At last I get to hold my new book!
September 18, 2021 at 9:24 pm | Posted in new books | Leave a 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!
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 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!
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!
A visit to Lee Shau Kee College with the HKYRF2021!
May 14, 2021 at 4:35 pm | Posted in Hong Kong Young Readers Festival 2021 | Leave a commentTags: Hong Kong history, Hong Kong Schools, Lee Shau Kee College, Missing Chater Collection, The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah
Today I had the great pleasure of meeting the students of Lee Shau Kee College in the New Territories, Hong Kong, in a fun one hour Zoom visit for the Hong Kong Young Readers’ Festival! After a welcome to the Year of the Ox, I told the students all about my new chapter book, The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah (A Hong Kong Mystery) including all the fabulous Hong Kong history behind it! Many thanks to Miss Sarah Wong, my host for the visit, and to Crystal Lau at Hong Kong Young Readers’ Festival who made the visit possible!
Maggie and Methuselah, Oswald Ox and Pin Yin Panda visit Stamford American School HK!
March 22, 2021 at 9:13 pm | Posted in Hong Kong Schools | Leave a commentTags: Books about China for kids, Books about Chinese Zodiac, Books about Hong Kong history for kids, How to Publish a Picture Book, Stamford American International School Hong Kong, The Chinese Calendar Tales, The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah, The Tale of Oswald Ox, The Tale of Pin Yin Panda
Wow that was fun! On Thursday and Friday I spent seven fabulous internet sessions with my great friends at Stamford American School Hong Kong with the kids from Grade 1 right up to Grade 5! We celebrated the Year of the Ox with story readings of The Tale of Oswald Ox and the Legend of Lord Buddha’s Race with The Tale of Pin Yin Panda. We had two great sessions with the Grade 3s (who are creating their very own picture books) learning How to Create a Picture Book from Brilliant Idea to Final Product. And we had two fantastic sessions introducing all the students to the fascinating Hong Kong history and even more fascinating TRUE Hong Kong mystery featured in my new chapter book for pre-teens, The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah! The kids all went crazy for the World War II history in the story, and especially those real Hong Kong WWII tunnels which lie to this day in and under the hillsides of Hong Kong! Some of them even decided that they were going to solve the mystery! Watch out Hong Kong!!
Huge thanks to Lisa Olinski for inviting me, Lisa Choy for her fabulous technical supervision, and the other lovely teachers who hosted me for the sessions. It was such a treat to work with you all, and I hope you enjoyed our time together as much as I did!
Oswald Ox and Maggie and Methuselah visit Renaissance College!
March 10, 2021 at 6:29 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah, The Tale of Oswald Ox, The Year of the Ox
Wow that was fun! I had the most fantastic all day Zoom Visit with the Grade 4s to Grade 6s of Renaissance College HK on Monday! After welcoming the new Chinese Year of the Ox with a short story reading from The Tale of Oswald Ox, I showed the students a fascinating PowerPoint presentation about the fabulous TRUE history and mystery at the heart of my new chapter book for pre-teens, The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah (A Hong Kong Mystery). The kids went crazy with all their questions and comments about the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong in World War II, the hundreds of tunnels still existing under Hong Kong island and the New Territories, and the amazing true mystery of The Missing Chater Collection! A big THANK YOU to lovely teacher librarian Shirley Chan (pictured beside me below) for hosting me, and to the fabulous staff for helping to supervise the sessions!
Introducing…my very first chapter book for pre-teens!
March 3, 2021 at 8:28 am | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: Blacksmith Books, Chapter books about Hong Kong, Chapter books for pre-teens, Charly Cheung, The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah
It’s almost here – The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah, my very first chapter book for pre-teens to begin a brand new series! It’s all about the adventures of Maggie, a ten year old girl, her best friend Edmund Ma, and her very mischievous African Grey parrot Methuselah (who breaks into funny rhymes at the most inconvenient moments :))! Together, they solve real life mysteries in cities around the world – and for this, my very first chapter book, the real mystery they solve is set in my beloved Hong Kong! I’ll tell you all about it in posts to come! At the moment it’s still being illustrated by the amazing Charly Cheung, a Hong Kong based, international award winning artist. You can see more of her work here. And it’s being published by the wonderful Pete Spurrier at Blacksmith Books, one of Hong Kong’s leading publishers, later this month. I’m SO excited!
The fabulous students of Year 5 at Harrow International School HK were the very first students in the world to hear about it, and to hear me read Chapter 1 from the book! Thank you for being such a fantastic audience, and for asking such brilliant questions afterwards! I hear from Mrs Campbell that she has challenged you to write your very own Chapter 2 – I can’t wait to hear what you’ve written!
And if any of my followers want to pre-order a copy of my new book, just click on this link!
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