Christine Lim Illustration

Book Muse: Paris Pan Takes The Dare by Cynthea Liu

noreply@blogger.com (Christine Lim) — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 00:12:00 +0000

One person whom I have the great pleasure of meeting at AFCC was Cynthea Liu, the creator of 'Great Call from China (S.A.S.S)' and 'Paris Pan Takes The Dare' (G.P. Putnam Sons, 2009 and Scholastic, 2010). I was very lucky to sit next to her during the SCBWI dinner reception and very soon I discovered how amazing and big heart she is.

Besides writing for children, she has raised funds for Tulakes Elementary, she is the founder of Authorsnow! and the coach behind the top ten website www.WritingforChildrenandTeens.com, which is based on her non-fiction (self-help guide?) publication 'Writing For Children and Teens: A Crash Course'. She also conducts writing workshops, provides copyediting services and is also a guest speaker at conferences associated with the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators as well as universities and colleges.

I had the privilege to receive an autographed copy of 'Paris Pan Takes The Dare' for my daughter. Something quite amazing happened - she broke her reading record! She finished this 248 pages middle grade mystery novel in one sitting. Her comment afterward was, "This book gotta be made into a movie!". I emailed Cynthea to tell her about that. She 'laughed': 'Aw, I knew it! Every girl who reads Paris Pan blazes through it quickly. YES!!!! … I want them to devour the book like its a meal." And she nailed it!

So who is Paris Pan? She is a 12 year old Chinese American girl whose life was, as the author described, in a mess. Every time her father finishes building a house that the family lives in, he sells it and moves them to another place, which happens virtually every seven or eight months. This time, Paris has moved to Sugar Lake, a very small town in Nowheresville, Oklahoma, where every single girl in her new school plays on the basketball team, which does not quite excite this girl who faces difficulties developing friendships that last because of her family's nomadic lifestyle.

Where is the excitement then? It all happens when Paris has no other choice but a must to take The Dare to get her chance to 'win' over a new girl friend, or two out of the three in the entire level. And what exactly is The Dare? It is a rite of passage that every local girl who is turning 13 has to go through by staying out all night in the woods which was said to be haunted. Years ago, that was the location of a murder. Nearly everyone living in Sugar Lake believes the ghost of the murdered girl still haunts the site.

Soon enough, Paris starts hearing noises coming from the run-down shed in her backyard, thinking that the mysteriously dead girl is trying to communicate with her. While she has no plans to make contact with the spirit, her new 'friends' have other thoughts. If that wasn't bad enough, how about plotting Paris's new home right in middle of the creepy woods? To further complicate matters, the protagonist has other 'growing up' problems to deal with - peer pressure, 'cranky' siblings, first crush, adolescence embarrassments, struggling parents, friendship, etc.

To sum up, I love the book and definitely looking forward to Cynthea's upcoming picture book 'Wooby and Peep' (Sterling, 2013) and 'What I Didn't Tell You', a novel. For now, I am enjoying 'Paris Pan', for her courage and the good sense of humour she has towards her problems and 'frenemies'. She reminds me that kids can be much more resilient than we adults. As for her parents and siblings, I like them for being as genuine as they can be - characters who aren't 'linguistically perfect', who have flaws and live in circumstances that I can identify with. And like everyone in the Pan family, the personalities of her school mates, as well as Paris's pet dog, are also so carefully crafted that they leap off of the pages into full life and propel me through the story. 'Paris Pan Take The Dare' has satisfied me with laughter, suspense and some moments that make me go 'aaahh!'. I am glad Cynthea took 'The Dare' to write this engaging novel - one book that shall stay on my daughter's and mine list of favourites.

You can find more about Cynthea Liu's books on her website:
http://www.cynthealiu.com/books

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Magic happens when you least expected it

noreply@blogger.com (Christine Lim) — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 02:31:00 +0000

After a long hiatus from my blog, I am finally back to post some updates. Stick around a bit to find out what's happening inside and outside my world.

Since 2006, I have been making sure that I attend the country's most significant children's literature conference organised by our National Book Development Council of Singapore (otherwise known as NBDCS or the Singapore Book Council). After 10 years of running the the Asian Children's Writers and Illustrators Conference (ACWIC), the book council, lead by Mr Rama Ramachandran on the front line and his team of committed colleagues, saw the need to enhance opportunities for the entire community of children’s content creators to meet, network and to create new business possibilities.

Besides serving as a platform to foster new relationships and better understanding between authors, illustrators, editors, publishers, media producers, literary agents, librarians, teachers, parents, book distributors, retailers, international buyers and other professionals related to children’s content from all around the world, this festival also serves as a channel to showcase existing literary canon and to promote new content with Asian flavours as well as works created by authors and illustrators in the Asian region.

With those objectives in mind, the former Asian Children's Writers and Illustrators Conference was revamped and relaunched in 2010 to include two additional programmes for those involving in education which includes parents, and multimedia content creators to reach out to a much wider group of professionals and audiences under the Asian Festival of Children's Content (AFCC).

Gathering from the introduction, you may simply sum up AFCC as a not-to-be-missed literary event for anyone interested in children's books and young adult literature. So this year when I had to anticipate that I was going to miss it due to a financial crisis we were having at home around that time, I was, without shadow of the the doubt. disappointed. However, just a week or so before the event, I discovered something call 'chance'. iLoveBooks.com was giving away passes to the festival through their contest by reviewing a favourite book. So I thought, why not give it a shot at writing one, may be lady luck will give me a hand somehow. And that's what I did.

