Tyrannosaurs!

I feed my kids to a hungry tyrannosaur

ROAR!

Great news! I’m writing the text panels for an exhibition on TYRANNOSAURS with the Australian Museum. I never knew there were so many species of tyrannosaur! T. rex had cousins, and lots of them.

Things I’ve learned so far:

- Dinosaurs like T. rex may not have had vocal chords. Which means they probably went raging through the jungle, roaring whimpering gnashing their teeth.

- Dinosaurs aren’t actually extinct! The hot theory is that avian dinosaurs (A.K.A birds) survived the mass extinction and evolved in to chickens and emus.

- And while we’re on the subject of birds, dinosaurs probably had feathers. Cute, fluffy, fuzzy feathers. Even the blood-crazed meat-eating giants. How adorable!

Seriously, dinosaurs have a lot of secrets for dudes who’ve been dead for hundreds of millions of years.

The exhibition opens late 2013 and it’s going to be AWESOME.
Think up-close-and-personal Walking with Dinosaurs. Think OMG I hope I don’t wet my pants.
It’s going to be scary (and fascinating)(and seriously interactive).

See you there!

 

Writing workshop with Bukit View Primary School, Singapore

Hello Bukit View Primary!

Thanks so much for making me feel so welcome, and for all your terrific stories. I had such a lovely day and really enjoyed meeting you all. And I *love* your theatre arts room! Yee ha!

Keep up the great writing and I hope to see one of your theatre productions one day soon!

With loads of thanks to the lovely folks at the Singapore National Arts Council for organising such a terrific program (and for springing a TV camera on us with at the last minute…nothing like a heart attack to encourage spooky writing xx)

xx

Things that go bump in the night…Words Go Round at UWCSEA, Singapore

Hello everyone from UWCSEA!

Are you cleaning your bathrooms? Are you taking care of your umbrella? Are you reading late at night, all alone under the covers, listening to your house creak and leaves rustle and creatures move…?

Are you writing some spooky stories to scare your friends (and me!)?

Thanks for a great day at your ENORMOUS school…I nearly got lost in the swimming pool!

Happy writing!

xx

“Writing with artefacts” workshop at CHIJ Kellock, Singapore

Hello to all the creative writers at CHIJ Kellock! Thanks so much for having me at your school, and for sharing your funny, imaginative and spooky stories (and I loved reading your poems out the front of the school too!).

Keep up the great writing!

xx

And more from the Singapore Writers Festival: Words Go Round!

Hi to the kids from Chatsworth East International School! Thanks for a great couple of days!!

One of the best things about being a children’s author is inspiring other children to write down their incredibly cool ideas. Each workshop, I’m always amazed by how many different ideas can come from the same few objects. And so many terrific stories…
Keep writing you guys! Write diaries, write poems, write me emails…and one day, I’ll be reading your books

Thanks to the National Arts Council of Singapore for creating such incredible opportunities for children and writers alike!
xx

Headshots from the Singapore Writers Festival

Hooray for the Singapore Writers Festival! I had *heaps* of fun and loved scaring people with the disembodied head, especially in food halls and escalators. Such fun!

Thanks to Vanessa for taking great care of me the entire week (and introducing me to matcha latte bubble tea), to Kiru for making me laugh (and letting me use her jokes), to Sarah for giving me a heart attack with the TV crew (but seriously, I loved it: nice work sister!), and to Paul, Amanda and the rest of the National Arts Council team for organising such a great festival. THANK YOU!!

Book Week with Chatsworth East International School!

Hi everyone from Chatsworth East International School! Hope you had a great book week! I sure did

It was great to read all your stories and hear your ideas…Keep up the great writing!!

xx