Hear me read my new Comic Book this Saturday at 10.30AM!
February 23, 2022 at 9:52 pm | Posted in Comic books, Story Readings | Leave a commentTags: Environmental Charity, Recycling clothes, REDRESS, Story Readings, Yoyo and the World's Coolest T-Shirt
HOORAY! You can hear me read from my fabulous new comic book with environmental charity Redress, Yoyo and the World’s Coolest T-Shirt AND learn all about how to help save the planet by recycling or re-purposing your old clothes THIS SATURDAY MORNING AT 10.30AM!
And if you miss that event, you can hear our fabulous illustrator read the story on Saturday week!
Make sure you register for the events HERE!
And be sure to wear your coolest T-Shirt!
See you there!
Desmond Dog leaps into Beacon Hill School last Wednesday!
March 26, 2018 at 1:14 pm | Posted in Beacon Hill School, Hong Kong Schools | Leave a commentTags: Stories about dogs, Story Readings, The Chinese Calendar Tales, The Tale of Desmond Dog, The Year of the Dog
Last Wednesday, Desmond Dog and I visited the fabulous kids of Beacon Hill School in Kowloon Tong! We had four funny (and highly educational :)!) reading sessions of The Tale of Desmond Dog with all the kids from Grades 1, 2, 3 and 6! They learned all about Hong Kong’s origins as a small fishing village, the infamous pirate queen Ching Shih, and the characteristics of people born in the Year of the Dog! A warm thank you to the lovely Emily Jeves, Teacher Librarian (above left) for hosting me, and to her assistant Shirley Lowe, Librarian, between us. Emily and Shirley are both Dragons, and I’m a Rat, if you’re wondering about the toys we’re holding!
A warm return to NAIS Pudong!
March 21, 2017 at 4:21 pm | Posted in China photos, NAIS Pudong, Shanghai schools | Leave a commentTags: Chinese Calendar Tales, Chinese history, Chinese Zodiac, Poetry workshops, Story Readings, The Tale of Pin Yin Panda, The Tale of Rickshaw Rooster
My Shanghai adventure started with a full-on, fun day at Nord Anglia International School, Pudong, where I was expertly hosted by the lovely Kym McCullough, librarian and fellow-Aussie! Here we are in the beautiful lobby of this outstanding school! The Year 2s met my feisty Pin Yin Panda and revised the order of all the animals in the Chinese Zodiac; the Year 3s heard my fabulous new Chinese Calendar Tale, The Tale of Rickshaw Rooster, and learned some fascinating modern Chinese history, while the Year 4s and Year 5s both did my fun Poetry Workshop! We all had a ball!
Three fabulous days at Shatin Junior School!
March 1, 2017 at 6:04 pm | Posted in Chinese New Year, School visits, Shatin Junior School | 2 CommentsTags: Book Week, Chinese Calendar Tales, Story Readings, Writing Competitions for Kids, Writing workshops, Year of the Rooster
A huge thank you to Karen Hubbard and all the lovely staff and students at Shatin Junior School, for hosting me at their Book Week this week! I spent three full, funny and fabulous days with the kids doing a host of story readings and workshops! Everyone from Year One to Year Six met my latest character in The Chinese Calendar Tales – that cocky but loveable Rickshaw Rooster- in a fun story reading full of fascinating historical facts and cockadoodledoos! Then I spent two inspiring days with the Year 5s (who learned How to Become A Great Writer) and the Year 4s (who learned How to Write a Riveting Story)! Five things to remember, for ALL you kids who want to write fabulous stories:
- Free up your leisure time!
- Radically reduce the time you spend on digital games and devices!
- Radically increase the time you spend reading great books!
- Plan your stories before you write them!
- Enter my latest Clever Competition right away!
And you’ll be well on the way to becoming truly GREAT writers!
A great day at Goodwood Primary School!