I reviewed an amazing and emotionally charged novel entitled 'Skellig', written by one of my all time favourite children's book authors, David Almond. This touching story had lifted me especially during difficult times so writing about it was a natural and compelling thing to do. So I wrote my heart out, edited a whole chunk out to meet the word number requirement, send it off and get on with life as we all must when we put down our tools.

Five days before the event, my phone rang. The next thing you know - is MAGIC - just like the story!

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25 May 2012, Counting down to the big festival - On the night before the event, something happened at home. My little girl had a fever. Recently a good friend's daughter was hospitalised in the ICU because of fever whilst the cause of her temperature, which resulted in temporary memory lost, was still a mystery to the doctors. It's worrying when you just have no idea what kind of 'superbugs' out there that can affect your life or your love one’s. So, I kept my fingers crossed all night, hoping that it was just one of those fevers that comes and goes.

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26 May 2012: Day One of AFCC - In the morning, my child’s temperature had gone back to normal but I didn't want to leave her even though I would have love to attend the session on 'How illustrations in books provide context for understanding stories' with Marjorie van Heerden that afternoon. I rang my dad and asked if he could come and see to the kids for a couple of hours so I can pop over to The Arts House to collect the passes.

I arrived at The Arts House at around 10am, collected my passes and caught up a bit with Celine. Then, I bumped into Diane Wolfer, an award winning author from Perth, Australia, who was here last year to give us not just one but TWO FANTASTIC talk about 'Exploring History Through Children's Literature' and 'Turning Life Experiences Into Fiction'. Currently, Diane has published 15 Young Adults (YA) and Picture Book titles, which includes 'Lighthouse Girl', 'Choices', 'Photographs in the Mud' as well as 'Granny Grommet and Me' and 'Snail Trail' which will be out in 2013 with Walker Books. (Yeah!) This time, she will be sharing and discussing about writing sensitive issues in children's literature at ACWIC, with two other brilliant authors, Norman Jorgenson (Perth) and Julia Lawrinson (Perth/Melbourne). I was really looking forward to that.

So, I missed Day One's programme but I was just so relieved that my daughter was back to her happy self. Much much thanks to my friend Gail, a super(big heart)mama of four, for taking the task of looking after the girls while I put on my 'book illustrator' persona for the next few days to attend the colloquium.

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27 May 2012: It was Day Two. I ensured to arrived early for the Asian Parent Forum to attend the keynote address 'Read Me a Story, Sing Me to Sleep: Choosing the Best Books for Your Child' from Mr Leonard Marcus. I have to confess, unlike my previous attendance for AFCC, I showed up at this year's conference without any prior knowledge about the keynote speaker.

Nevertheless, as a parent, an adult who finds great pleasure from reading picture books and (was) a reading programme volunteer at school, I was curious about the discourse he was going to present. Suffice to say it, I was enlightened by his talk. It was indeed more than a privilege to be there on this Sunday morning, to learn from a soft-spoken gentleman, who articulated so melodiously and wisely about his passion for a genre that calls for a fine collaboration between pictures and words, or sometimes just pictures alone.

His discourse had, in some measure, inspired me to write this post. For that too, I thank him.

The first book that Mr Marcus shared was 'Goodnight Moon' written by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clement Hurd.

As the author of 'Margaret Wise Brown: Awakened by the Moon', an absorbing biography of this legendary picturebook author of well over a hundred books including 'Goodnight Moon', 'The Runaway Bunny' and 'The Little Island', Mr Marcus shared his experience reading this book with children. This classic story, which was published in 1947, is much loved by children but is more than often overlooked by grown ups as being too simple. However contrary to that - if you take a little more time to observe what happens between the child reader and the story, you may find that such perception of is far more profound than one may thought.

According to studies, young imaginative children tend to read in non-linear fashion. Therefore, they able to perceive the words and pictures from a completely different point of view from that of a rational adult reader who is likely to focus mostly on the meanings of the words or the language itself. To illustrate evident for the hypothesis, he recalled at a time when he discovered a very little child who had the story read to (most likely over and over again), reciting and (re)acting the scenes while she was "alone" in her bedroom.

It was obvious (or perhaps not so obvious to some adults) that - the child was making connection with her universe - feeling, sensing and imagining, to find comfort and reassurance of her place as well as the "others" in this big world, a key theme in the book.

From reading a couple of articles, it is interesting to know that Ms Brown, who was a pioneer for writing stories and poems for the very young, had conceived and written 'Goodnight Moon' all in one morning! She had responded in interviews that she dreamt of books. So I guess 'Goodnight Moon' could be one of them. Mr Marcus, who was at one point of his life writing a lot of poetry, described 'Goodnight Moon' as "a work of amazingly distilled poetry - a poem that even a two year old could understand. That kind of simplicity and clarity seemed like an ultimate achievement for a writer." I couldn’t agree more.

Regarded by many as the epitome of a bedtime story, most reviews for ‘Goodnight Moon’ at the time when it was published were positive - the New Yorker called it a "hypnotic bedtime litany." Although some reviewers ignored it altogether and the New York Public Library dismissed it as an "unbearably sentimental piece of work", Harper sold 6,000 copies that first fall.

