A memorable visit to QSI Zhuhai!
September 29, 2018 at 11:00 am | Posted in QSI Zhuhai, Story Readings, workshops, Zhuhai schools | Leave a commentTags: Chinese history, Chinese Zodiac, How to Become a Great Writer, How to Create Bookworms in the Digital Age, How to Publish a Picture Book, Introduction to Poetry Workshop, Nailing the Narrative Curve, The Chinese Calendar Tales, The Tale of Desmond Dog, The Tale of Pin Yin Panda
Thank you so much to fabulous primary school teacher Heather Domenico, for hosting me for two very busy days at QSI in Zhuhai on Wednesday and Thursday this last week! We had sessions for absolutely everyone from ages 2 to 18, as well as an after-school talk to the mums and dads!
The littlest ones met my crew of stuffed toys in a funny re-enactment of Lord Buddha’s Race – and proved they were extremely good at counting up to 12!
The 5 to 6 year olds proved they were old hands at the Chinese Zodiac when I read them The Tale of Pin Yin Panda while the 7 to 8 year olds became fearsome pirates as they heard The Tale of Desmond Dog!
The 9 to 11 year olds learned all about How to Publish A Picture Book from Brilliant Idea to Final Product and even got a sneek peak at my final Chinese Calendar Tale for the Year of the Pig, which is currently in production!
After school on Wednesday, I talked to a lovely group of parents about How to Create Bookworms in the Digital Age. Here are just a few of them, with their kids!
And finally, the 12 to 18 year olds and I spent almost the whole of Thursday together, in three different workshops: How to Become a Good Writer, An Introduction to Poetry and, finally, Nailing the Narrative Curve, where we had tremendous fun writing a story plan for the tragic story of three teenagers caught in a love triangle…in a paradise entered through a school locker portal!
And in between I met some fabulous kids, parents and teachers when I signed the books they bought from my wonderful distributor, Aaron Tearne at Obido Educational Services! If anyone missed out on buying a book, you can still do so, with some great discounts for multiple purchases here!
More photos to come!
A fun morning at FSSA in Yau Tong!
April 18, 2018 at 2:14 pm | Posted in Fukien Secondary School Affiliated, Hong Kong Schools, Story Readings, Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: Stories about Chinese Zodiac characters, Stories about dogs, Stories about pandas, The Chinese Calendar Tales, The Tale of Desmond Dog, The Tale of Pin Yin Panda
Many thanks to Head of English and Deputy Principal Nicolas Delbos (with me above right) and Sunny Ding (above left) for hosting me yesterday at Fukien Secondary School Affiliated Primary School for a morning of fun story readings with all the kids from Primary One to Primary Six! The P1 to P3 kids met my vain but loveable Pin Yin Panda as we explored the Legend of Lord Buddha’s Race and how all the animals got into the Chinese Zodiac in The Tale of Pin Yin Panda, while the P4 to P6s pretended to be fabulously fearsome pirates as I read them this year’s Chinese Calendar Tale, The Tale of Desmond Dog! We had a lot of fun!
A touching gift from an old(ish) fan!
February 11, 2018 at 5:56 pm | Posted in Book launches, Canadian International School Hong Kong, Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: Books about Chinese Zodiac, Books about pandas, Books2Eat contest, The Chinese Calendar Tales, The Tale of Pin Yin Panda
I was so very touched yesterday when the Fox family attended my launch yesterday, and Jess, who is now a very glam teenager (pictured above right some 6 years ago and below left) presented me with the lovely thank you note on the left! Jess and her sisters Liliana and Emerson had made a Pin Yin Panda cake from The Tale of Pin Yin Panda for the Books2Eat contest at Canadian International School way back in 2012, and their mum sent me their cute photo. All three (plus mum) were out in force to support the launch yesterday – the sisters are here below! We all teared up when Jess gave me her gorgeous note! Thanks Jess! Fans like you make my life very happy!
Some scrumptious ISB kids!
February 1, 2018 at 9:50 am | Posted in Beijing Schools, International School of Beijing, Week in Residence | Leave a commentTags: Stories about Chinese Zodiac characters, The Chinese Calendar Tales, The Tale of Pin Yin Panda
My week with ISB has been continuing apace, with such a lot of fun with so many scrumptious kiddies! Here I am with the gorgeous Grade 1s and my lovely ES librarian friend Rebecca Talyor (to my left) and Grade 1SD teacher Stephanie Dracz!
I begin my Week in Residence at ISB!
January 29, 2018 at 8:17 pm | Posted in Beijing Schools, International School of Beijing, Week in Residence | Leave a commentTags: Books about China for kids, Stories about Chinese Zodiac characters, The Tale of Chester Choi, The Tale of Desmond Dog, The Tale of Pin Yin Panda, The Year of the Dog
Today was the first day of a whole week of fabulous fun at the wonderful International School of Beijing, with the kids of Pre-Kinder 3 right up to the big kids of Grade 2! Today my Chinese dragon Chester Choi and I met some delicious four year olds in PreK4, then two Grade 1 classes learned all about the Chinese Zodiac when they met Pin Yin Panda, and the Kinders acted out my new story The Tale of Desmond Dog, with lots of “Woofs!” from the dogs, “Aha me hearties!” from the wicked pirates and “EEEKs!” from the scared villagers of Hong Kong! It was SO much fun! Then some gorgeous 3 year olds in PreK3 met all my stuffed toys! Here are my toys, sitting in a Chinese Zodiac row (except the Big Cat and the Panda, who didn’t make it into the Zodiac, and Desmond being Top Dog on my dragon, because it’s HIS year in 2018!
