Pages & Musings

After reading 'Seah Eu Chin: The King of Gambier and Pepper', I decided to borrow another book from the series, "Our Amazing Pioneers".  Naraina Pillai: Builder of the Sri Mariamman Temple (Our Amazing Pioneers series) 2023 Published by: WS Education  Written by: Shawn Seah, Illustrated by: Patrick Yee I vividly remember learning about Naraina Pillai as the builder of Sri Mariamman Temple. But that was all that I knew about him. Surely, he wouldn't have been such an important historical figure for merely building a temple? And this question propelled me to read Naraina Pillai's story out of all other books that were available in the series (just a personal preference).  After reading the first few pages of the book, a distinct feature that I noticed from the series is that it introduces the background story of where the protagonist lived before coming to Singapore. It aids readers to have a better understanding of the protagonist's actions and motivations....

This week, I checked off 'Seah Eu Chin: The King of Gambier and Pepper' from my bucket list of Singaporean children's non-fiction books to read.  Seah Eu Chin: The King of Gambier and Pepper (Our Amazing Pioneers Series) 2023 Published by: WS Education Written by: Shawn Seah, Illustrated by: Patrick Yee This is one of the ten books featured in the 'Our Amazing Pioneers' series, written by Shawn Seah and illustrated by Patrick Yee. Each of the books narrates the story of one of Singapore's prominent ancestral figures in a hope to inspire future generations to make significant contributions to the betterment of Singapore. Before embarking on the read, I noticed the book cover mentioned that readers could learn from the good values embodied by protagonists of these stories. I had delved into the book expecting a vague historical recount of  the challenges that Seah Eu Chin overcame to become a merchant. Was this going to be merely another "childsplained" ...

After enjoying the books 'A Boy Named Harry' and 'Harry Grows Up', of course I was going to read the final edition to the Harry Lee Book series, 'Harry Builds a Nation: The Legacy of Lee Kuan Yew'.  Harry Builds a Nation: The Legacy of Lee Kuan Yew (Harry Lee Book 3) 2015 Published by: Epigram Books / Singapore Written by: Sheri Tan, Illustrated by: Patrick Yee While the first two books centered on Harry's character growth, this book specifically served as an ode to his invaluable contributions to Singapore throughout his life.  Mr Lee once told journalists, "I have spent my life, so much of it, building up this country. There's nothing more that I need to do. "At the end of the day, what have I got?  "A successful Singapore.  "What have I given up? "My life." I was amazed at how a man could be so passionate and patriotic about a country that he dedicated his entire life to developing it. It is no wonder the whole of Singapo...

I had previously read a book called "A Boy Named Harry: The Childhood of Lee Kuan Yew", illustrated by Patrick Yee. The link for my book review can be found here . Having been impressed with the first book of the Harry Lee Book series, I decided to give the second book a read.  Harry Grows Up: The Early Years of Lee Kuan Yew (Harry Lee Book 2) 2015 Published by: Epigram Books / Singapore Written by: Sheri Tan, Illustrated by: Patrick Yee Based on the title, I could guess that the book would explore the life events that shaped Harry's values and beliefs which would later propel him towards creating Singapore's People's Action Party. The one question that lingered in my mind was: How could anyone narrate the motivations behind Lee Kuan Yew's political ideologies in a manner that would engage children?  Surely, that must be difficult? But the author of this book had achieved this feat with great finesse.  While I enjoyed every page of the book, My favourite part ...

One of my colleagues is a famous Singaporean author known for his non-fictional books written for children. He has written real-life stories of important individuals who have shaped Singapore's developmental pathways, in a simple manner that could be understood by children. The intention to raise awareness and appreciation for Singapore's pioneers within the future generations intrigued me. My colleague had said, "If we don't tell our stories to our kids, then who would?" and that inspired me to begin exploring books that aimed to immortalise our pioneers through the narration of their stories.  And that is when I came across a book series called 'Harry Lee', written by Patrick Yee. The first book of the series, "A boy named Harry: The Childhood of Lee Kuan Yew", as its name suggests, delves into the childhood story of Mr Lee Kuan Yew. He was an integral part of Singapore's growth and sovereignty.  A Boy Named Harry: The Childhood of Lee Kuan...