Personally, it is interesting to note that the sales of 'Goodnight Moon' were not always this impressive. Typically, all product sales go through fluctuations. By 1951, sales were precariously close to falling out of print. Numbers had slipped to 1,300 copies. For a few years and until 1957, annual sales were steady at 1,500 copies. Then a sudden demand for the book began in 1955 (due to baby boom) when 4,000 copies were purchased. The book's sales skyrocketed as more parents bought the book and recommending it to their friends. Then, in 1986, sales topped 200,000 copies!

Now, a third generation of parents is reading 'Goodnight Moon' to its children and English language teachers are using the book as means to teach rhymes, sequence, pattern, vocabularies and among many other possible curriculum for pre-schoolers and kindy children.

For me, it is also intriguing to discover that Margaret Wise Brown and her work was very much based in the philosophy of the American progressive education (a pedagogical movement started in the 1930s), and that it was considered quite controversial at the time when she wrote them and had them published. Although her initial ambition was to write for adults, she somehow ended up studying to become a teacher at the Bank Street College of Education, a protégé of its founder Lucy Sprague Mitchell, who advocated that stories for very young children should be grounded in the "here and now" rather than nonsense or fantasy. For children aged two to five, Mrs Mitchell thought, real experience was magical enough without embellishments - this concept had clearly instilled a huge influence on Ms Brown's work. As Ms Brown's publishing career advanced, she enjoyed sparring with librarians who disagreed with the progressive education approach and wanted to maintain influence over what was published and available in libraries. Could that be the reason why 'Goodnight Moon' was only available for the first time in 1973, some 26 years later after its publication? Perhaps Mr Marcus has some answers to that.

I personally did not know about 'Goodnight Moon' as a little child. Two reasons: my parents don't know the English language, and there isn't a thing call bedtime routine for us. Then, when I become a mum, I learned that we needed to learn the ‘art’ of putting our kids to bed nicely and establish a 'healthy' bedtime ritual for our child, because … … (you can fill in the rest). So, if you are looking a book to lure your child to sleep, 'Goodnight Moon' may just do the job. However, don't be too surprised too if it doesn't! Mr Marcus showed us a photo of him reading to his own child who looked like he was fidgeting away. Then he laughed: "I had spent over 9 years writing a biography of Margaret Wise Brown. So when my son was born the week the book was published, I thought, 'Now I have someone to read 'Goodnight Moon' to.' When Jacob was 6 or 9 months old, I gave it a try, and it was obvious he was bored by this book. Of all the children to have, I had one that didn't like 'Goodnight Moon.' It was a wonderful thing for someone like me, who reviews books, to realize that not every classic is for every child."

Clearly, at the end of the day, the most precious thing about reading to your child is that you and your child share a very special bonding moment together. Those nights as I cuddled my daughters in my arms, reading to them a book that they liked (not necessary what I like), always bring me great memories and joy. They are 11 and 8 now and we still do that from time to time - yes, with picture books, absolutely.

Another picture book that Mr Marcus shared goes like this:

"One Sunday morning the warm sun came up

and - pop! - out the egg came a tiny and very hungry caterpillar."

I believe most parents these days have a copy of this famous picture book on their bookshelves. Mine was read probably at least a few hundred times since my older child turned one.

That's right, this book is none other than 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' by Eric Carle. It was another picture book that took the children's literature world by surprise. For a book that had sold over 30 million copies and had been translated to 47 languages by the time when the author turned 80, it is hard to imagine that 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' was also initially turned down by some librarians because it was different from a conventional book - it has holes and irregular pages that are die cut, which make it looks like a toy.

The first time when I found the book in a bookshop, way before I became a children’s book artist, it was precisely this unusual-ness that caught my eye and captured my heart. Fun was my first thought, then it was the of exuberant colours - all that made me very happy. It’s no wonder a child just can’t get enough of this book.

Apart from the wonderful stories and illustrations that Mr Carle had created, I personally feel that it is his guts and innovation with the physical form of a picture book that pushed children’s book publishing to another dimension.

From books with holes, now let’s flip to books with flaps!

Noelle Carter is a creator of many picture books with real texture that the little ones can touch and feel. Playing peek-a-boo is something that every little child loves, so lifting the flaps and finding surprises behind them is fun for them to do. I just love the title - 'Where’s My Squishy Ball?' which Mr Marcus showed and made us all giggled. Besides the delightfully stylised illustrations, the story itself is just adorable, which made it one of Mr Marcus son’s favourites.

There are many other books as such. Like Eric Hill’s 'Spot' series which my kids had really enjoyed. These are fun books that they had entertained themselves with when I was busy cooking in the kitchen. Again, books can be toys too!

Most little children loves vehicles, animals and nursery rhythms. Byron Barton is an author-illustrator who happens to enjoy them a lot too. He had created a number of books with titles such as 'My Cars', 'My Trucks', 'My Boats', 'My Trains', 'My Planes', 'The Three Bears' and 'The Little Red Hen'. His pictures are always bold, lively, bright and colourful so they can easily grab the attention of kids from the age of 1 to 4. Recently, some of his books were made into apps for iPad which is pretty neat for the new generation of children. Appropriate use of technology can indeed stimulates a young child's reading experience in some ways.

