Sarah Brennan Funny & Fabulous Blog

Four fabulous new friends in Taiwan!

I was so excited to visit Taiwan on my first post-Covid Schools Tour this month! After a great week visiting schools in Hong Kong, I flew to Taipei’s Taoyuan Airport, where I was met by the lovely Charles and Di Farrell, Library Media Specialist and Library Assistant at Morrison Academy Taiwan, Tai Pei Campus, who very kindly drove me to my hotel!

Monday 13 February: Morrison Academy Taiwan, Tai Pei Campus

We commenced the visit with a fun reading for the Grade 2 and 3s of – you guessed it – The Tale of Rhonda Rabbit, book du jour, or should I say année, for the new Year of the Rabbit! The kids were fascinated to learn about the mighty Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi, who united China over 2,000 years ago, but at a rather horrible cost to the people who stood in his way!

Next, I met the Kindergarten and Year 1 students, reading them my story Storm Whale. I have never been asked so many questions about whales afterwards, including some VERY tricky ones about, for example, “How high is the water spout of sperm whale?” for which I had NO CLUE of the answer! Thank you Charles for rescuing me with a wonderful book about whales from the library!

After a tasty lunch, I met the Grade 5s and 6s with my workshop How to Write a Riveting Story, then capped off the day with a fun session with the Grade 4s, An Introduction to Poetry, in which the kids narrowly escaped a fate worse than death (aka horrible school reports) as they used the first letters of Mr Farrell’s name to describe him in the Acrostic exercise!

My warm thanks to my hosts Charles and Di Farrell for their welcome and for hosting me in one of the most beautiful, artistic school libraries I have ever seen! Photos below!

Tuesday 14 February: Morrison Academy Khaosiung Campus

After my very first High Speed Rail trip from the top to the bottom of the island, I spent the next day with the lovely Christine Stowers and her support staff, visiting the kids of the Khaosiung Campus of Morrison Academy.

After an excellent opening session with Grades 6 to 8, explaining How to Publish a Picture Book from Brilliant Idea to Final Product, the Kindies to Grade 2 heard my story Storm Whale, then after a fabulous lunch, I met the Grades 3 to 5 students who heard…da da da…The Tale of Rhonda Rabbit! Finally, the fabulous teens in Grades 9 to 10 heard all about my path to becoming an author and publisher, followed by a serious talk about why reading print books is not just the most important tool for a writer, but also the way to ensure the very best life, in my presentation The Writing Life.

Thank you Christina for sending me the wonderful photos below!

Wednesday 15 February: Morrison Academy Taichung Campus

On Wednesday, at long last, I met Scott Pagel, the reason for my trip to Taiwan!! Scott and I have been in contact ever since he sent his students’ entries into my Clever Competition many years ago, and we’ve always thought it would be great for me to come and visit! We even planned a trip to all three campuses back in 2020…which sadly had to be cancelled due to…you guessed it…the dreaded Covid 19! So it was amazing to meet him in the flesh at last at the Morrison Academy Taichung Campus!

We kicked off with a story reading of Storm Whale for Kindergarten and Grade One, followed by my workshop on How to Write a Riveting Story for Grades 6, 7 and 8. I included a very serious talk on the huge benefits of reading print books for leisure and pleasure in order to write well – as well as to live your best life! And, of course, how vitally important it is for the brain to limit time spent on digital games and social media.

After lunch, Grades 3 to 5 had a fun Introduction to Poetry, where we had a lot of laughs as they completed a poem called “Let’s Destroy the School” in perfect rhyme and verse! Parents and teachers beware!!

The day ended with my popular talk about How to Create Bookworms in the Digital Age, for the MAC parents and teachers, where we discussed the latest scientific research on reading print book and the brain.

Thank you Scott for a fabulous day at Morrison Taichung…at last!! Photos to come!

AND FINALLY…

Thursday 23 February: Zoom visit to Hsinchu International School

Sadly I was not able to visit Hsinchu International School in Taiwan during my trip, but I WAS able to visit them by Zoom a week later, which just happened to be their Book Week! We had two fun sessions!

The first, for the little ones from Pre-Kindergarten to Year 2, was a reading of The Tale of Pin Yin Panda, to meet my cheeky panda character Pin Yin, to find out how all the animals got into the Chinese Zodiac, and to discover why pandas aren’t in the Zodiac!

For the rest of the school, I spoke about How I Became an Author, then explained all the latest science about why Reading is Good for the Brain.

Huge thanks to Grade 4 teacher Eddie Costello, who invited me in, and librarian Isabel Slabbert who expertly hosted me for the visit! Eddie and I first met when he sent in his students entries into my Clever Competition some years ago. I can’t wait to see entries from Hsinchu International in my current Competition!