In this brand-new series, children’s book author Ruth Wan-Lau combs through local books and recommends her favourites, as part of celebrating SG60! Let’s celebrate local arts and promote reading!
The school holidays are almost here! While some children may cheer the news, some parents may experience a stab of panic.
“Oh no, how will I entertain my kids?”
“What educational things can I do with them to keep them stimulated?”
“I want to take this opportunity to bond with them more, but how?”
We’ve got the answer for you: Give them a book! And not just that, spend intentional time bonding together by reading the book!
Here are four local children’s books that are perfect for parent-child bonding! Why? Because these books contain activities or outing ideas, making them excellent springboards for holiday learning and fun!
Olive and Oscar the Orangutans Swing on the Trees: A Story About Skip Counting by Two
Many may know Fynn Sor as the popular Instagrammer mum who runs Happy Tot Shelf, an instagram account with 1.2 million followers worldwide (an amazing feat, don’t you think?) Fynn’s strength is in creating hands-on learning resources for preschoolers. She shares: “Hands-on learning brings abstract ideas to life—it helps children feel and see concepts in action, especially in subjects like Maths. And, hands-on learning creates connection between parent and child.”
We absolutely loved reading Olive and Oscar the Orangutans Swing on the Trees. Its storyline was simple and sweet, and we were delighted at how Fynn deftly integrated skip counting into the story! As a bonus, check out the detailed hands-on learning activities at the back of the book that reinforce skip counting skills. This book also comes with stickers!
Get your copy here: WS Happy Learning Math Set 1 (6 Books) Children Maths Book Age 3-8 | Shopee Singapore
Oyster Girl
If your child loves cooking (or eating!), consider this book that focuses on a lesser-known but still-very-yummy local snack–oyster cakes! Oyster Girl by Joyce Chng is a beautifully illustrated children’s book that explores the story of our previous generations, while stimulating readers’ appetites for local treats!
You'll definitely feel hungrier after reading this book. Good thing that there was a detailed recipe for oyster cakes provided. Making oyster cakes would be a perfect parent-child bonding activity to try after reading this book. Dive into the story and then tuck into a yummy snack!
Get your copy here: https://singapore.kinokuniya.com/bw/9789811854439
Harry Hippo’s Holiday
Our next recommendation is really such a delightful read, you’ll find yourself chuckling right along with us as you imagine dear Harry Hippo taking a holiday from the zoo! The amazing thing is that this story is based on real life–a Singapore zoo hippo really did break out of his zoo enclosure and take off, in 1974!
Alan John has infused this book with such creativity and wit. Reading it together with your child would be the perfect way to kickstart a trip to any of the wildlife parks at Mandai. The book will surely make staring at animals more exciting, as both parent and child can discuss out loud, “I wonder which animals feel like taking a holiday today?”
Get your copy here: https://www.stbooks.sg/products/harry-hippos-holiday
It Starts with One
Our final local book recommendation is It Starts with One by Nur-El-Hudaa Jaffar. This well-written tale of two girls bonding over a skipping rope will pique your child’s curiosity about simple games from the past. There’s also instructions on how to make a skipping rope using rubber bands, and even, diagrams on how to make shapes and letters with rubber bands, and how to play kuti-kuti.
We loved this heartwarming story of how a simple game can end up being a bonding experience for the whole neighbourhood. What an inspiration to go out there, especially during the upcoming holidays, and make friends with neighbours!
Get your copy here: https://singapore.kinokuniya.com/bw/9789815084030
About the Writer
Ruth Wan-Lau is the author of the bestselling Timmy & Tammy series, which has the honour of being the only children’s book series chosen to be part of the SG50 Baby Jubilee Gift Pack, given to all Singaporean babies born that year. Over 400,000 copies of Ruth’s books have been sold, in English, Chinese and Malay. Ruth is also a Publisher that has produced a wide range of local children’s books in support of local arts.
