Tag: #beyourself

The Nature & Climate Festival 2023

by Serena Hassan

I am very excited to have an event at https://residents-association.com/natureclimate

I am on a mission to engage children everywhere to apply their creative imagination towards the environment. I want to inspire children to see how their immediate actions can impact the planet for better or worse. After all our children are the makers of tomorrow and I would like to excite them to become eco-warriors in their own little ways!

It is an inspirational story about pursuing one’s passion and fulfilling one’s dreams; together with the important message of the impact of human littering on our local wildlife and environment.

Come and join me for my event, it is free!

10th September 2023 at midday in Dittons Library, Mercer Cl, Thames Ditton KT7 0BS

The children will become the actors and narrators of https://www.amazon.com/Tap-Dancing-Pigeon-Covent-Garden/dp/1912892197 and create their very own flying pigeon out of recyclable household rubbish.

I hope you can make it! See you there!

Serena & Pigeon 🐦👌😏

PS: Click on the link if it doesn’t appear!

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15th July 2023 – Esher Library – Author Event

by Serena Hassan

To celebrate the Summer Reading Challenge, The Tap-dancing Pigeon of Covent Garden and I were invited to Esher Library for our interactive storytelling, eco craft, and ventriloquism event!

What a wonderful event and I sold some books too! Such lovely enthusiastic children and smiley adults, just what an author needs to feel love!

Here is a photo of my event 👇

Esher Church School – Virtual interactive storytelling

by Serena Hassan

I am delighted to share with you my first ‘virtual’ storytelling which I delivered to 60, 4-year-olds at Esher Church School on 10th March 2021 to celebrate World Books.

Here is a video of my experiences ⬇️

 

Selected as a finalist

by Serena Hassan

in ‘The Wishing Shelf Book Awards 2020’.

Books entered in The Wishing Shelf Book Award are judged by REAL readers: over 150 adult readers

and over 200 children readers. 

 

Wordicle – Authors Leak

by Serena Hassan

I was invited to write an article called an ‘Authors Leak’ by a cool website called ‘The Wordicle’.

This was to discuss the back story behind my children’s book ‘The Tap-Dancing Pigeon Of Covent Garden’.

I found this really exciting to write.

Click on the link below to have a read:

https://www.thewordicle.com/serena-hassan-tap-dancing-pigeon/

 

 

3rd! Readers’ Choice Award winner – AllAuthor, August cover of the month

by Serena Hassan

I am excited to announce that my front cover came 3rd in the AllAuthor, August cover of the month. After a lot of determination and perseverance I dedicated my free time in between motherhood, school holidays and lockdown, to encouraging people to vote, once a week for four weeks for  ‘The Tap-Dancing Pigeon Of Covent Garden’.

My aim for this year was to gain an award before 5th September 2020, which will be a year since publication. I am thrilled to have been given this award. My illustrator Jon Davis has created amazing illustrations to compliment my book and I feel very lucky and proud to call him my illustrator.

 

PIGEON’S COMPETITION

by Serena Hassan

Dear readers,

The Tap-Dancing Pigeon Of Covent Garden and I have designed a lovely competition for your little ones. Every age is welcome and we look forward to receiving your wonderful creations!

See below for details:

 

10th March 2020 – Soho Q & A

by Serena Hassan

Hello readers,

I was asked some wonderful question’s by the children of Soho Primary. I also think it is nice to ask the children questions as well.  Some of my favourite questions to ask are:

What are their greatest passions?

What would they like to be when they grow up?

I asked whether any of them had visited Covent Garden and one little girl put her hand up and said “I live in Covent Garden”. Now that was a cool answer. I responded with “Then you must have seen Pigeon tap-dancing next to the opera singer. It was such a sweet moment honestly.

Here are the animations, hope you like them.

10th March 2020 – author visit

by Serena Hassan

Hello readers,

I hope you are having a wonderful week.

Pigeon and I jumped on a train and headed to Waterloo. This time I did not miss my stop. The train kept stopping for minutes (which felt like hours) at a time but luckily I thought that might happen, so I raced to get the 8am train.

Soho Primary is situated close to Piccadilly Circus. What a cool place to go to school. It was their World Book Day. The entire hall was packed with kneeling little people looking up at me. Another technical hitch, I had left my usb stick at Eaton Square. aaaah!

The children who greeted me were so grown up for 11 year olds I was amazed. So polite and helpful.

I think my favourite part of this interactive storytelling was when the children said the last two sounds in perfect unison. I won’t spoil it by telling you what those sounds were. You will have to book me to come to your school!

Thanks for reading!

9th March 2020 – author visit

by Serena Hassan

Hello everyone,

Today Pigeon and I drove to Tolworth in Surrey and visited a sweet school called Kings Oak Primary.

I love big halls and this one was huge. Year 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 were in the school assembly. When I gave my memory stick to the I.T person with my pigeon presentation saved and suddenly said the folder was empty. A typical technical hitch. Luckily I had reception in there and managed to quickly email it to him. JUST IN TIME! Phew!

Wow, I was blown a way by these little people. Their enthusiasm was beyond anything I had every imagined. I explained that they were going to be part of Pigeon’s adventure across London and every one of them seemed excited. Ten eager ones came up to the stage and helped me by holding up the sound boards, a very important job.

When I was at school I adored acting and art. It is wonderful how those strengths are now shining through my animation designs and story. When I first started reading my book in a library five months ago, I was completely petrified and my hands would uncontrollably shake. Now I relish big crowds of children watching my every move and listening intently.

This has been a big journey of self discovery for me and I am learning every day at how to become better at my performance. In the beginning I would never have thought I would use drama to express my story. It is a wonderful thing to be able to improvise and with every experience, find new ways to be a storyteller.