Trevor Lai, the acclaimed author and creator of the character “Boomi”, was a very special visitor during the recent Book Month at the YCIS Hongqiao Campus.

Book Month, which was held throughout March to encourage and promote a love of books and reading, included a variety of fun activities to celebrate the importance and joy of reading. The events throughout the month included a Book Fair to benefit a charity organisation called the “Library Project”, where students could donate books to be sold for charity, as well as "buddy reading" days, a Chinese storytelling competition, and the annual, exciting book-themed costume parade! One recent highlight was a visit by author Trevor Lai, the CEO of UPStudios and creator of “Super Boomi”. Lai lead workshops for Year 6 students in creative writing and drawing, showing the students how fun it can be to use imagination to create stories. During the workshops, the students had the opportunity to hear Lai’s inspirational story of his success as a children’s book writer and animator.

Lai also presented to other Year levels, where he engaged larger audiences with fun demonstrations, such as his ability to draw a T-Rex in under two minutes. Lai presented some of his books, and photos of his accomplishments from being featured in Disney Magazine, to erecting giant Boomi sculptures in cities around the world, elicited excited “oohs and ahs” from the students. Everyone had a fantastic time during his visit, and Lai had shared his thoughts about YCIS students as being unique amongst those in international schools, saying “The students here are fantastic because they are respectful, engaged, and enthusiastic. They ask questions that are truly out of curiosity and wonder because they want to explore what a career in writing and creating is like, as this might be something they could think about for themselves in the future”.

YCIS students are frequently visited by renown artists, scholars, writers, scientists with a focus on providing inspiration and glimpse into what their future lives might look like through hard work and dedication. Initiatives like Book Month are a great way for Primary students to develop a love for reading and independent knowledge acquisition, which are important aspects of the YCIS primary curricula. To learn more about the YCIS Primary programme, please click here.