March 3, 2016 at 5:52 pm | Posted in Being an Author, Chinese Calendar Tales, Chinese New Year, Chinese Zodiac, Hobart, Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: Chinese Calendar Tales, Chinese Zodiac, Story Readings, The Tale of a Dark Horse, The Tale of Pin Yin Panda
What a fantastic time I had with the fabulous kids of Goodwood Primary School today! The Year 1 to Year 3s met my feisty, vain Pin Yin Panda, then the Year 4 to Year 6s learned all about the origins of the Silk Road, the Emperor Han Wudi, and my beautiful, proud Dark Horse! It was great to meet you all, and to introduce you to my books about the Chinese Zodiac animals! I look forward to getting entries from lots of Goodwood kids in my Clever Competition! A big thank you to my beautiful cousin and literacy teacher Susie Eades, who invited me in to the school today! Here we are above with a backdrop of my beloved Mount Wellington, and you can see my soft toy Monkey Monkey hiding inside the yellow box, about to start sky-diving!
A Big Hello to Hutchins!
March 3, 2016 at 5:38 pm | Posted in Being an Author, Chinese Calendar Tales, Chinese New Year, Chinese Zodiac, Hobart, Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: Chinese Calendar Tales, Chinese Zodiac, Story Readings, The Tale of Pin Yin Panda
Early this morning I met a big library full of Hutchins boys from Year 3 to Year 6! And they met my vain Pin Yin Panda and all the other characters in my Chinese Calendar Tales series! We had a lot of fun! Warm thanks to my friend, and teacher librarian, Kate Reid, who used to work at the Australian International School in Hong Kong! I look forward to lots of Hutchins entries in my Clever Competition (see button above) and I hope to see you all again soon! More photos to come!
Two fabulous days at Dominic College, Hobart
February 29, 2016 at 2:40 pm | Posted in Being an Author, Chinese Calendar Tales, Chinese New Year, Chinese Zodiac, Hobart, School visits, Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: Chinese Calendar Tales, Chinese New Year, Chinese Zodiac, Story Readings, The Tale of Chester Choi, The Tale of Pin Yin Panda
A big thank you to fabulous librarian Christine Donnelly (above left) and her lovely assistant Cath (above right) for hosting me for two days at Dominic College in Glenorchy, Hobart! Cath prepared some wonderful displays – thank you Cath! – and Christine was one of the warmest, most gracious hosts I have ever had the pleasure of working with! Thank you for a truly memorable visit!
DAY ONE: The delicious Preps and Year Ones met my hungry, lonely dragon in The Tale of Chester Choi; the Year 3s and 4s met my vain but loveable Pin Yin Panda, and I got to see the most fantastic artwork from all the year groups, who have spent weeks learning all about the Chinese Zodiac! It was such fun to see all the wonderful illustrations of characters from my books, as well as beautiful red fans and other Chinese New Year decorations: what a great way to learn all about China’s fascinating history, folklore and culture! Here are just some of the great artworks I saw:
DAY TWO: I met the Year 2s, 5s and 6s, who heard my Tale of Pin Yin Panda and The Tale of Ming Kee Monkey, and then spent a memorable hour with the Year 9/10 Creative Writing Class, giving them some inside information about How to Publish a Picture Book from Brilliant Idea to Final Product! Here is a report about my visit in the Dominic College Newsletter, just published:
A busy book signing at The Hobart Bookshop!
February 27, 2016 at 7:12 pm | Posted in Being an Author, Bookshop event, Chinese Calendar Tales, Chinese New Year, Chinese Zodiac, Hobart, Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: Chinese Calendar Tales, Chinese New Year, Chinese Zodiac, Story Readings, The Tale of Ming Kee Monkey
Today Ming Kee Monkey and I made a special visit to The Hobart Bookshop at Tasmania’s famous Salamanca Place for a book-signing, a story reading, and a chance to meet some new fans and to introduce them to my books about the Chinese Zodiac animals! Many thanks to Janet Grecian for hosting the event! I look forward to meeting more of my Hobart fans at some fabulous primary schools this week!
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!
Hellooo Melbourne!
February 24, 2016 at 4:28 am | Posted in Chinese Calendar Tales, Chinese New Year, Chinese Zodiac, Melbourne schools, School visits, Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: Chinese Calendar Tales, Chinese Zodiac, Melbourne, Methodist Ladies College, Story Readings
A big hello to one of my favourite cities – the fabulous Melbourne! I’m on a quick visit here to visit some publishers and the lovely ladies of MLC before flying down to Hobart for a week of fun school visits and events! I’m so glad to be here and look forward to catching up with my Melbourne buddies!
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