Book Review: Midnight Library & I Am An Artist

It’s been awhile since I last reviewed a book. The last time was when I shared some books about penguins, as part of a larger home learning theme. The last proper book review that I did was here. Coincidentally, it was also around the time when my grandmummy passed on. As you may have noticed, I have refrained from doing any product or book reviews of any kind during this mourning period. While I still miss her very much, I’m sure she would want me to continue doing what I like, sharing books that we enjoy reading.

So today, I’ll be sharing two books: The Midnight Library and I Am An Artist.

The Midnight Library

The Midnight Library is a little library that opens only at night, looked after by a little librarian and her three trusty owl assistants, helping each and every animal to find the perfect book. The usually quiet and peaceful library, however, keeps them busy one night when some animals stir up trouble, from a noisy squirrel band, an upset wolf and a slow-reading tortoise. 

This is a very beautifully illustrated book about the joy of reading. It also tells little minds aged between 2 to 4 about the importance of libraries, so much so that even animals take time to visit theirs. It can be quite an educational read too, imparting basic library etiquette of keeping quiet and being considerate towards others while at the library. It also tells them that is ok to read slow, as long as they read. 

I like it that the author Kazuno Kohara is able to bring to life these adorable and emotive illustrations just using two base colours - orange and black. This is testament to just how good she is at her art. After reading this, I'm really keen to check out her other books, including Ghosts in the House, which was a New York Times Best Illustrated Book.

I Am An Artist

I Am An Artist, for ages 2 to 4, is a very humorous look at a child's creativity, from a child's point of view. To the boy, it's all about art, even if it's messy art. Everything around him inspires him: nature, animals, shapes, colours, and even his fridge. His mother, however, is not so enthusiastic, and the boy had a great plan to bring a smile to his mum's place, with his finest creation yet. 

Reading this story, I can't help but be able to totally understand the boy's mother's exasperation at the 'art' he created. It shouts 'mess' and means lots of cleaning up. I'm also reminded too of the fact that what's mess to me is art to my kids. My kids' art may not seem a big deal sometimes, but to them, they've put their entire effort in creating it. It reminds me that I cannot always think from a mummy's perspective, but must always look at things from the kids' point of view too. It also reminds us that art is not just about painting on a piece of paper. Art is and can be everywhere, and this is shared in I Am An Artist in a very funny and silly way.

I think both stories are very appealing to young kids. The illustration style of each is vastly different, but that also gives the opportunity to explore the versatility of creativity and magic of storytelling together with the kids. It’s great to help them understand that despite the difference, the illustration in both books work perfectly with the text to create stories that captivate.

Both The Midnight Library and I Am An Artist are available at major bookstores, at a recommended retail price of $16.73 (without GST)

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Book Box Thursday: Fun with origami and shine-a-light books

For this month's edition of Book Box Thursday, I'm going to share about three library books that we find to be extremely unique. Their content and design gives them a fun twist that makes it so much easier to engage kids.

Simply Sound: Science Adventures with Jasper the Origami Bat (JP524BRA)

Plants Parts Smarts: Science Adventures with Charlie the Origami Bee (JP571.3BRA)

Like the titles suggest, the first book investigates sound while the second, plants. What I like about these two titles is the way they take advantage of origami living things in the story line. The stories start off similarly, with a kid folding a bat or a bee, which then becomes 'alive' and starts interacting with other animals. 

Jasper the Bat goes around with Leo the dog to find out how sound vibrates and travels, how humans and animals hear, and why some animals have better hearing than others. While Charlie the Origami Bee brings his insect friends on a journey to find out how plants grow from seeds and how photosynthesis works. The science facts seem difficult to comprehend, but, it is written in simple language that makes the facts easy to understand. The illustrations are also animated and active, so even if the kids are not too interested in the words, the colourful pictures can be used to explain the science facts in a more visual way.

