

August 17, 2015 at 3:38 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Hello again to all my friends! I’m in Australia this next fortnight for Book Week, and kick-started my tour with a visit to the gorgeous young ladies of Loreto Mandeville Hall in Toorak, Melbourne! I met the whole of primary school, from the Preps right through to the Grade 6s, and we had a lot of fun with a story reading for the younger girls and some Poetry and Writing Workshops for the older girls. Here I am above with some of the gorgeous Prep to Grade 2s, and with the lovely Miss Erin Moodie. Thanks for a fabulous day, and make sure you enter my Clever Writing Competition – see the tab above!

A Mega-Update to my Website – and a Reminder to enter my holiday Writing Competition!

July 20, 2015 at 3:14 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

I love holidays! At last, there’s time to breathe, to unwind, and to do all those fun things we don’t have time for during our normal working life! And for we busy authors, it’s a great chance to update our websites – big time! So if you want to see photos and news from all the schools and bookshops I’ve visited in the last six months in Beijing, Hong Kong, Melbourne, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Singapore and Sydney with my Chinese Calendar Tales family; or to read all the latest press articles and interviews; or to view a new Youtube video; or to check out some brand new testimonials from school students, teachers and librarians about my books and school visits, then click on the link below and go to my Newsroom and School Visits pages! http://www.sarah-brennan.com.

Another thing holidays are great for is entering Writing Competitions! My current story competition for primary school kids is a load of fun! Your story has to include –
a ram;
a Chinese Empress or Princess;
a talking frog;
a storm;
the colour vermilion
and must be set in China!
How’s that for a challenge? Go to the Clever Competitions page above right away for all the details. The deadline is 6 September, so you’ve still got time to write a stunning story!

And of course, the very best thing about holidays is that we’ve all got time to read lots and lots of fantastic books! And remember, reading books keeps us ALL healthy, wealthy and wise – so get reading!

A fun interview at Christian Alliance International School, Hong Kong!

July 20, 2015 at 3:10 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Here’s a fun interview I had earlier this year with Bryce Goff of Christian Alliance International School which he has very kindly shared with me – enjoy!

A Funny and Fabulous Visit to YLPMSAA Ying Yip Primary School!

June 24, 2015 at 2:53 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

I had SUCH a fun morning today, visiting the fabulous Grade 3s of Ying Yip Primary School in Yuen Long! I introduced them to my shy Rodney Ram, we had a story reading, and the kids asked some great questions afterwards! Huge thanks to lovely NET teacher Brenda (below, holding my dragon) for inviting me, and to CAs Hilary and Maggie for all their help! I hope to see you all again next year!

The Tale of Rodney Ram is shortlisted for the Golden Dragon Book Awards 2016!

May 30, 2015 at 10:19 am | Posted in Book Awards | 1 Comment
Tags: Chinese Calendar Tales, Golden Dragon Book Awards 2016, The Tale of Rodney Ram

Harry Harrison and I are jumping for joy – and so is Rodney Ram! The Tale of Rodney Ram has just been nominated for the Golden Dragon Book Awards 2016, alongside five other very impressive contenders in the Younger Readers (8 to 11) category!!

Take at look at http://www.hkgoldendragonawards.org/younger-readers-8—11.html.

The nominations are made by school librarians…but the voting is done by the kids! Voting doesn’t open till March next year, but in the meantime if you love our woolly hero and his shaggy story you might like to give him a review on Goodreads so other readers can find out what you think!

The World Change Challenge begins in Hong Kong!

May 30, 2015 at 9:52 am | Posted in Bookshop event, Hong Kong Schools, Room to Read | 1 Comment
Tags: children's literacy, Hong Kong Schools, Room to Read

Room to Read team with CEO and founder John Wood (centre), Jennie Orchard (4th from L), Jodie Mullen (8th from L) and Hong Kong authors Nury Vittachi (1st on L), Sarah Brennan (6th from L) and Bhakti Mathur (7th from L).

On Wednesday evening Room to Read’s World Change Challenge kicked off here in Hong Kong! John Wood, CEO and founder of Room to Read, Jennie Orchard (Co-ordinator of its Writer Ambassador Program) and Hong Kong writer ambassadors Bhakti Mathur, Nury Vittachi and I, spoke to a lovely crowd of teachers, librarians and supporters at Growhouse in Central about the fabulous, fun World Change Challenge for school students! The challenge was started by Aussie kids and teens author Tristan Bancks, and you can read more about it here:

http://www.tristanbancks.com/2015/05/room-to-read-world-change-challenge-2015_28.html.

So click the link to discover all the great ideas and fun you can have to help EVERY kid your age get an education and a lifelong love of reading. And if you want to help, you can start talking to YOUR school right now about getting involved!