I mentioned earlier about cuddles. Well, 'I touch' by Helen Oxenbury is one of the series of board book that introduces the little ones to senses. There are also 'I can','I see' and 'I hear'. These books are especially loved by babies and toddlers partly because the readers can relate to the stories which captured the children’s real growing up experiences. Once again, Ms Oxenbury’s works also carry that "distilled" quality that Mr Marcus was talking about in Margaret Wise Brown’s books.

Tim Wynne-Jones in the Toronto Globe wrote: "Helen Oxenbury is the book world's foremost authority on the antics (and anatomy) of small people." Indeed she is. As a scenic designer turned mother, then turned author and illustrator, Ms Oxenbury knows babies and toddlers on the tip of her tongue. A recipient of the Kate Greenaway Medal, England’s equivalent of Caldecott Medal, her works had been widely published by many well known publishers worldwide.

Beside board books for babies, Helen Oxenbury also writes and illustrates for children of pre-school and kindergarten age. 'We Are Going On a Bear Hunt' created with the very talented poet-author Michael Rosen is just glorious. 'There’s Going to Be a Baby' is the latest brainchild which she created with her husband, John Burningham, who is also an equally acclaimed picture book author and illustrator.

Married for 46 years, this was their very first collaboration. She said in an interview with The Guardian UK that the book idea (initially called 'Mummy’s Going To Have a Baby') came out 10 years ago but it was shelved away because there were problems with the drafts when they started out. Then, a few of years ago, the couple decided to take the idea out again and reworked on it, together with their editor, David Lloyd. The result is this fabulous
book for new siblings-to-be.

I think, whether you are a parent-to-be, or already a parent, there is always a book for you from Helen Oxenbury. They are honest and often light-hearted. So, in the midst of enjoying the playfulness of the little ones in her books, you may perhaps learn one thing or two about babies and motherhood.

Now let’s see - what’s a childhood without the notoriously naughty rabbit called Peter?

There I was waiting patiently in the Chamber for Mr Marcus to pull out the timeless work of Beatrix Potter, a remarkable authoress and entrepreneurial artist during the Victorian period who had made many very significant and enduring contributions to the classic children's literature in England. My daughters received from their grandparents and aunties from the UK several versions of 'The Tales of Peter Rabbit' and his friends when they were little. From board books to novelty books to tiny little pocket books, we love them all.

Beatrix Potter has always an inspiration for me. I admire her strength to stand out as a truly independent woman of her time. I also esteem her guts for defying the conventions of her Victorian upbringing to devote her life in nature conservation and becoming a philanthropist who left a lasting legacy for others to enjoy. Her rich understanding about being children, her witty and sometime poignant narrative style and her beautiful watercolour paintings just pull me right into her world of imagination. Who knows someday I may live in a country home in the enchanting Lake District where she had lived and created all these brilliant stories and characters. Dreams like this keep us going, isn't it?

Now we are moving into picture books for slightly older readers, say between 4 to 8 or 9.

I was delighted to see Mr Marcus recommending books from a different culture. One of which was Kam Mak’s 'My Chinatown' - another multi-award winner, including the ALA Editor’s Choice and Notable Children’s Book Award from American Library Association.

On the cover of this book, it has a subtitle that says 'One Year in Poems'. In this book are fifteen lyrical verses that expressed the emotions of a Chinese boy as he adjusts to his new life in the Chinatown of New York. Coincidentally, I found out that Mr Mak was originally from Hong Kong and had moved to New York’s Chinatown in 1971 when he was young. Which is probably why I was able to feel, prior to this knowledge, the intimacy between the boy and author from the way the story was told and illustrated. Unlike the other books before this, 'My Chinatown' contains pages of luminous realistic illustrations that depict the way of life in Chinatown throughout four seasons.

It is refreshing to expose a child to a variety of books that have different styles of images, and of another cultural perspective too. That will enrich their views about the world.

If you have a child who dreams of the freedom to go wherever she wants, then you may like to read to her this book by Faith Ringgold. A 1992 Caldecott Honor and Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award Book, 'Tar Beach' is a story about a girl named Cassie Lightfoot who spent her summer time with her family on the tar-tenement rooftop of her family's Harlem apartment building, dreaming of flying over George Washington Bridge and some buildings in the city she lives in but sadly cannot have the privilege to visit. It’s a heart warming story that gently weaved together themes of hope and freedom from slavery and oppression for an African-American family.

Dr Myra Garces-Bascal of Gathering Books had written an indepth review of this richly illustrated picture book. So, do check out the link to her fabulous blog about books for children at the end of the post.

Do you love history? I do. I remember reading 'And then what happened, Paul Revere?' written by Jean Fritz to the children at the school and they enjoyed it too.

This book was recommended to introduce children to people and events of the past. Named The New York Times Outstanding Book of the Year, a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, and an ALA Notable Children's Book, this title will take your child way back in time. And to be precise, it’s 1775. Paul Revere was an illustrious patriot during the American Revolutionary War. His most infamous horseback midnight ride through a tremendously perilous passage with numerous narrow escapes took centre-stage in this story. Details of the heroic trek with humorous, authentic accounts of this fearless ride through Boston, Concord and Lexington, create a great sense of adventure for the readers. Illustrator Margot Tomes, known for her superb depictions of the colonial period, makes this biography even more exciting.

