Students in Year 8 have been reading the Young Samurai: Way of the Warrior as part of their Bushido Heroes unit. This book, written by Chris Bradford, dives into Japanese culture and etiquette as the main protagonist Jack, a white European, who becomes a strong, loyal samurai warrior. As the book came to an end, a virtual author visit with Chris Bradford was arranged. During the author visit, the plot of the Young Samurai was viewed from a different perspective. Videos and images were prepared by the author, and he showed us trailers and advertisements to his other books, lots of other pictures and illustrations, major Japanese artefacts, weapons, and architecture. Chris Bradford was very engaging throughout the author visit and very interactive with all students. A small quiz took place at the beginning where everyone listened to a chapter of the Young Samurai book and then answered a group of questions. When the topic shifted into martial arts, Chris Bradford got all students to stand up and taught them some moves. At one point, Year 8 was able to see a real samurai sword, called a katana, that the author used and trained with himself. As the virtual visit came to an end, everyone was able to ask any questions or ask for any writing advice. Marist Regional College is grateful for Chris Bradford’s visit and hopefully future Year 8’s get to experience this too. 

BY FATMA AHMED, Year 8 Student 

Dear Chris Bradford, 

Thank you very much for virtually visiting us and taking your time to talk to us, especially since it was midnight there. All Year 8s had lots of fun learning about the background of the book that we read in class. Personally, my favourite part was you showing us the sword and bokken as it helped my picture of the story, and I also enjoyed the interaction and quizzes that were involved. It made it even more fun. All of Year 8 loved reading your book in class and from what I’ve heard, lots of people want to carry on reading the rest of the series. You are a very good author and thank you again for your time and your awesome book. Thanks. 

BY SOPHIE ETTLIN, Year 8 Student 

Thank you so much for coming, especially since it is 12:00-1:00am over there. I think it’s really cool that you know so much about Japan. Keep working on your Japanese and writing books as you gain inspiration. I think it’s so amazing that you have a real-life bokken and katana. I’m surprised you have been learning and doing martial arts for so long. Some people forget that it is a form of art and I think the symbols on the sword are art in themselves. I wish you could have stayed longer so we could ask you more detailed questions. I would like to know what was your favourite chapter to write and why? I think your stories are very authentic, unique, and inspiring. 

BY TAE JOVER, Year 8 Student 

Our hour with Chris Bradford was spent learning more about the book we had been reading in Global Connections, Young Samurai: Way of the Warrior, finding out how Chris spent his time preparing for the book in Japan, his life journey, and more information on other books Chris had written. Us students got to ask questions to Chris like “What inspired you to write this book?”, and “What are your favourite books you’ve written?” Furthermore, us students were also privileged to learn samurai poses, and interact through our classes from the UK! Us Year 8’s are very grateful for this experience and would like to thank Mrs Woodberry, Mrs Winchcombe, and all of the other teachers, and especially Chris Bradford. 

BY IMOGEN SPENCER-LING, Year 8 Student 

This term, Year 8 has been studying the history of Japan, more specifically the age of the samurai. A large part of our Global Connections curriculum this term consisted of us reading the famous fictional book, Young Samurai: Way of the Warrior. This book gave us an insight on what the life of a samurai was like. The author of this book, Chris Bradford, enhanced our learning by paying Year 8 a virtual visit to discuss his book. He talked about his inspiration for the book, as well as his research into the topic. Being an experienced martial artist as well, Chris showed us his authentic samurai sword, or katana, as well as clips and videos of kids performing Japanese martial arts to show us his source material for the fights that take place in the book. He also quizzed us on our knowledge of ninja and samurai. At the end of this visit, we also got the opportunity to ask him questions about himself and his books. It was an amazing chance to interact with such an accomplished author, and his extensive knowledge on the subject of samurai and martial arts was fascinating. All of us in Year 8 were very thankful for his visit and hope he will be able to visit the Year 8’s next year as well. 

BY SANULI KARUNARATNE, Year 8 Student