Spinning tales of Singapore

P1 & P2 Social Studies Readers

2012-01-13T00:21:00.000+11:00

Last year I was happy to write 4 Social Studies Readers for use in Primary 1 and 2 classrooms. Classroom teaching is so different today compared to when I was in school. Children get to learn from big books with lively pictures and local content!

For Primary 1 students, I wrote two stories: Siti's New Home and Don't Cross the Line! These two books feature a sister and brother team who have fun but sometimes get into trouble with each other. The first story Siti's New Home was inspired by Queenstown -- the neighbourhood I grew up when I was a child.

For Primary 2 students, I wrote another two stories: New Girl in Town and We are Singapore. In the latter book, we meet a pair of twins -- Emma and Ethan. These characters were inspired by my own niece, Emma and nephew, Ethan. Like the character in We are Singapore, my niece Emma asks a lot of questions. Overall I enjoyed writing these stories and I hope students and teachers will enjoy reading them!

Book for kindergarteners: The best party ever!

2012-01-08T12:56:00.001+11:00

The best party ever! was the second book for kindergarteners I did for MOE. There were two main inspirations for this story. The first were my cats. I have two (now three!) cats at home and have always wanted to write a story inspired by them. My cats are not pedigreed, they are Singapore street cats who are intelligent, playful and so much a part of the Singapore landscape. The second inspiration was my niece who, at three years old, was very bossy. She was always playing "teacher" and telling others what to do. So I decided to write a story about a bossy cat and how others reacted to him. The kitten featured in the story is inspired by my calico cat, Diva. Here is a picture of her.

This book supports the learning disposition of appreciation that encourages children to respect everyone, value what others say and learn from all. This disposition is important in helping children get along with others and work well in teams.

For this book, I had the privilege to work with Mike Foo (MOOF) who is a talented illustrator. He managed to make the cats in the book look cute even though he is more of a "dog person". He has one of the most adorable dogs I have ever seen. Even better he has a fabulous picture bookstore, Woods in the books, which anyone interested in picture books must check out.

Book for kindergarteners: Shall I take a bite?

2012-01-08T12:26:00.002+11:00

In 2011, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to write two stories for kindergarteners for the Ministry of Education's (MOE) Preschool Branch. Shall I take a bite? was a story inspired by my own experience with durians. I dislike them although my whole family adores the fruit. I have tried it many, many times but somehow I just don't get it. This book is about a boy who has a similar attitude to durians, but has a different result.

This book is one of six commissioned to support MOE's learning dispositions for preschool children. It is based on the disposition of reflectiveness and encourages children to think back on their experiences, learn from them and do better the next time. Personally I feel this is an important disposition that will help children become effective lifelong learners.

I enjoyed working on the book with illustrator Drewscape. He was able to capture the spirit of the story and more. The illustrations are lively, colourful and imaginative...just what I wanted. To see more of Drewscape's illustrations, visit his website here.

Zaobao Article: Introducing children to the world of history

2012-01-07T16:05:00.001+11:00

This is an English translation of an article that appeared in Lianhe Zaobao on 26 April 2011. The original article follows.

Introducing children into the world of Singapore history

Although 40-year old Ho Lee-Ling is single and does not have children, her ambition is to become a children’s historian – to write books based on local history, people and events for them.

Lee-Ling discovered that most of the local history books are all written for adults; such books for children and few and far between. She hopes her books can inspire children to become interested in history. She also hopes that the children, when they know more about the people and events of the past, will learn to treasure what they have today.
Interestingly, Lee-Ling did not like history as a student. She majored in English and Political Science in University, and became a teacher when she graduated. Since Political Science was not taught as a subject, she had to teach History. To attract students’ attention during class, she had to re-tell historical events as history. The students were attracted, much to Lee-Ling’s relief. It was a great encouragement, and she began to fall in love with history.

Later Lee-Ling worked at the Singapore History Museum as a public educator introducing activities based on Singapore’s history for the little visitors. She later did her PhD in Sydney. After graduation, she chose to write children’s books to introduce children to the fascinating world of history.

Lee-Ling’s first book, Samsui Girl, was published 5 years ago. The second book, Wayang Girl, was published in 2009. A few months ago, she published Gasing Boy. All the books are in English. Many people said children are not interested in history. Lee-Ling begs to differ: “If you can teach histories through stories, and introduce it from the perspective of children’s lives, they will like it.”