For those who like a further accompanied reading to this book. may I suggest 'Paul Revere's Ride', a great poem composed by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, a distinguished American writer, poet and educator from 19th century.

Are your children inspired by 'Masterchef Junior' like my daughters?

If they are, then 'Pretend Soup Recipe And Other Real Recipes' by Mollie Katzen could be the perfect book for them.

This interesting book contains child-tested recipes for children who love or want to learn to cook. Other than that, children can learn to count, measure, mix and pick up healthy eating habits through various easy to follow culinary activities suggested by the author. As a mother, I think this book is informational yet superbly engaging, and definitely providing lots of ideas for parents and children to create something together on a plate. Isn’t that just the perfect recipe for nurturing family bonding and a hobby?

Graphic novels (or comics as I and some of you may prefer) are the last but not least type of books on Mr Marcus’ list. They are definitely not a new thing. As a matter of fact, comics was first seen in the 1930s. Despite so, it is still challenging for a lot of parents and teachers to approve such genre as part of their children’s and students’ reading agenda, partly because there was a long history of perception of comics as not good for children. In recent years, graphic novels have become more popular among junior readers and works created in such format are making their way into many children's magazines. Becoming more aware of this phenomenon, bookstores and libraries are realising the need to make space to carry more of such collection.

Indeed, this genre can serve as a gateway to readers who are slightly more resistant to pick up a 'proper' storybook. It is particularly helpful in assisting reluctant readers to becoming "wider" readers. Its format also benefits struggling readers, special-needs students and English language learners.

The book that Mr Marcus shared for this genre is 'Little Lit: Folklore and Fairy Tale Funnies' by Art Spiegelman. This book compiles the works of many well known comic book artists and children’s book illustrators, offering the young readers a myriad of classic stories as well as styles in a unique narrative and illustrative form. So, comics are really cool!

I will post a link for a downloadable guide at the bottom of this post to aid parents and teachers with choosing graphic novels for children and teens. Hopefully the genre can be better understood and be more useful for those involved in education.

There are two other titles that Mr Marcus shared which I regrettably have yet come across over here. They include 'More More More, Said The Baby' by Vera Williams and 'The Island Boy' by Barbara Cooney (but I have read 'Miss Rumphius', a touching story a woman who sought a way to make the world more beautiful by planting lupine in the wild). If you have read them, feel free to share your thoughts with us.

Before I sign off from this post, here are a couple of tips from Mr Marcus to take away:

1. Read to your child the books which you read as a child - it's a way to pass on good stories from generation to generation.

2. It does not matter if a young child does not finish a book in one sitting - the key objective is to invite and encourage the joy of reading and appreciation of sight and sound that picture books can bring.

And from me (primarily from the point of view of a parent and primary school storyteller):

1. Encourage conversation - most children love to talk. Let them share their stories with you.

2. Let the child pick the books - you will learn so much about them in the process.

3. Lots of cuddling (and good lighting!)

4. Animate - read aloud with a passion, in different voices, laugh, cry, whisper, scream, make noises, etc to make each storytelling session fun and memorable for your child.

5. Be kind and patient, especially with reluctant readers - one small step at a time and encourage for reaching each milestone.

6. Be a role model - read at home. Trust me on this one, children watch their parents all the time. So the more they see you read, the more they will enjoy books for pleasure.

I hope you have gained much light from this post as much as I had when writing it. Have fun with picture books and experience some magical moments when reading with your child!

That’s the end of my first installment for Day Two of AFCC. Stay tuned for my thoughts on other talks and discussions during the festival.  

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Additional resources:
• Review of 'Tar Beach' by Faith Ringgold on Gathering Books
• 2010 Interview with Leonard Marcus on SCBWI Bologna
• 'Paul Revere's Ride' by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
• Using Graphic Novels with Children and Teens
• Recipes and cooking videos by Mollie Katzen

(Note: Books which were presented in the actual keynote address are shared in a random order in this post. While every effort have been made to ensure its accuracy and intend, if there is any misrepresentation or error, please kindly email the author at christinelimillustrations@gmail.com so she can make necessary changes to the write up. Thanks.)

Tell a story, read a book, share a moment!

noreply@blogger.com (Christine Lim) — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 08:50:00 +0000

I have been spending some time every Thursday at the library of my daughters' primary school since term 2. My new mission: to bring the joy of reading for pleasure and share my passion for picture books with children at the school.

I am entrusted with a small number of boys and girls who need to read more or need help with reading (according to their teachers). These children, whom I read to once a week, declared that they love books and try to read. However, they are not read to at home and have little time and exposure to a wider range of picture books and children's literature.

Thus, as a storyteller, I will find books and stories that will first engage them. Meaning, 'content' that will get them interested in reading and motivate them, eventually, to read on their own in their spare time. How do I choose the books? I ask each child what interest them and the kind of books they enjoy reading. I give each one an opportunity to pick a story that he or she likes me to read. I also choose good picture books that I believe they will enjoy reading together with me and as a group.

While I understand that the teachers are probably hoping that these children can read fluently through this reading programme, I feel that it is much more important to first nurture and cultivate the children's passion for reading rather that getting them to go through a phonic lesson with me. I think once reading becomes a habit and hobby, the child will learn to become better reader - at least that's how I become a reader.