Another interesting feature of both stories is the way speech arrows and bubbles are used to indicate which animal or insect is speaking in a narrative. This can be further used to show that dialogue can be presented in many ways, and not just in straight lines, exposing kids to more narrative possibilities. There is also a glossary at the end to explain difficult words, a great help.

The stories can also come alive, literally. At the back of books, there are instructions how to make the origami bat and bee. EV made both, with some guidance, and we retold the stories making use of the origami bat and bee. EV and AA took turns to be the bat or the bee, or the other characters, and the stories were shared over and over again. Sometimes, we deviated from the original storyline, giving both opportunities to stretch their imagination with their own creation. Most importantly, we had fun. 

These two titles are written by the same author Eric Braun. He has also written other stories in the same series: Lookin' for light : science adventures with Manny the origami moth and Let's rock! : science adventures with Rudie the origami dinosaur. We can't wait to read these other titles too.

Secrets of the Apple Tree: A Shine-A-Light Book (JP577BRO)

A Shine-A-Light book? What's that? That got me curious too, that I simply had to borrow it and share its secrets with the kids. In terms of content, the story is rather straight forward. It tells the tale of an apple tree and the living beings that live around it. Well, specifically, environments such as a leaf pile and a bees' nest. While discovering the secrets behind these hidden habitats, the story investigates how a tree loses its leaves during winter, and what happens when an apple and its seeds fall out on to the ground.

So what's the secret? The magic happens when holding the book up to the light. What appears to be just green grass under a tree amazingly reveals a hidden picture of underground roots and worms in the soil that live beneath the tree. Turn the page and above the hidden picture is an explanation of the worms on the previous page. This innovative way of presenting a story and revealing hidden aspects is extremely interactive, and is a very kid-friendly way of introducing the theme of nature and ecosystems. We used this to teach about plants, flowers and seeds, amid squeals of delight when the hidden pictures appeared. There just something about the magic of light that kids love. We will borrow this book anything again to enjoy the magic.

Hope you will enjoy the books we shared today. Till next time, happy reading!!

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Book Box Thursday: Books about Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year is just around the corner. It's one of the most exciting seasons for the kids, other than Christmas and their birthdays. They get to help out in the spring cleaning, cooking, shopping, eating and of course, receiving red packets. But why do we do all these? 

Besides just sitting EV and AA down and telling them all about the customs of Chinese New Year, the knowledge of which is better than half baked in my case, I looked around for alternative ways to engage them. Specifically, I looked for Chinese books that told the tale of Lunar New Year. I searched around, but couldn't find any. Until I found four affordable priced ones at Flip For Joy, and immediately bought two of them. 

Books on Chinese New Year from Flip For Joy

Inside pages of 春节是红色的

春节是红色的 ($6.90)

The title literally means red is the colour of the Lunar New Year. What I like about this is that it doesn't just cover Lunar New Year, but seven other important Chinese festivals such as Qing Ming Festival, Dumpling Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival. Some of these may sound unfamiliar because they are generally celebrated by few in Singapore, but it's good to read about the traditional practices and the meaning behind each festival. Different colours and beautiful illustrations are used to represent each festival. This title is good for ages 3 and above, and is great to children to the rich Chinese culture and heritage.

Insides pages of 绘本中华故事 - 春节

绘本中华故事 - 春节 ($7.90)

I love the illustrations in this book, which reminds me of traditional Chinese painting. It stretches a kid's imagination with a tale about Chinese mythology involving the legendary beast Nian, and also teaches about traditions and cultural practices such as decorating the house with red couplets, and celebrating with firecrackers. It's a good book to accompany the festive occasion, and is suitable for kids aged 3 and above.

There are two other books about Chinese New Year that Flip For Joy offers.

Photo: Flip For Joy

过节啦 – 春节 ($8.90)

This is a sticker story book with lively illustrations and hands-on activities based on the Lunar New Year. Children will learn about Nian, the Chinese mythological beast and understand the meanings behind traditional practices such as spring cleaning, decorating the house with red couplets, and handing out red packets. A good way to expose the little ones to the Chinese culture during this season, for kids ages 3 onwards.

