Ho Lee-Ling

It was not surprising for me to read about a recent survey that found that less than 20% of Singaporean women had local female role models. Even without the survey, this was something we had known for a long time. It was also the reason for my first starting to write stories for children. I wanted Singapore children, especially girls, to have local ladies of inspiration to look up to. Being historically-minded, I thought to the past. Thus, my first book was inspired by the independent and strong Samsui Women. The inspiration for my second book, "Wayang Girl" is less obvious. While one can guess that the inspiration was the traditional Chinese opera known as "Wayang" in Singapore, there was actually a specific woman in mind. When I was working at the Singapore History Museum, I had the opportunity to meet Beijing opera singer, and Cultural Medallion winner Phan Wait Hong. Even though she was in her late 80s when I met her, she had a loud resounding voice and an energ...

  It has been six years since I last wrote in this blog. Many things have happened since 2014. In addition to my three cats, there was an addition of a dog (who died!) and after that, the addition of another dog named Xena. And this year, 2020, the COVID epidemic hit the world. With more time at home, I resurrected one of my working projects, and my first book for Young Adults (aged 12-15) is now published! I started writing a story known as "Island Girl" around 2015, and submitted it for the Scholastic Asian Book Awards in 2016. It was shortlisted, the only manuscript in Singapore, and eventually it was placed 2nd runner-up. Initially there was a contract to publish the manuscript but even after many re-writes, the publisher decided to drop the contract. It was pretty discouraging but I still felt great love for this story, and the main character of the book, Habibah, so I continued working on it. Finally, this year, I reached a point where I felt the story got to the point ...

Diva likes the comic section best! Last Sunday, I was talking to a couple of girls in Primary 5 and 6 about their Social Studies textbooks. I was happy to hear that they liked it. "It was like a magazine!" one said, and she meant it in a good way. The latest textbooks are bright, cheery and full of illustrations. They even have comics, er... graphic novels in them! This is a far cry from the textbook I used when I was in school. There was no social studies in primary school so my first encounter with history was in Secondary 1. The textbook I used was "Social and Economic History of Modern Singapore" and  the thickest book in the school bag. It was perhaps more serious than the textbooks of today with a lot more words. Surprisingly, I liked the textbook. (Probably because I liked to read).  I was especially taken by the stories in the "Supplementary reading material" section. I always thought these bits were more interesting than the main text! My...

I've always been interested in art, so I was excited when I had the opportunity to research and write a book on pioneer artist Cheong Soo Pieng for the National Art Gallery, Singapore. At first I only knew Soo Pieng as the artist of the Salted Fish painting that is found on the back of our $50 bill. By the end of the project I knew much more! This book was also interesting in that it was my first attempt at a graphic novel or rather "tovel" -- a textbook cum novel. I really liked how the illustrator Ann Gee was able to translate my suggestions into lively, colourful illustrations and appreciate the efforts of the book designers in playing with the design such that every page was interesting and a delight to the eyes! If you have the chance, check out the book. It is different from my other books but it has inspired me to do more biographies of Singapore personalities in the future. Find out more about Soo Pieng at the Art Gallery website . This book is available ...

Last month, I was happy to attend a launch of new readers for the Primary 3 Social Studies programme. The main reason for my attendance was to see my books -- I wrote three of the readers -- finally in print! I enjoyed researching and writing the books but there is nothing like reading the stories fully illustrated! I hope the P3 children will enjoy reading these stories in their classes. Ah Kong's Farm is a story about Ah Kong who has a farm growing vegetables and fruits. One day, he is asked to change his farm or give it up. What will Ah Kong do? Mr HDB tells the story of Mr Lim Kim San, the first Chairman of the Housing and Development Board (HDB), and how he helped build homes for Singaporeans. Getting Around traces the changes in transportation in Singapore from the days of rickshaws and carriages to cars and trains.

I was happy that the Sunday Times finally published my story "Deanna and the Railway Cats" yesterday. Many thanks to the National Arts Council (NAC) for making it happen. Just thought I'd give a little background to the story. It was inspired the closing of the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station and the plight of the many cats whose lived in the station. I wished that I could have done something for the cats, but by the time I found out, the cats were already well taken care of by the Cat Welfare society. See http://www.catwelfare.org/node/4906 As a cat lover and proud owner of three adorable Singapore cats, I thought the least I could do was write a story inspired by these railway cats. I knew that many cat owners named their cats based on the colours of their fur, and favourite coffee shop drinks. So I named the cats Alia (ginger), Teh (brown) and Kopi-O (black) roughly based on the colouring of my own cats. Too bad ST had not picked up on this and got the illustrator to...

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!

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 ...

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 w...

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 stude...

Last year, I visited Excelsior International School for an author talk and signing. Here are some of the questions they asked, and the answers: Why did you want to be an author? Ever since I was a child I have always loved reading, writing and drawing. I used to make up my own stories, write them down in a jotter book and draw pictures to accompany them. They used to be about princesses and dragons. So I have always written stories. But it was only later as an adult that I decided to write and publish these stories. How does a person become an author?  If you want to be an author, you must love reading and writing.  My suggestion is to start by keeping a notebook or a diary and writing down things that happen in your life or things you observe. Once you get used to writing, try making up stories and writing them down. Sometimes you may have to write a story a few times before you are satisfied. When you are happy with your story, you may want to share i...

"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.

"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.

  "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.

"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".

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  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 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 ...