I have been studying discourses and books written on children literature and reading. I believe:

"The first engages the eye, the second the mind and the third the heart. Engagement of the heart distinguishes a reader from someone who is merely able to read. A good teacher of reading ensures that, right from the start, children learn not only how to read but about being a reader." (Understanding Children's Books, Prue Goodwin)

I can't wait to meet my little friends and take them on another story adventure again.

Painting - The Reading Lesson by Paul Seignac (1826-1904)

PS: An amazing stop-motion animation created for New Zealand Book Council to inspire New Zealanders to read more. This short film, which uses an excerpt from Maurice Gee’s novel Going West, has won an international prize for paper cut animation awarded by New York’s Museum of Art and Design. Book Council chief executive Noel Murphy says the aim of the film is to excite people about books and reading - “The idea that lies at the centre of this project is that reading is an activity that surprises, delights, challenges and ignites the imagination.” So ... enjoy!

Featured in Mother & Baby Magazine April's 2011 Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Christine Lim) — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 11:07:00 +0000

Thanks to Mother & Baby Magazine for the interview and feature in April's 2011 edition. To celebrate International Children's Book Day (2nd April), there is a special write-up on authors and illustrators of children's books. It is a privilege to be in the spotlight amongst many other literary luminaries including Emily Gravett, my very favourite, award-winning, picturebook creator.

Watch Guai Wu The Chinese Elf at the libraries

noreply@blogger.com (Christine Lim) — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 14:56:00 +0000

Guai Wu The Chinese Elf has been adapted into a Chinese play - The Kind 'Monster'! Thanks to our National Library Board and NTU (Nanyang Technological University) Chinese Society for the wonderful news and initiative to start a new year.

You can find more information on Asian Children's Festival website -
http://www.asianchildrenfest.com/monster.htm

Also in January's Go Kids newsletter (page 3). Grab your copy at the libraries or view online for more programmes.

(Click on the images for full view.)

Hope to see you at the shows!

* Marine Parade Public Library - Sunday, 9 January 2011, 3.00 to 4.30pm.

* Jurong Regional Library (Children's Actitvity Zone) - Saturday, 15 January, 3.00 to 4.30pm.

* Bedok Public Library (Programme Zone)- Sunday, 16 January 2011, 3.00 to 4.30pm.

BookFest@Singapore 2010 & Concert of Hope

noreply@blogger.com (Christine Lim) — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 04:41:00 +0000

BookFest@Singapore is here again which means it's time to buy BOOKS!

With its theme "Reading Embraces the World", BookFest@Singapore 2010 seeks to expand horizons through a greater exchange of knowledge, culture and ideas. The mega book fair thus presents a multitude of reading and learning opportunities for everyone, with new releases, local and overseas author appearances, educational talks as well as guest appearances by celebrities.

Talking about author appearances. two of my favourite children's book writers will be at the fair to delight children (and adults).

Ken Spillman, author of the popular Jake's series, will be appearance on the 10th (Friday, 2.30pm) and 11th (Saturday) at the Scholastic booth. He will be launching his new third book "Jake's Balloon Blast". Jake has ALWAYS dreamt of flying, and he knows that he can- it's just a matter of HOW. What he need is: *A great plan *The right stuff *His friend Johan. Can jake get his BIG dream off the ground?

Adeline Foo, Singapore's well-loved author of "The Diary of Amos Lee", will also be having a book signing session on the 11th (Saturday, 6pm) and 13th (Sunday, 1pm) at Marketasia booth.

Have a good time at the fair. Where: Suntec Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Centre

I am off to attend Concert of Hope - to raise funds for Angkor Children's Hospital, tonight and tomorrow. Information and tickets are still available.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Singapore/Dance-Spectrum-International/147720235257928#!/event.php?eid=103576459708400

Be the first to catch this Dance Extravaganza, put together by 240 students from Dance Spectrum International, aged 4 to 21. This concert includes award-winning dance items from local & overseas dance competitions in Ballet, Tap, Modern and Jazz.

All proceeds & donations will go to Angkor Hospital for Children (AHC), Cambodia. They provide free medical treatment to children up to 16 yo. The proceeds will directly benefit children who need immediate heart surgeries. More information on AHC can be found on www.angkorhospital.org

Stay well.

School visit

noreply@blogger.com (Christine Lim) — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 02:51:00 +0000

I had the privilege to give a talk to the children and teachers of Good Shepherd Kindergarten. I shared with them my process of making a picture book from scratch (sketches) to finish (printed book). I also showed them some drawings for my new book which I am currently working on and, of course, reading Guai Wu The Chinese Elf.

Here are some photos from the visit.

Happy Diwali with Amos Lee

noreply@blogger.com (Christine Lim) — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 04:50:00 +0000

Wishing you in advance Happy Diwali or Deepavali as we call it in Singapore.

Adeline Foo, my author for my picture book G uai Wu The Chinese Elf, will be launching her third Amos Lee book entitled 'I'm twelve. I'm tough, I Tweet!' this Saturday 6 November at Kinokuniya Bookshop at Takashimaya (Orchard Road). Do join her and her 'animated' Singapor-ish character Amos Lee to find out what both of them are up to this time!

You can also catch them a second time at Borders on the 13th November.

Have fun!

