There are Saga Seeds in our Pockets

Title of Picture Book: There are Saga Seeds in our Pockets

Author: Maria Mahat

Illustrator: Idris Ali

Publisher and Country (may be self-published): Ungu Pen Education, Singapore

Publisher’s Blurb: Mahir and his classmates go on an excursion at Malay Heritage Centre. He and his best friend, Aqil, wonder what Singapore was like in the olden days. Their imagination leads them to explore snapshots of old and fascinating Singapore, and the culture of the Malays. A bilingual English-Malay storybook that includes a wide range of learning for young children. A must-have for all preschoolers and primary schoolers!

Comes with a DVD

Theme (Self, Friends, Family, Places, Celebrations, Nature, Technology, etc): family, places, history

5 Keywords (other than themes): Malay, game, museum, imagination, bilingual

Brief Review (in under 50 words): Many opportunities to learn more about the Malay culture and heritage.

Where to buy or borrow (if available): National Library Board, Singapore

ISBN Number (if available): 978-981-11-0539-5

Submitted by (could be your preferred name, including pen name): Moses

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Practice Makes Po-fect!

Title of Picture Book: Practice Makes Po-fect!

Author: Tan Chun Xiao, Diandrea Ho Siu Ping, Nicholas Tan Kian Boon, Ang Hao Duan

Illustrator: Tan Chun Xiao

Publisher and Country (may be self-published): Raffles Ecological Literacy Programme, Singapore

Publisher’s Blurb: Po, the Raffles’ Banded Langur, has just started climbing but, it is not as easy as it seems! He does not want to be the slowest in his troop anymore, so he goes off looking for his friends for help. Join Po in his journey as he learns to work hard and never give up.

Theme (Self, Friends, Family, Places, Celebrations, Nature, Technology, etc): self, friends, values

5 Keywords (other than themes): practice, animals, motion, support, unique

Brief Review (in under 50 words): Besides the Raffles Banded Langur, this story also introduces the Common Gliding Lizard, Malayan Colugo and Paradise Tree Snake

Where to buy or borrow (if available): National Library Board, Singapore

ISBN Number (if available): 978-981-11-3249-0

Submitted by (could be your preferred name, including pen name): Moses

Layang-layang

Title of Picture Book: Layang-layang

Author: Lucy Pou K H

Illustrator: Boboy

Publisher and Country (may be self-published): L.A.M.P. Learning, Singapore

Publisher’s Blurb: A mediating-to-learn book.

Kassim feels sad when his birthday present, a kite, is lost. When Kassim finds the kite that he lost, it is no longer the same. Can Kassim do anything about it?

Theme (Self, Friends, Family, Places, Celebrations, Nature, Technology, etc): self, family

5 Keywords (other than themes): mediating learning, problem solving, kite, emotion, lost

Brief Review (in under 50 words): Comes with suggestions on how to mediate learning using this book based on the Mediating Learning Practice Framework. (Not about mediation.)

Where to buy or borrow (if available): National Library Board, Singapore

ISBN Number (if available): 978-981-11-2312-2

Submitted by (could be your preferred name, including pen name): Moses

Franny’s Ballerina Dream

Title of Picture Book: Franny’s Ballerina Dream

Author: Tang Hanyu

Illustrator: Chua Zixin, Janice Yap

Publisher and Country (may be self-published): Teamway Education Resources, Singapore

Publisher’s Blurb: “Start protecting your eyes. It’s never too late.” – Franny

We are Project FOReSIGHT, a group of students from School of Arts, Singapore (SOTA), who are currently doing a Community Problem Solving (CmPS) project on childhood myopia.

Hence, we aim to create more opportunities for both children aged 4 to 12 and their parents to be more aware of the importance of protecting their eyesight through practicing good eye care habits so that there will be a decrease in the number of children suffering from myopia in Singapore.

Theme (Self, Friends, Family, Places, Celebrations, Nature, Technology, etc): self, family, values

5 Keywords (other than themes): myopia, handphone, habits, ballet, rhyme

Brief Review (in under 50 words): Comes with notes on good and bad eye care habits.

Where to buy or borrow (if available): National Library Board, Singapore

ISBN Number (if available): 978-981-11-3999-4

Submitted by (could be your preferred name, including pen name): Moses

Use Your Head

Title of Picture Book: Use Your Head

Author: Felix Cheong

Illustrator: Natassya Diana Siregar

Publisher and Country (may be self-published): Straits Times Press, Singapore

Publisher’s Blurb: When young Kayden is told by his busy mother to use his head and think of something to do, he picks up his pencil to do a join-the-dots page and tumbles into a land where friendly flamingoes welcome him with, “We are never too busy for tea./ We have books laid out for three.”

Written in simple rhyming couplets that children of age four and above will enjoy reading aloud, this whimsical and charmingly-illustrated book follows Kayden and his flamingo friends up a mountain, under the sea, and off in a hot-air balloon … until Mum is ready to play with him once again.