So Samsui Girl and Wayang Girl started from Amber’s dreams. The first book tells the story of Amber wanting to be a Samsui Woman, through which the history and contribution of Samsui women are highlighted. Through Amber’s adventures in Wayang Girl, children are introduced to street opera and what it takes to be an opera performer.

As for Gasing Boy, it was inspired after Lee-Ling’s trip to Malacca a couple of years ago. She came upon a shop that sold gasings (spinning tops) and she could not resist buying a handful of them. The shop owner even spent an hour teaching her how to spin them, sowing the seeds of interest in Lee-Ling. Trawling through tomes and videos, Lee-Ling discovered the many ways of spinning gasings, which are far more interesting than the modern Bey Blades and computer games.

Gasing Boy tells the story of how a computer game addict became hooked on gasing. Lee-Ling hopes to use this book as a channel to introduce her readers to the traditional game and that they will learn to find joy in the latter.

As a female author, Lee-Ling says it was easier to write Samsui Girl and Wayang Girl, each taking her only a few months’ time. It was harder in the case of Wayang Boy, which tells the story from the perspective of a boy. She spent nearly a year on the book, a sign of her desire for authenticity.

Although she’s published three books, Lee-Ling admits it was not always easy. Public reception was not overwhelming. Some parents said the books were not interesting, and the local bookshops placed the books in obscure corners. In addition, the small print run meant that the price was relatively higher than other similar publications.

The lack of support somewhat dented Lee-Ling’s enthusiasm. “I had wanted to quit after publishing Samsui Girl and Wayang Girl. I would have given up if not for the support from school teachers and students.” Lee-Ling struggled with whether to pursue her ambition.
“What are you going to write next?” “Will you write a story on India?” “Will you write about Israel? “What about Bulgaria?” Lee Ling says what motivates her are these genuine expectations from her little readers.

Publishing her books was a valuable lesson to Lee-Ling. She loves to write but she hates publicity. After the book is published, her duty is over. Or so she thought. Later she realised that children’s books also needed publicity and marketing before sales take off. In the past she had only marketed her books at one or two schools. But in the past four months, she had already visited 10 schools and the support is getting stronger. Lee-Ling finds it heartening. She said she is not eschewing the idea of expanding her writing to include other areas in the region.

Q&A with students from Excelsior International School

2012-01-06T18:48:00.000+11:00

Last year, I visited Excelsior International School for an author talk and signing. Here are some of the questions they asked, and the answers:

Whydid you want to be an author?
Eversince I was a child I have always loved reading, writing and drawing. I used tomake up my own stories, write them down in a jotter book and draw pictures toaccompany them. They used to be about princesses and dragons. So I have alwayswritten stories. But it was only later as an adult that I decided to write andpublish these stories.

Howdoes a person become an author?
Ifyou want to be an author, you must love reading and writing. My suggestion is to start by keeping
anotebook or a diary and writing down things that happen in your life or thingsyou observe. Once
you get used to writing, trymaking up stories and writing them down. Sometimes you may have to
write astory a few times before you are satisfied.

When you are happy with yourstory, you may want to share it with a family member or friend and
find outwhat they think about the story. You may want to make changes to your storybased on what
your family member or friend says.

When you feel your stories aregood enough, the next step is to look for someone to publish your
stories andthen…you are an author!

Howdid you get the idea to write the stories?
Mostof my books are inspired by people, events or things in Singapore history. Ihave always felt
that there are not enough books for children on ourSingaporean way of life, and I wanted to write
books that will fill that gap. Ihope that my books will help children learn about our past and feel a
connection with the people who came before us.

Doyou plan your stories before you start writing them?
UsuallyI have an idea for a story and I think about it for a few weeks before I writeanything down. I usually have a plan, but as I write, the characters sometimeshave plans of their own. The story often ends differently than what I hadplanned it to be.

Where are your stories set?
Mystories are usually set in Singapore. Only GasingBoy is also set in Malacca, the historic city of
Malaysia.

Doyou write using pen and paper or type using a computer?
Iusually write my ideas out using pen and paper, but I type the story out on mycomputer.