Back in the studio

noreply@blogger.com (Christine Lim) — Mon, 10 May 2010 05:03:00 +0000

I am now back in my home studio after four intense, invigorating and inspiring days at the Asian Festival of Children's Content (AFCC) organised by the National Book Development Council of Singapore and The Arts House last week.

Big thanks to the organisers as well as the advisors, speakers and presenters who put in their heart and sweat to put together this wonderful event that bring together people who are passionate about children's books. Great appreciation to the speakers who took the time to feed us with so much information despite being jetlag, attacked by the ferocious Singapore heat and pestered by sales people of exotic food along the quay.

Like Sangeetha, a friend and the author of A Blue Cat's Tale (a beautifully illustrated picture book published by ST Press under the First Time Writer and Illustrator scheme), I was information overloaded! My head too was buzzing with ideas and excitement. I certainly had lots of fun catching up with old friends and meeting new ones whom I hope will grow into old friends the next time we meet again.

While I am compelled to write a long post about the festival, I would like to direct you to Tarie's blog for now. I had the pleasure of meeting Tarie Sabido during the last session which was an open dialog between Asian and Australian publishers, writers and illustrators. Tarie, who lives in the Philippines, has an interesting blog that talks about books set in Asia and books with Asian characters regardless of where they are from.

Tarie's enthusiasm and love for children's literature is infectious of course. Whether you are a writer, an illustrator, a publisher, a mother, a teacher, or simply someone who loves to read, definitely check her blogs out. The names - Asia in The Heart (http://asiaintheheart.blogspot.com) and Color Online (http://coloronline.blogspot.com - a blog focuses on women writers of color for adults, young adults (YA) and children.) Super efficient in journaling, Tarie posted her experience at AFCC quicker than anyone in the media! I am blogrolling you!

One more lady whom I had great pleasure meeting is Daphne Lee. Daphne is an advocate in reading in Malaysia. She started blogging about books for children and teens in 2004. You can imagine the sheer amount of resources, researches and information that Daphne had put her heart and soul into, in the name for love for children's literature. It's a must for parents and teachers to spend time at her blog. (Seriously, I command you to!) Her blog is The Places You Will Go (http://daphne.blogs.com). Be ready to be enlighten!

Before I sign off to do more thinking and get more drawings done, I would like to share a little bit about my experience with the Asian Parents Forum, which I think is the best way to end the event on Sunday. Why is it the best you may ask? Let me tell you from the perspective of a parent.

I managed to attend two sessions in the morning. One with Dilip Mukerjea of Braindancing International and another with Vikas Malkani of SoulKids and SoulParents.

Both are dynamic speakers who spoke with great wisdom. They are the people who knows children (I would say better than many of us). I have learned so much from them on Mother's Day. Indeed, what a privileged to have children and be around them.

At the end of the sessions, I asked myself one simple question which I think it will take me a lifetime to find out, which is the beauty of it too - What do we understand about children?

Email me if you have any thoughts. I would absolutely love to hear from you.

Have a great week ahead.

Asian Festival of Children's Content

noreply@blogger.com (Christine Lim) — Tue, 04 May 2010 16:32:00 +0000

Just a quick update here. I will be attending the Asian Festival of Children's Content (AFCC) organised by The Arts House and the National Book Development Council of Singapore (NBDCS, also know as The Book Council) this week, from 6th to 9th May 2010.

AFCC aims to foster excellence in the creation, production and publication of children materials with Asian content in all formats and facilitate their distribution and access to parents, teachers, librarians and children in Asia as well as the world. For the past 10 years, NBDCS has been organising the Asian Children Writers & Illustrators Conference (ACWIC) to develop new materials for children. With the launch of AFCC, both organisations now aim to expand ACWIC's reach by including new initiatives. The Festival, with a series of innovative programmes, seeks to fill the direct need for quality Asian children content worldwide, particularly in Asia.

I am very excited about it. And so really looking forward to learn new stuff as well as making new friends and catching up with some old ones.

On the 9th May, which is Sunday, there will be a special forum for parents. You can check it out on the website.

Two of my illustrations from Guai Wu The Chinese Elf had been selected for the Book Illustrators’ Gallery (BIG) exhibition, which will be held during AFCC. BIG aims to showcase illustrations from artists from around the region, and is a platform for the promotion of local and regional artists. Their works go beyond genres and borders and contribute towards creating awareness of traditions and heritage. It also helps to publicise the great business potential in creating and distributing Asian content throughout Asia and the rest of the world.

BIG will run from 6 May to 14 May at the Film and Print Galleries, and Box Office Foyer of the festival venue, The Arts House.

Have a great week ahead everyone! Maybe see you at the conference.

Meeting Neil Gaiman and other awesome literary figures at the Singapore Writers Festival

noreply@blogger.com (Christine Lim) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 18:37:00 +0000

I can't believe that another week has gone by without a new post.

Last week at the Singapore Writers Festival, I met several people whom I "met/knew" online. One of them is Sharon Bakar who writes about books (and authors, and publishing events, and reviews, and interviews, among many other interesting stuffs related to the literary world) on her blog, Bibliobibuli - Woman Battles Book Dependency Problem. So book lovers, head off to the bookaholic's blog to share your views about books, and Second Life if you have one.

