Description
Desmond Dog is noble, honest and brave… but he’d also make an excellent pirate! Will the hero of the fishing village of Hong Kong be lured into a life of crime by infamous pirate queen Ching Shih? Find out in this exciting tale of trickery, temptation… and treasure!
“Definitely a book for the family treasure trove. Sarah’s delightful rhyme tells a captivating story of how a faithful dog saves Hong Kong from the evil pirate queen Ching Shih, and Harry’s images are jam-packed as usual with interesting visual nuggets to capture kids’ attention!” – Susan Ramsay, Editor, Young Post
“Brave, honest and loyal – that’s Desmond Dog. But can he say “No” to the beautiful but greedy pirate Ching Shih and her ruthless Red Flags, as they pillage and plunder their way across the South China Sea? Sarah Brennan and Harry Harrison are back with one more Chinese Calendar Tale, and this time they’re in Hong Kong!” – John Carroll, Professor of History, University of Hong Kong
About the author
Sarah Brennan was born in Hobart, in the beautiful Australian island state of Tasmania. Her family kept a menagerie of animals including peacocks, guinea fowl, pheasants, ducks and goats, and there was even a wild platypus in the creek at the bottom of the garden! She began writing poems and stories as a child, and hasn’t really stopped since! Coming to Hong Kong in 1998 gave her the impetus to follow her childhood dreams, and in 2004 her first children’s book, A Dirty Story, was published, followed by An Even Dirtier Story the following year.
But, visiting Hong Kong schools, with children drawn largely from Chinese or Asian backgrounds, Sarah became increasingly keen to write for them about their culture and history… and in 2007, the Chinese Calendar Tales were born. With great storylines packed with interesting vocabulary and history, and fact boxes inside the cover of every book, Sarah is delighted to see her books used as teaching tools in primary schools throughout China, Southeast Asia and Australia.
Sarah is also an ardent promoter of children’s literacy, running regular international writing competitions on her blog for primary school children, which attract entries from around the world including the US, the UK, China, Singapore, India, Hong Kong and Australia. She is also an enthusiastic Writer Ambassador for Room to Read, an international charity promoting literacy and girls’ education in Third World countries, and speaks regularly to parents, teachers, librarians and their associations about the fundamental importance of reading print books in the digital age.
Visit Sarah’s funny and fabulous blog at www.sarahbrennanblog.com!