Photo: Flip For Joy

换装娃娃变变变系列（5册）($24.90)

This is a creative series from France featuring beautiful dolls from five countries: China, Japan, India, Africa and Tahiti. It takes little ones literally on a trip around these countries to learn more about each country's geographical location, flag, greetings, food, fashion, festivals, music and animals. They can get hands-on decorating the 70 doll templates using the stickers and stencil provided, as well as colouring them. Recommended for those aged 3 and above, this series helps children develop a global outlook and an understanding of diverse cultures. 

We enjoyed reading 春节是红色的 and 绘本中华故事 - 春节. We hope you will too!

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. We purchased 春节是红色的 and 绘本中华故事 - 春节 for our own reading and enjoyment.

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Book Box Thursday + Giveaway: 小绵羊生气了 and 奇迹小宝宝初次见面绘本系列 Chinese story books

Following our review of 动物狂欢节 and 从头到脚 Chinese story books, today, I'm reviewing 12 Chinese books! That's right! A whopping 12 books. I can't believe it myself. And it's all possible because 11 of them come in a set. The titles are 小绵羊生气了 and 奇迹小宝宝初次见面绘本系列 (11 books in this series).

小绵羊生气了

Let's start with the single title first. This is about a little sheep Momo who, with his friend Molly, finds a tree full of yummy red apples. While Molly eats any apples she finds, and is being rather flexible about her choice, Momo eyes one single apple hanging from the tree and tries his utmost best to reach out to it. Unfortunately, he fails, and tired from his attempts, falls asleep.

Then when he wakes up, he finds that Molly ate the apple he had been eyeing on. He gets into a huge temper, angry at his friend for eating 'his' apple and turns into a monster sheep.

He throws a tantrum. He goes on a rampage, destroying the chicken shed, frightening the ducks from the pond and bites the cow's tail. He's so furious that his stomping cracks the earth, and he falls into a dark hole. There, he gets some quiet time, and slowly he calms down. His friend then finds him, with another apple for him.

A translated version of the English title Marvin Gets Mad by Joseph Theobald, this title is recommended for kids 3 and above but I say it is perfect for AA. Why? Because Momo sounds just like him! You see, AA can be rather quick tempered, and when he doesn't get what he wants, he throws a tantrum and creates chaos, just like Momo. Perhaps it's because he's still learning to express himself and throwing a ruckus is currently his way of doing so. Or perhaps he knows he's the youngest and he's trying to get away with things. Whatever the reason, when he's in one of his moods, he has to be brought to one quiet corner and one of us adults will help him calm down. We help him manage his anger, slowly teaching him to do so himself.

That's why this book is brilliant in helping me teach AA about controlling his anger when things don't go his way. He's able to see from another perspective how ugly it looks when one gets angry, how ugly MMo looked when he turned into a monster, just like how ugly he is when he gets angry. And it's relevant for EV too. For though she's older and more mature, she still gets into her monster moods at times, and this book too illustrates very clearly how ugly she can be, with monster teeth, monster claws, and monster face.

奇迹小宝宝初次见面绘本系列 (11 books)

Suitable for kids below 3 years old, this series features titles from selected Japanese authors and illustrators. And it clearly shows, because between EV and AA, AA is more intrigued by them.

Featuring simple text and bright colorful illustrations, the titles in this series help little toddlers in their discovery of the world and stretches their imagination. AA's two favourite books are 什么火车来了 and 什么汽车来了, about trains and vehicles, where a bridge and a tunnel 'discover' the type of transportation that use them, based on how they look and how they sound. It's interesting to see that with each new transportation on each page, one only sees part of the vehicle on the left, before the rest of it is revealed in the next page. This adds a sense of mystery, and also keeps the little one in suspense and guessing.

The titles that both AA and EV love are 彭彭脑门儿 and 顶顶鼻子. They are both fun, and shows different animals either touching foreheads or playing nose-to-nose. Besides imitating these actions while reading, it's also possible to talks and discuss about the different animals, like how a baby kangaroo rests in his mum's pouch.