Howlong did it take you to write the books?
Itdepends. With picture books, I can take about a month but a chapter book cantake from 3 months
to a year.

MJ's Classroom: Shush!

2012-01-06T18:45:00.001+11:00

"MJ enjoys saying 'Shush!' to his classmates until one of them says it back to him. What does this magic word do?"

The fourth book in MJ's Classroom is based on Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child:
Children should be allowed to express their opinions, especially in matters concerning themselves. They have the right to have their views heard and taken seriously.

MJ's Classroom: The UGB

2012-01-06T18:43:00.005+11:00

"What is a UGB and what do you do when one turns up out of nowhere? Find out with MJ and his classmates Nur and Xiao Ming!"

The third book in MJ's Classroom, this story is based on Article 3 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child:
The best interests of the child must be a primary consideration in all decisions and actions affecting the child, or children as a group. This hold true whether decisions are made by governmental, administrative or judicial authorities or by families themselves.

Mj's Classroom: The Shadow

2012-01-06T18:41:00.004+11:00

"When strange things start happening in class, MJ decides to investigate and finds the Shadow.

Who is this mysterious shadow?"

The second book in MJ's classroom, this book is based on Article 6 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.:

Children have a right to survival and development in all aspects of their lives, including the physical, emotional, psycho-social, cognitive, social and cultural.

MJ's Classroom: The Boy with a Tree on his head

2012-01-06T18:36:00.002+11:00

"There's something different about Mark. When he joins the class, everyone laughs at him. Can MJ help Mark get along with the others?"

The Boy with a Tree on his Head is the first of a series of four picture books written for the Ministry of Community, Youth and Sports (MCYS). This book is based on Article 2 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC):

Children must not suffer discrimination "irrespective of the child's, or his or her parent's or legal guardian's race, coloir, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, property, disability, birth or other status".

My first boy book: Gasing Boy!

2012-01-06T18:17:00.002+11:00

Gasing Boy is the first chapter book I wrote with boys in mind. Because of that I had to make the story extra exciting!

The main character in the book is 9 year old John Chow. He loves playing games on his PSP, so much so that he doesn't spend enough time on his studies. His mother takes away his PSP. He cannot have it back unless he passes all subjects in his exams. Unfortunately, he fails one subject! (I'm not telling you which one...) And this sets off a chain of events where John is sent to Malacca. He gets involved in a boys vs girls competition involving the Malay spinning top known as the Gasing. It's a high stakes competition -- loser eats dirt -- who do you think wins?

Gasing Boy is a chapter book suitable for children ages 8 to 11 years old.

Wayang Girl: Sequel to Samsui Gril

2012-01-06T18:14:00.001+11:00

Wayang Girl was my sequel to Samsui Girl. In this story, Amber has a new fascination: the Chinese Street Opera known as the Wayang. Amber loves the colourful costumes, the dramatic make-up, the acrobatics but most of all the special high-pitched singing! She decides that wants to be a wayang performer and finds a shifu. Read the story to find out if clumsy Amber can become a graceful opera performer!

Wayang Girl is a chapter book best suited for children aged 8 to 11 years old.

Samsui Girl: My first book

2012-01-06T18:04:00.000+11:00

Samsui Girl was my first book published. It is about a cheeky 8 year old girl named Amber. She has the habit of putting her legs up on the chair, and her mother hates this. Amber's mother says that only Samsui women do this. To get her way, Amber decides to be a Samsui girl, but it is not as easy as she thinks!

The inspiration for this book came from two sources. One was my own childhood habit of putting my leg up on the chair...when I ate, when I read, practically all the time! The other inspiration was the Samsui women of Singapore. These ladies came to Singapore in the early 1900s from Samsui in China. What was special about these female Chinese immigrants was that they did the man's job of working in a construction site. Many of the buildings (bridges, houses, blocks of flats) in Singapore today were built with Samsui labour. When I was very young, I remember seeing Samsui women dressed in their 'uniform' of a dark samfu and bright red headscarf. You don't see the Samsui women on the streets anymore, so I decided to write a story to help children today learn about these women.

Samsui Girl is a chapter book best suited for children aged 8 to 11 years old. The book was awarded the First Time Writers' and Illustrators' Grant by the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) in 2006.