Huge thanks to my lovely host Bec Taylor, librarian for Lower Primary, here with my friend Paul Wong, who is librarian for Upper Primary!
Thank you Kowloon Junior School!
October 30, 2017 at 6:28 pm | Posted in Hong Kong Schools, Kowloon Junior School, Story Readings | Leave a commentTags: Chinese history, Chinese Zodiac, Storm Whale, The Tale of Chester Choi, The Tale of Pin Yin Panda, The Tale of Rickshaw Rooster
Today I had the great pleasure of visiting my old friends at Kowloon Junior School! My lovely host was librarian Carrie Davison, above, who organised a fun-filled day of story readings! I saw four big year groups: the Grade Ones met my hungry dragon in The Tale of Chester Choi; the Grade Twos heard all about the Legend of Lord Buddha’s Race – and why pandas aren’t in the Chinese Zodiac, in The Tale of Pin Yin Panda; the Grade Threes heard my lyrical story Storm Whale and fell in love with Jane Tanner’s gorgeous illustrations of the grand old whale, and the Grade Fours got a fabulous history lesson all about the end of imperialism in China … as well as a fun story reading of The Tale of Rickshaw Rooster and a talk about the symbolism in the Chinese Zodiac! Phew! It was a busy day, but a fun one! More photos to come soon!
A marvellous morning at St Mary’s College
May 26, 2017 at 6:35 pm | Posted in Australian schools, children's literacy, Hobart, St Mary's College, Story Readings | Leave a commentTags: Chinese Calendar Tales, Chinese culture, The Tale of Chester Choi, The Tale of Pin Yin Panda
What a fun morning I had today at St Mary’s College here in Hobart, introducing my Chinese Calendar Tales! My lonely dragon Chester Choi and I met all the lovely girls and boys of Prep to Year 1, and vain but loveable Pin Yin Panda and I met all the kids in Years 2 and 3! It was a joy to work with such a lovely lot of kids and their dedicated teachers. Warm thanks to lovely Deputy Director of Junior School, Glynis Devereux, who was my host for the day, and to librarian Marylouise Jones, who invited me! I hope to see you all again soon!
A funny and fabulous day at Kingston International School!
May 22, 2017 at 6:09 pm | Posted in Being an Author, Books about Chinese Zodiac, Hong Kong Schools, Kingston International School Hong Kong, Story Readings | Leave a commentTags: The Chinese Calendar Tales, The Tale of Chester Choi, The Tale of Pin Yin Panda, The Tale of Rickshaw Rooster
I’ve just had the BEST day at one of my favourite Hong Kong schools, Kingston International School, today! I met ALL the kids in primary school, as well as their lovely teachers, in some fun, very educational story readings from my Chinese Calendar Tales! The littlest kids in P1 met my hungry dragon with a lonely heart, Chester Choi, and learned all about dragons in Chinese mythology. The P2s met my vain but loveable panda, Pin Yin Panda, and found out how all the animals got into the Chinese Zodiac. And the P3s, P4s, P5s and P6s met my proud, cocky but promise-keeping rooster in this years Tale of Rickshaw Rooster, and learned some fascinating facts about the end of the Chinese Empire and the rise of the ordinary man in China! Huge thanks to my lovely hosts, Jennifer Shaw from Upper Primary above left, and Melissa Preisig from Lower Primary, above right! More fabulous photos to come!
A fabulous photo shoot!
April 15, 2017 at 6:17 pm | Posted in Being an Author, Photoshoots, Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: Chinese Calendar Tales, Green Minibus 22;, The Tale of Pin Yin Panda
Huge thanks to Hong Kong photographer Ellen Claire Taylor for a fun photoshoot on Wednesday this week at my home in Tai Po, in beautiful Tai Po Kau Park, and at the Pok Fu Lam Gardens terminus of Green Minibus 22 on Hong Kong Island! Here I am above left at home with my beautiful new book Storm Whale, launching in Melbourne on 1st June; at my favourite local park in Tai Po Kau (above right) and catching up with the Chinese Calendar Tales characters on Green Minibus 22 at the Pok Fu Lam Gardens terminus in the rain! Pandora, my toy panda, loved it!
A Happy Hangzhou Visit!
March 21, 2017 at 4:51 pm | Posted in Hangzhou Schools, HIS Hangzhou, School visits | Leave a commentTags: children's literacy, Chinese Calendar Tales, Parent workshops, The Tale of Chester Choi, The Tale of Pin Yin Panda, The Tale of Rickshaw Rooster
A big HELLO to all my new friends at Hangzhou International School! I had such a fantastic time there on Friday, with the wonderful Paul Wong, librarian and host-with-the-most who organised my transport and my day with great precision! I worked with all the primary years, with the Kindies and Pre-Ks meeting my hungry dragon Chester Choi, the Grade 1s and 2s meeting Pin Yin Panda, and the Grade 3s, 4s and 5s meeting my noisy Rickshaw Rooster, in three funny and fabulous story readings! Then it was time to meet the lovely parents of HIS, with my Creating Literate, Literary Kids in the Digital Age presentation – leaving them with a summary of recommended reading! It was great to meet you all, as well as Primary Principal Russell O’Neill. I feel I’ve made some firm new friends in Hangzhou :).
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