My personal favourites are 蜡笔咕噜咕噜 and 彩色纸哧哧. I like how the titles demonstrate creativity by using crayons and coloured paper, and it shows kids that it's possible to create something out of a few crayon scribbles or pieces of paper. Like how green crayon doodles become grasshoppers and purple circles become grapes. It really shows that creativity has no limits, if only one spends a little more effort to think out of the box.

Nature is also touched upon in the other titles. 小雨嘀嗒嘀嗒 tells the tale of a little girl who goes out when it is raining, and discovers how rain, and her boots, make prints in the water puddles, on the sand and everywhere around her. 小螃蟹 is set by the beach, where crabs witness the rising and setting of the sun by the seaside.

Our verdict

The other three titles that make up this series are equally entertaining and enriching. Just that the ones I've highlighted here are those that we tend to read more often. So overall, we really do enjoy this series of simple books, especially AA, who asks for his favourite every night.

Giveaway!!

Here's a chance to win a $20 voucher from Flip For Joy. Just follow the Rafflecopter instructions below to enter. Most are optional, but do give you more chances. Good luck!

Terms and conditions:

- Entries that do not fulfill the requirements stated will be disqualified without notice.

- Giveaways are open to Singapore residents only.

- This giveaway starts on 25 September and ends on 9 October (inclusive) at midnight.

- Winners will be chosen from a random draw of entries received in accordance with these Terms and conditions. 

- Winners will be announced on this post and my Facebook page by 17 October.

- Winners will be notified by email, through the email provided in the blog comments.

- The organisers accept no responsibility for entries that are lost, delayed, incomplete or cannot be delivered or entered for any technical or other reason.

- Prize delivery shall be arranged between the winner(s) and the sponsor's representative.

- Entrants into giveaways shall be deemed to have accepted these Terms and Conditions.

- Terms and conditions are subject to change without notice, at the organisers' sole discretion.

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Disclaimer: We were provided with a copy of 小绵羊生气了and a set of 奇迹小宝宝初次见面绘本系列 (11册) for review purposes, as well as a $20 voucher for giveaway purposes. No monetary compensation was received. All opinions and images are our own.

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Book Box Thursday + Giveaway: 动物狂欢节 and 从头到脚 Chinese story books

Book Box Thursday (BBT) has katen a long two-month hiatus. Life has been extremely busy with work and kids (what’s new) and piano practice. Yes! Piano practice. My exam is just around the corner, and I’m gearing up for it. More on that in another post.

So BBT is back today with a bang and a clang and a crazy party involving crazy animals… in Chinese. We haven’t reviewed really reviewed a Chinese book in BBT. We’ve shared about our Chinese home learning activities, but as for books, I only briefly explored it when the Chinese journey with EV started, here (till today, both kids still love those books I shared)

So I’m really excited to be sharing two titles today: 动物狂欢节 and 从头到脚.

When we got the books, I didn’t make any special efforts to announce them to the kids. I simply placed it on our bookshelf, and I swear (not in front of them, of course. Hee…), kids just have a knack for noticing new stuff. Within the day, EV came and asked, looking quite innocently, ‘Mummy, what is this?’.

That night, we read both books, three times. EV and AA both liked them, and here’s why.

动物狂欢节

The animals of the animal kingdom are invited for a crazy costume party, and each animal has to go as an animal other than itself. The whole book is about how these various animals dress up as another animal, and then how that animal in turn dress up as yet another animal, and so on. For example, the lion becomes an elephant, the elephant becomes a parrot, the parrot becomes a turtle and the turtle becomes, can you believe it, little red riding hood (not exactly an animal, but it is a crazy animal party after all).

