A Story Reading to start your week!
November 16, 2020 at 5:24 pm | Posted in Story Readings | Leave a commentTags: Allen & Unwin, Asia Society Hong Kong, Books about whales, Jane Tanner, Kids4Kids, sperm whales, Storm Whale
A big thank you to Pauline Wong at Asia Society Hong Kong for sending me this link to the very first session of the Young Adventurer’s Book Club, a fantastic joint initiative from Kids4Kids and Asia Society HK, which we recorded back in June! Click on it to hear me reading Storm Whale, my multi-award listed story illustrated by celebrated Australian artist Jane Tanner and published by Allen & Unwin, inspired by my childhood summer holidays in Tasmania. You can see Jane Tanner‘s beautiful pictures as I read. You can also see me chatting with Fontaine Gibb from Kids4Kids all about summer holidays in Hong Kong, and even more interestingly, about the extraordinary sperm whale which features in my story!
Did you know that sperm whales:
- make the loudest sound of all animals on the planet?
- can dive 3km in search of food?
- have their blowholes on the side of their heads?
Listen to our fun session to find out more fascinating facts about these giants of the deep! And next week I’ll be posting the link to another fun session with the Young Adventurer’s Book Club recorded earlier this year, when I read my book The Tale of Pin Yin Panda!
Storm Whale goes into soft cover!
July 29, 2019 at 2:26 pm | Posted in Awards, Book Awards, Buying my books, Kate Greenaway Medal, Online Sales, Prime Minister's Literary Awards 2018, Queensland Literary Awards 2018, Storm Whale | Leave a commentTags: Books about childhood, books about environment and sustainability, Books about Tasmania, Books about whales
Hooray! You can now purchase Storm Whale, my story about 3 children who try to save a beached whale, in soft cover! Here is the link to publisher Allen and Unwin’s online sales site, and here is their information:
The highly acclaimed and beautifully illustrated book about three sisters who find a stranded whale on the beach.
When I and my sisters walked to town …
So begins the tale of three sisters who find a whale stranded on a windswept beach and try to save it.
‘A story of the sea and the possibilities of interactions between humans and other creatures … a story of human kindness and hope’ – Magpies
Shortlisted Prime Minister’s Literary Awards, Children’s Book of the Year, 2018
Shortlisted Queensland Literary Awards, Children’s Book Award, 2018
Nominated for the Kate Greenaway Medal (UK), 2018
So if you don’t have your copy yet, now it’s a little bit cheaper – but still a very beautiful book for your bookshelf!
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!
Wow! Storm Whale short-listed for the 2018 Teach Primary Book Awards UK!
March 7, 2018 at 9:32 am | Posted in Awards, Best sellers, Shortlist Book Awards, UK publications | Leave a commentTags: Books about whales, Old Barn Books, Storm Whale, Teach Primary Book Awards 2018
I’m so excited! The UK’s Teach Primary Book Awards UK has just published its shortlist and Storm Whale (published in the UK by Old Barn Books) is one of just 6 titles on the Key Stage One Shortlist! Here’s an extract from their newsletter:
“The Teach Primary Book Awards are unique in recognising and rewarding books that children genuinely love to read, but that also support learning – for example, by opening up topics for discussion; encouraging language play; and making innovative use of illustration. All 21 shortlisted titles can be confidently recommended to pupils by teachers, and lend themselves brilliantly to classroom activities, too.
The next stage of the competition involves a panel of judges assessing the selected books according to a set of criteria that includes ‘breadth of appeal’ and ‘learning opportunities’; the final results will be announced in Teach Reading & Writing magazine, Teach Primary magazine, and First News, in May. Find out more at teachwire.net/bookawards
KEY STAGE 1
Museum Mystery Squad and the Case of the Hidden Hieroglyphics (Mike Nicholson, Young Kelpies)
Pigsticks and Harold in the Incredible Journey to… the Ends of the Earth! (Alex Milway, Walker)
The Incredible Dadventure (Dave Lowe, Piccadilly Press)
After the Fall (Dan Santat, Andersen Press)
The Big Red Rock (Jess Stockham, Child’s Play)
Storm Whale (Sarah Brennan/Jane Tanner, Old Barn Books)
Hooray! Storm Whale is a CBCA Notable!
February 28, 2018 at 10:00 pm | Posted in Book Awards, Buying my books | Leave a commentTags: Books about whales, CBCA Awards, CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2018, Storm Whale
Illustrator Jane Tanner and I were so excited yesterday to find out that Storm Whale has been listed on the Children’s Book Council of Australia Notables List for Best Picture Book 2018! We’ll find out in March if our beautiful book makes the Short List of the CBCA Awards, as well as the Short List of the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal in the UK!
If you haven’t bought your copy yet, you can purchase it here !
Wow! Storm Whale is nominated for the Kate Greenaway Medal 2018 in the UK!
November 7, 2017 at 9:01 am | Posted in Book Awards, Buying my books, Storm Whale | Leave a commentTags: books about environment and sustainability, Books about whales, Jane Tanner, Kate Greenaway Medal 2018, Old Barn Books, Storm Whale
I’m so thrilled! Storm Whale has been nominated for the prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal 2018 in the UK! Our beautiful book was released by Old Barn Books in the UK in August and since then has received many wonderful reviews there. Last night I was advised that Jane Tanner’s exquisite illustrations have been nominated for this major award! Here’s just a taste above! Now we have to wait till February 2018 to find out if the book will be long-listed, March for the Shortlist and June for the finalists! I’ll keep you informed! And if you want to buy your own copy, you can order it from your local bookshop now, or here (UK) and here (Australia).
A Fabulous International Holiday Writing Challenge: The Wonderful Whale Haiku Competition!
June 19, 2017 at 1:09 pm | Posted in Book launches, Buying my books, Clever Competitions, Storm Whale | Leave a commentTags: Allen & Unwin, Books about whales, Clever Competitions, Haikus for kids, Jane Tanner, Storm Whale, Wonderful Whale Poem Competition
Don’t you just love whales? These beautiful giants of the deep are so intelligent and wise, and they’ve lived at peace in their watery world for many thousands of years, in a way that we silly human beings simply cannot seem to manage up here on the earth! And many of you will know that my new book with Australian publishers Allen & Unwin, called Storm Whale, illustrated by the award-winning Australian artist Jane Tanner, has just been launched in Melbourne! So to celebrate these beautiful animals – and Jane’s and my beautiful new book – I thought it was high time that we celebrated these wonderful animals in a Wonderful Whale Haiku Competition!
The competition is open to any kid of Primary School age, anywhere in the world.
You’ve got lots of time for this one: the deadline is Saturday 30th September 2017, so you can have a lovely time over your upcoming holidays thinking about whales and writing your poem!
Go to my Clever Competitions page above for all the rules and requirements!
And if you love the illustration above, and want to purchase your own copy of our new book, just click on the link here: http://www.chinesecalendartales.com!
Storm Whale gets a lovely review!
May 24, 2017 at 7:50 pm | Posted in Book reviews, Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: Books about beach holidays, Books about whales, Books and Publishing Australia, Jane Tanner, Storm Whale
Here’s my beautiful new book Storm Whale, which is launching in Melbourne at Readings Kids in Lygon Street on Thursday 1st June at 6pm! I”m SOOO excited! It’s a story inspired by my childhood holidays with my family at the seaside in Tasmania, where 3 little girls find a stranded whale on the beach and try to save it. I think you’re going to love it, and love even more the exquisite illustrations by Australia’s award-winning artist Jane Tanner! Here’s a wonderful review we received in Books and Publishing Australia:
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