Theme (Self, Friends, Family, Places, Celebrations, Nature, Technology, etc): self, family

5 Keywords (other than themes): animal, imagination, toy, thinking, rhyme

Brief Review (in under 50 words): Interesting story

Where to buy or borrow (if available): National Library Board, Singapore

ISBN Number (if available): 978-981-47-4768-4

Submitted by (could be your preferred name, including pen name): Moses

Mei-Mei’s Lucky Birthday Noodles

Title of Picture Book: Mei-Mei’s Lucky Birthday Noodles

Author: Shan-Shan Chen

Illustrator: Heidi Goodman

Publisher and Country (may be self-published): Tuttle Publishing

Publisher’s Blurb: A Loving Story of Adoption, Chinese Culture and a Special Birthday Treat.

Theme (Self, Friends, Family, Places, Celebrations, Nature, Technology, etc): self, family, celebrations

5 Keywords (other than themes): food, recipe, cooking, tradition, kitchen

Brief Review (in under 50 words): The topic of adoption was mentioned only in passing. The main focus was on the process of preparing the birthday noodle.

Where to buy or borrow (if available): National Library Board, Singapore

ISBN Number (if available): 978-0-8048-4461-1

Submitted by (could be your preferred name, including pen name): Moses

Chirri and Chirra

Title of Picture Book: Chirri & Chirra

Author: Kaya Doi

Illustrator: Kaya Doi

Publisher and Country (may be self-published): Enchanted Lion Books, New York

Publisher’s Blurb: (no blurb)
Born on Tokyo, Kaya Doi graduated with a design degree from Tokyo Zokei University. She got a start in picture books through the Atosaki Juku Workshop, a program at a Tokyo workshop. Doi has created many wonderful books. She lives in Chiba Prefecture and maintains a strong interest in environmental and animal welfare issues.

Translated from Japanese by Yuki Kaneko.

Theme (Self, Friends, Family, Places, Celebrations, Nature, Technology, etc): family, friends, places

5 Keywords (other than themes): forest, animals, tours, food, concert

Brief Review (in under 50 words): The two girls’ whimsical visit to the forest and meeting interesting animal friends.

Attractive illustrations.

Where to buy or borrow (if available): National Library Board, Singapore

ISBN Number (if available): 978-1-59270-199-5

Submitted by (could be your preferred name, including pen name): Moses

Song of the Mekong River

Title of Picture Book: Song of the Mekong River

Author: Na-mi Choo

Illustrator: Sinae Jo

Publisher and Country (may be self-published): Big & Small Publisher

Publisher’s Blurb: The Mekong River is called ‘the lifeline of Vietnam.’ The Vietnamese people’s lives are dependent on the river. They build houses on it, do business on their boats and farm crops at the mouth of the great Mekong River. This book is about Tui who lives in a water village.

Retold from Korean by Joy Cowley.

Theme (Self, Friends, Family, Places, Celebrations, Nature, Technology, etc): family, places

5 Keywords (other than themes): Vietnam, culture, geography, river, activities

Brief Review (in under 50 words): Non-fiction content woven together by a simple tale a young reader could relate with.

Where to buy or borrow (if available): National Library Board, Singapore

ISBN Number (if available): 978-1-921790-47-8

Submitted by (could be your preferred name, including pen name): Moses

The Lonely King and Queen

Title of Picture Book: The Lonely King and Queen

Author: Deepa Balsavar

Illustrator: Deepa Balsavar

Publisher and Country (may be self-published): Tulika Publishers, India

Publisher’s Blurb: A lonely king and queen hear a voice calling out for them. They look inside their home, their garden and beyond, searching in vain, while all the time it grows louder ….

Author and illustrator Deepa Balsavar says, “This is the story we made up for our little girl. As a baby it was her night-time favourite, accompanied by much acting and searching around the house. She grew up knowing that adoption is just another way in which families are created. And so it should be.”

Written like a bedtime story and illustrated with gentle humour, this book leads the reader to discover what ‘family’ really means without mystifying the fact of adoption. More, it reaffirms the right of every child to be loved and to have a home.

Theme (Self, Friends, Family, Places, Celebrations, Nature, Technology, etc): family, values

5 Keywords (other than themes): adoption, search, home, sari, loneliness

Brief Review (in under 50 words): Simple ad charming tale dealing with the interesting topic of adoption.

Where to buy or borrow (if available): National Library Board, Singapore

ISBN Number (if available): 978-81-8146-943-4

Submitted by (could be your preferred name, including pen name): Moses

Golden Laughter

Title of Picture Book: Golden Laughter

Author: Karky

Illustrator: Sporg Studio

Publisher and Country (may be self-published): Mellinam Education, India

Publisher’s Blurb: (No English blurb)

Translated from Tamil by Nandini Karky/Renuka Murthi

Theme (Self, Friends, Family, Places, Celebrations, Nature, Technology, etc): family, values

5 Keywords (other than themes): birthday, magic, wealth, food, bilingual

Brief Review (in under 50 words): An interesting story.

Where to buy or borrow (if available): National Library Board, Singapore

ISBN Number (if available): 978-81-909048-2-7

Submitted by (could be your preferred name, including pen name): Moses