Or how about a bear becoming a snail, a snail becoming a tiger, a tiger becoming a sheep, a sheep becoming a porcupine, the porcupine becoming a sausage dog. It goes on and on and on. It’s fun and crazy and of course, the way the animals transform themselves into animals one doesn’t expect is rather hilarious, such as a zebra becoming a mouse which becomes a flamingo which becomes a giraffe which becomes a caterpillar. It’s quite creative to see how the animals ‘think out of the box’ to become the craziest animal they can think of.

The illustrations in 动物狂欢节 are simple, with only the picture of the animal and the corresponding text on each page. It’s not distracting and helps kids under 5 to focus on the story.

Our verdict

Why does EV and AA like it? I think it’s because the story tells them it is OK to be crazy and wacky and nonsensical. It’s important that they know that, in my opinion. As they grow up and are increasingly exposed to the reality of life, it is even more crucial for them to be able to have fun and be crazy amidst the sanity. Like Robin Williams said, ‘You’re only given a little spark of madness. You mustn’t lose it.’

从头到脚

That moment of madness continues with 从头到脚. It’s typically ‘Eric Carle’ with its art work, repetition and focus on a singular concept - that of body movements. It features different animals in doing different movements, such as turning the head, thumping the chest or bending forward, and asking different children if he or she can do that action, and the child saying they can. It’s nice to see animals and children interacting with each other.

In the book, and given children’s general affinity for animals, it’s no surprise that EV and AA took to the story rather easily. They added their own fun to the story telling by imitating the animals themselves too. Even if they didn’t get some poses exactly right, they got to move their bodies.

Our verdict

While moving their bodies, EV and AA got a little wacky at times, laughing at themselves at their silly moves. The icing was getting mummy to be silly and wacky too. So this book really managed to get us all reading and moving and laughing and having a great time. So story time turned out to be quite an active and animated one. Now it’s just a matter of getting DaddySay to join us..

Giveaway!!

We have a copy of each 动物狂欢节 and 从头到脚 to give away, sponsored by the kind folks at Flip for Joy. Just follow the Rafflecopter instructions below to enter. Most are optional, but do give you more chances. Good luck!

Terms and conditions:

- Entries that do not fulfill the requirements stated will be disqualified without notice.

- Giveaways are open to Singapore residents only.

- This giveaway starts on 21 August and ends on 4 September (inclusive) at midnight.

- Winners will be announced on this post and my Facebook page by 9 September.

- Winners will be notified by email, through the email provided in the blog comments.

- Winners must confirm by reply email, within three days. Otherwise, a new winner will be picked.

- Terms and conditions are subject to change without notice, at the organisers' sole discretion.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
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Disclaimer: We were provided with one copy each of  动物狂欢节 and 从头到脚 for review purposes and one copy each of 动物狂欢节 and 从头到脚 for giveaway purposes. No monetary compensation was received. All opinions and images are our own.

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Book Box Thursday: Purple Paw Prints & Paw Prints on the Magic Sofa by Sarah Mounsey

After a short hiatus, Book Box Thursday is back. This time, we look at two books by Australian Sarah Mounsey who now resides in Singapore. These two books are part of the Paw Prints series, which has won a bronze medal in the Moonbeam Children's Book Awards for best picture book series.

The books we reviewed - Purple Paw Prints and Paw Prints on the Magic Sofa - are the first two books of this series. It tells the funny adventures of a little boy Eddie and his dog Oscar, and the chaos they leave behind wherever they go.

Both books are illustrated by Jade Fang, who lives in Singapore and is an Illustration graduate from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. Jade started doodling at a young age, and since 2010, has illustrated several children's books. Her illustrations in Purple Paw Prints and Paws Prints on the Magic Sofa are both colourful and whimsical, and brings out the essence of the stories, from mere words to visuals. Even little ones who can't read can easily see the visuals, that is full of life, and understand immediately what is happening in the story. That is the beauty, and strength, of picture books.

