And the winner of my Oswald Ox Colouring-In Competition is…
March 2, 2021 at 1:54 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: The Tale of Oswald Ox

Wow! Isn’t the colouring-in of this picture from The Tale of Oswald Ox so special! Congratulations to Amethyst Yen, 10 years old, from Morrison Academy in Taiwan, for winning my Year of the Ox Colouring-In Competition! Amethyst wins a free copy of The Tale of Oswald Ox, together with a signed book plate! Well done Amethyst!
And if you missed entering this competition, you still have time to enter my Oxcellent Ox Tale Competition – just scroll down the Clever Competition page here for all the details!
Just 26 days to get your entries into the Oxcellent Ox Tale Competition!
March 2, 2021 at 12:14 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: The Chinese Calendar Tales, The Oxcellent Ox Tale Competition, The Tale of Oswald Ox, Writing Competitions for Kids

The rooster from Oswald Ox’s farm is sounding the alarm! You’ve got just 26 DAYS left to get your entry into my An Oxcellent Ox Tale writing competition, with fabulous prizes including a FREE author visit to your school! Go to my Clever Competition page right away for all the details (you’ll need to scroll down a little). I can’t wait to read your entry!
FOUR funny and fabulous Year of the Ox challenges!
February 16, 2021 at 1:43 am | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: Chinese New Year, Fun challenges for primary school kids, The Tale of Oswald Ox, The Year of the Ox Challenge 2021
Yes, I know, you’re stuck at home and this Chinese New Year isn’t exactly the one we’re all used to, with its Lion Dances and big family feasts and crowds of people out there enjoying all the festivities! But fear not! I have some fun challenges for all you kids at home to complete over the Chinese New Year holidays!
You can:
- Enter my fabulous international writing competition for primary school kids, An Oxcellent Ox Tale Competition!
- Enter my brand new Oswald Ox Colouring-In Competition with two beautiful pictures to download!
- Make my funny Moo Mask!
- Listen to me reading The Tale of Oswald Ox with Asia Society Hong Kong!
Just click here to go right away to my brand new Fun Challenges page for all the links!
So what are you waiting for! Ready, Steady, GO!!
Kung Hei Fat Choi for the Year of the Ox!
February 12, 2021 at 2:29 am | Posted in Video | Leave a commentTags: Chinese New Year, The Chinese Calendar Tales, The Tale of Oswald Ox, Year of the Ox
It’s an OXCELLENT time for another Clever Competition!
January 26, 2021 at 12:28 am | Posted in Clever Competitions | Leave a commentTags: Primary School writing competition, The Tale of Oswald Ox, Writing Competitions for Kids, Year of the Ox

Hooray! It’s almost the Year of the Ox!
And to celebrate that wise and sensible animal, it’s time we had another Clever Competition!
The Oxcellent Ox Tale Competition is an international story writing competition open to any student of primary school age living anywhere in the world! Go to my Clever Competition page right away to find out all about it! The deadline is in 8 weeks’ time, on the 28th March, so you’ve got lots of time to enter :).
I can’t wait to read your entry!
As the Rat prepares to leave town, the Ox gets ready to move in!
January 24, 2021 at 9:34 pm | Posted in Chinese New Year | Leave a commentTags: Books about China for kids, Books about Chinese Zodiac, The Chinese Calendar Tales, The Tale of Oswald Ox, The Tale of Ping Pong Pig, The Tale of Run Run Rat


At last it’s 2021, and as the Year of the Rat draws to a close in 19 days’ time, a new Zodiac beastie is coming to town! Yes, it’s Oswald Ox, carrying hundreds of great ideas for the New Year on his back! As well, of course, as his very best friend Eleanor the Cattle Egret, who loves to keep her big buddy free of annoying flies and mosquitoes, whilst at the same time keeping herself fit and healthy by eating them for dinner! Just drag the arrows above to watch what happens when Run Run Rat follows Ping Pong Pig out of the picture, and Oswald Ox moves in!

Now we all know that oxen are wise and patient animals, quietly watching as the other animals on the farm scurry hither and thither, and so often overlooked. That is, until something goes wrong – and then the good old ox moves in to solve the problem. Let’s just say that in 2021, we’ll be in better hands than last year!
And if you haven’t read The Tale of Oswald Ox, and don’t know yet how he solved a great mystery on a little Chinese farm, you can get your very own copy here!
A hugely happy day at AISHK!
February 22, 2018 at 12:26 pm | Posted in AISHK, Hong Kong Schools | Leave a commentTags: Books about China for kids, Books about Chinese Zodiac, The Chinese Calendar Tales, The Tale of Desmond Dog, The Tale of Oswald Ox, The Year of the Dog
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Desmond Dog and I had the BEST day yesterday at my old friends, Australian International School Hong Kong, when I warmly and expertly hosted by primary librarian Nicole Atkins (above)! All the classes from Prep right up to Grade 6 met my dashing dog in four fun story reading sessions – not to mention also meeting that extraordinary pirate queen Ching Shih and her Red Flags! It’s been 9 years since I first read The Tale of Oswald Ox to the AISHK kids, and I’ve visited them almost every year since with each new Chinese Calendar Tale! It’s wonderful to think that my series has grown up with this lovely school and its teachers and students and gives me many fond memories. More photos to come, but in the meantime just look at the number of books in the photo below that Harry Harrison and I and our terrific team have created over the last 12 years!
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Brrr!!!! I’m in Beijing for a fun fortnight!
January 21, 2018 at 7:19 pm | Posted in Beijing Schools, School visits, Story Readings | Leave a commentTags: Keystone Academy Beijing, The Chinese Calendar Tales, The Tale of Oswald Ox, Wycombe Abbey International School Changzhou

And just like Oswald in The Tale of Oswald Ox, in this fabulous illustration by Harry Harrison above, my mind is on the weather! I’m told it will be -4C tomorrow at NOON! But I must admit that it’s great to have an excuse to pull out my thick winter coat for once!
Tonight I’m staying at Keystone Academy, a beautiful school just near Beijing Capital International Airport, where for the next two days I’ll be meeting the primary school kids and teachers in some fantastic sessions all about the inspiration for my Chinese Calendar Tales, and how the books are planned and written. I’m hugely looking forward to it! Keep visiting my blog for all the news as I visit more fabulous Beijing schools, and the wonderful Wycombe Abbey International School in Changzhou later this week!
In the meantime, this will be me tonight – huddled up under an VERY thick duvet!

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