Ahoy there! Just 31 days left to enter your Dashing Dog Story in my Clever Competition!
February 20, 2018 at 2:38 pm | Posted in Clever Competitions, Writing competitions for kids | Leave a commentTags: Ching Shih, Clever Competitions, Harry Harrison, The Dashing Dog Story Writing Competition, The Tale of Desmond Dog, The Year of the Dog, Writing Competitions for Kids
Ching Shih would like to remind you all that you have only 31 days left until the deadline of the Dashing Dog Story Competition! She would also like to remind you that failure to enter might just result in your being tied in knots and hoisted overboard!!!!
So heave ho me hearties, and send those stories in! It’s very chilly at the bottom of the South China Sea! All the details you need are here!
Small is Beautiful at BIBS in Beijing!
January 25, 2018 at 7:43 pm | Posted in Beanstalk International Bilingual School, Beijing Schools, Being an Author, Clever Competitions | Leave a commentTags: Books about China for kids, Chinese Calendar Tales, Ching Shih, The Dashing Dog Story Writing Competition, The Tale of Chester Choi, The Tale of Desmond Dog, Writing Competitions for Kids
What a happy day I had at Beanstalk International Bilingual School Shunyi Campus today! Although it was FREEZING outside, the welcome inside was warm and very friendly from everybody, from the gorgeous kids to their lovely parents to the dedicated staff! The Grade 1s met my hungry, lonely dragon in The Tale of Chester Choi; the Grade 2s screamed like spoiled princesses and roared like tigers very convincingly as I read them The Tale of Temujin; the Grade 3s and 4s learned about the world’s most successful pirate Ching Shih and about Hong Kong too when they heard The Tale of Desmond Dog, and the Grade 5s asked some fabulous questions after I told them all about my journey to becoming an author, why I wrote The Chinese Calendar Tales and that very important question – what is my writing process? I was delighted to find out that, like me, they were all firm fans of making story plans before they wrote their first draft of a story! So I’m really looking forward to some great entries from the BIBS Grade 5s in my current Dashing Dog Story Writing Competition (details on the Clever Competition page here).
Warm thanks to wonderful librarian Heather Wright (with me above) who expertly hosted me today, and thank you to the mums and dads and kids who bought over 100 books! I hope to see you all again soon!
Have patience, my writer friends…
May 14, 2017 at 2:34 pm | Posted in children's literacy, Rooster story, writing competitions | Leave a commentTags: Clever Competitions, Really Riveting Rooster Tale Story Competition, The Tale of Rickshaw Rooster, The Year of the Rooster, Writing Competitions for Kids
I’m almost there! I’ve been super busy judging the fabulous entries in my Really Riveting Rooster Tale Clever Competition over the last VERY busy fortnight and I’m just about finished! So hang in there – the results should be out in the next 24 hours – COCKADOODLE – DOOOOOOO!
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!
Hello Singapore – and thank you CIS Lakeside!
May 25, 2016 at 7:27 am | Posted in Chinese Calendar Tales, Chinese Zodiac, School visits, Singapore schools, workshops | Leave a commentTags: Canadian International School Lakeside, The Tale of a Dark Horse, The Tale of Ming Kee Monkey, Writing Competitions for Kids
It’s fabulous to be back in Singapore! Yesterday I had a wonderful day with the Grade 4s, 5s and 6s at beautiful big Canadian International School Lakeside, where I introduced the kids to my Chinese Calendar Tales, and especially to my mischievous Ming Kee Monkey and my dashing Dark Horse! We finished the day with the Grade 4s learning all about How to Write a Riveting Story! I look forward to all your entries in my next Clever Competition! Huge thanks to the lovely Lisa Miller, Head of Senior Library, for being such a kind and welcoming host!
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!
Exactly 1 month to go to enter the Mischievous Monkey Story Competition!
February 24, 2016 at 4:34 am | Posted in Monkey story, Uncategorized, Writing competitions for kids | Leave a commentTags: Chinese Calendar Tales, Chinese Zodiac, primary school, The Tale of Ming Kee Monkey, Writing Competitions for Kids
You’d better get cracking! There is just ONE MONTH to go to get your entry into my Mischievous Monkey Story writing competition! Click on the Clever Competitions button above for all the details!
A fabulous day at Kingston International School, Kowloon Tong!
February 16, 2016 at 4:40 pm | Posted in Chinese Calendar Tales, Hong Kong Schools, Uncategorized, writing competitions, Writing competitions for kids | Leave a commentTags: Hong Kong Schools, The Tale of Ming Kee Monkey, Writing Competitions for Kids, Writing workshops
Today I had the best day doing workshops with Upper Primary at Kingston International School in Kowloon Tong! The Grade 4s unscrambled limericks and identified haikus and completed the gaps in a horrifying poem called Let’s Destroy the School in my Introduction to Poetry Workshop! The Grade 5s and 6s learned all about How to Write a Riveting Story that will glue the reader’s nose to the page, and left with a fab Story Planning sheet to plan their next stories! And some of them even promised to use them to plan their entry into my current Clever Competition (see tab at the top of this page!). I can’t wait to read their entries! Huge thanks to the lovely Jennifer Shaw for hosting me today! Photos to come!
The Results are Out in my Hair-Raising Halloween Poem Competition!
November 27, 2015 at 4:43 pm | Posted in Writing competitions for kids | Leave a commentTags: Hair-Raising Poem Competition, Halloween, Poetry competition, Writing Competitions for Kids
Aaaaagh! Eeeeek! Brrrrr! ! That’s how I’ve been feeling while judging all the entries in my Hair-Raising Halloween Poem Competition! It’s been absolutely terrifying – and not just because of the large number of entries! There were a huge 127 entries this time, from 27 schools in Hong Kong, Singapore, Melbourne, Sydney, Western Australia, Seattle US, and the UK! There were even entries from whole classes! And the entries were all so gruesomely great, making my job even harder! But at last I’ve come to my decision and the top ten entries in each Category have just been posted on my Clever Competitions page – so click on the Clever Competitions link above for a hair-raising literary experience! Special congratulations to Madeline Painter, Grade 3, Stamford International School, Singapore (Winner of the Years One to Three Category) and Aria Fafat, Grade 5, Canadian International School Lakeside Campus, Singapore (Winner of the Years Four to Six Category), for their magnificent entries. They’ll each receive a free signed copy of one of my books!
Mwahaha! My Hair-Raising Halloween Poem Competition for Primary School Kids starts TODAY!
October 5, 2015 at 11:25 am | Posted in Writing competitions for kids | Leave a commentTags: Halloween, Poetry competition, primary school, Writing Competitions for Kids
Mwahaha! Halloween is coming fast, and all the fun of trick or treating, pumpkin lanterns, cobwebs, spiders, ghosts, witches, haunted houses, sweet treats and scary costumes for kids, and, of course, dental bills for Mum and Dad! It’s been five long years since our last Halloween writing competition – so I think it’s high time for another one! You can write any kind of poem, provided it’s about Halloween! I’ll be looking for fantastic vocabulary, original ideas, lots of detailed descriptions and that special CHILL FACTOR to make the hairs rise on the back of my neck! You’ve got just SIX WEEKS to get your entries in this time: the deadline date is Sunday 15th November 2015. Go to my Clever Competitions page above for all the rules and information!
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