Purple Paw Prints

This story is really hilarious and got EV laughing away as we read it. But to me as a parent, I hope so much that this will not happen, especially when the main character Eddie, reminds me of my mischievous AA. Well, I don't think AA will be painting a dog purple. (No no, I hope he doesn't paint anything in the house purple or any colour for that matter.) That's right, Eddie painted his dog Oscar purple, then regretted it, because he realises that his parents will get oh so mad. Too late, he couldn't get the paint off Oscar in any way. So starts an adventure by Eddie and Oscar, together with older sister Mia, to find a solution. From bringing Oscar to the car wash, to enlisting the fire men's powerful water hose, to the hairdresser, nothing seemed to work. But Eddie didn't want to give up and kept thinking of solutions. The story kept EV engaged and wondering whether Eddie will get Oscar back to his original colour white.

A funny twist comes at the end, an ending that even readers didn't expect. Just when all seemed lost and Eddie resigned himself to his fate of facing his parents' wrath, Oscar himself comes up with a solution - to paint himself white. So, the dog saves the day.

This is just such a cute and funny ending. A dog who's the victim of Eddie's mischievous antics saves Eddie, his 'tormentor', from his parents. I like to think that perhaps, Oscar had thought about painting himself white from the beginning, but decided not to reveal his solution until he absolutely had to. Imagine what he could have been thinking: 'Silly human!'. In fact, this story can be used to explain empathy, as I asked EV to imagine how she would feel if she was in Oscar's shoes; would she like to have someone 'torment' her like that, even if it was just for fun? Would it be nice to treat an animal, a pet like that? Very simply, a hilarious tale of a boy’s search for an answer to his mischief turns into a story that can be used to teach about the importance of thinking about others.

Paw Prints on the Magic Sofa

The second book in the Paw Prints series, this tale brought EV and AA on a magical adventure all around the world, on a magic sofa. It’s quite fun, actually, as we could turn our usual bedtime reading spot - our bed, into a magic bed, and go travelling with Eddie, Oscar, their friend William and several animals, including a lion, a turtle, a camel and a monkey. It exercises our imagination, as like Eddie, Oscar and William, we visited the plains to meet the lion, the desert to find the camel, and over the jungles to search for the monkey. There was even a dip in the river to pick up the turtle.

I personally like the way the illustrations depicted the various scenes in the story. From how the magic sofa bobbed on the water, to how it sand boarded down the sand dunes in the desert, to how it flew over the clouds and jungle, the story is very vividly depicted. Even the expressions on the animals are rather cheeky, friendly and endearing.

After the whole adventure, Eddie, Oscar and William return back to reality. As it turns out, the lion, turtle, camel and monkey are soft toys.

Our verdict

Both books seemed to have different fans in our home. EV preferred Purple Paw Prints, while AA preferred Paw Prints on the Magic Sofa. Different stories, different appeal. Being older, EV could understand the deeper meaning behind Purple Paw Prints, and put herself in the position of Oscar. The imaginary journey that Paw Prints on the Magic Sofa brought us on appealed more to AA, but was well received by EV as well, since we could also go on an adventure of imagination ourselves.

Both books are simple, endearing tales that one can read over and over again.

Giveaway!!!

We have two copies each of Purple Paw Prints and Paw Prints on the Magic Sofa to give away, kindly sponsored by the folks at Closetful of Books. Just follow the Rafflecopter instructions below to enter. Most are optional, but do give you more chances. Good luck!

Terms and conditions:

- Entries that do not fulfill the requirements stated will be disqualified without notice.

- Winners will be notified by email, through the email address provided in the blog comments.

- Winners must confirm by reply email, within three days. Otherwise, a new winner will be picked.

- This giveaway is open to Singapore residents only.

- Giveaway starts on 26 June and ends on 11 July (inclusive) at midnight.

- Winners will be announced on this post and my Facebook page by 14 July.

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Disclaimer: We received a copy of Purple Paw Prints and Paw Prints on the Magic Sofa from Closetful of Books for review purposes. No monetary compensation was received. All opinions and images are my own.

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Thank you for reading. If you like this post, please do connect with me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, so I can share our fun adventures, thoughts and exploits with you.