Another person I enjoyed meeting (a lot) is Wena Poon. Yes, she is the author whose first book, Lions In Winter, was longlisted for the 2008 International Frank O'Connor Short Story Prize, nominated for the Singapore Literature Prize and shortlisted for Popular Reader's Choice Award in Malaysia. The friendly and quick-witted writer was here to speak and launch her new books - The Proper Care of Foxes, published by Ethos Books, and The Biophilia Omnibus, a collection of her first four literary science fiction/fantasy adventure works which she published through BookSurge. She brought in limited copies and I was very happy to get hold of one from BooksActually, the official bookstore for the festival. More of Wena, go to her website www.wenapoon.com.

Jen Hamilton-Emery, director of Salt Publishing (UK) who is responsible for the international edition of Wena's Lions in Winter, was also in town. She was one of the panelists for the publishing industry symposium to talk about poetry, short stories and translation. Jen was very very humble despite having the award winning authors as well as long- and short- listed titles with the publishing firm she run with her partner. Check out their website and buy a book or two to support their Just One Book campaign this Christmas.

At the symposium, I also met Tunku Halim, a Malaysian author based in Tasmania, who, like me, has a deep love for history. He had published several "dark fantasy" stories and a children's encyclopedia on History of Malaysia which was inspired by his late father and took him five years to put together. More information on this well researched book can be found on the author's blog.

It was a pleasure meeting Mr Abdon M. Balse, Jr. (Jun), an award winning novelist and poet from the Philippines. During the symposium, he shared with me the problems of distributing books created by Asean writers and provided insightful information on reading and buying habits in Philippines. It was interesting to learn that books are delivered like pizzas over there! Thank you sir for your time and I too hope that there will be more opportunities to foster better understanding in the area of writing and distribution as well as to establish closer ties between writers, artists, publishers, distributors and booksellers in the two countries.

I attended Felix Cheong's launch for Sudden Youth, a collection of new and selected poems, published by Ethos Books. Felix shared with us his journey as a poet and generously read us almost the whole book. He said this maybe his last poetry book and is working on short stories. I wish you well with whatever you are endeavouring next.

This year, Neil Gaiman, the creator of Sandman, Coraline, Stardust, The Graveyard Book (which won this year's Newbery Award) along with picture books such as Blueberry Girl and The Day I Swapped My Dad with Two Gold Fish, was invited to give a series of talks/dialogs during the Singapore Writers Festival. I managed to get tickets to attend two of the three sessions - Little Lit! at the Arts House and Graphic Novels and Fantasy at the Victoria Theatre. And here's my account.

On Saturday, he talked about writing Coraline, his first novel for children which he started writing in 1991 for her daughters Holly and Maddy. After working on it on-and-off for the next few years, he finally completed the book in 1999 and have it released in 2000. On how kids react to horror story, he felt that children are better at taking scary stuff than adults. He compared Coraline to Hansel and Gretel, which he described as a tale of abandonment and starvation and mass murder. He reckoned that both stories are similar to some extend. So if children aren't afraid of the horrible things in such fairytales, then they will enjoy the chills that run down their spines as they read his story (as proven by Morgan, Gaiman's editor's son). I suppose afraid as they may be, they will also nevertheless be grateful that there is finally an author who refuses to patronise a young audience hungry for an absorbing horror tale.

During the second half of the session, he moved unto more adult stuff. He revealed enthusiastically about his new China inspired project. I am utterly impressed for the fact that he had actually read several Chinese Classics including Dream of the Red Chamber (红楼梦), Outlaws of the Marsh (水许传), Journey to the West (西游记) and Romance of the Three Kingdom (三国演义). He was particularly fascinated by Tang San Zang (唐三藏) and his epic 10000 miles round trip to India to bring back to China the scriptures of Buddhist during the Sui and Tang Dynasty (A.D. 620, 7th century), which basically formed the story of the Journey to The West written by Wu Cheng'en (吴承恩) in the Ming Dynasty, 16th century of China.

Someone asked for his views about book sectioning at bookshops, working on Good Omens with Terry Pratchett whom he referred to as someone with very similar head, and on him releasing the beast in him through writing. He answered each question insightfully. On working with various media, Gaiman hopes to conquer the stage in the future. He didn't talk much about The Graveyard Book but read a good whole chapter from it.

One hour was really short. So on Sunday, I went to listen to the man talked once more, with Hannah. This time, Neil Gaiman, who was cladded again in black, made his appearance in front of 800 fans at the Victoria Theatre. After an introduction, he thanked everyone for "braving the long queue, braving heat and braving whatever mysterious secret messaging system that you know that tickets were available for getting in here". He talked about how "ok" he felt about turning 50 because he has had an amazing life, has written a lot of things he wanted to write, has raised a couple of really cool kids and has the world's coolest girlfriend (Amanda Palmer). He claimed that the only time he was afraid of the plane crashing down was in 1988 when he had to take 100 pages of Dave Mckean's original artworks for Black Orchid from UK to America. He said that he had to work very hard to keep the plane afloat with his mind throughout the entire journey.

The other thing that Gaiman seemed to enjoy talking about during both sessions was Singaporeans' crazy obsession with eating and food. Imagination ran wild with his really humorous theory about an unique viand called "stuffed authors - where you take a nice English author who spends a lot of time in America, about 50, feed him wonderful food until he's completely stuffed, and then slice him up and make him up into little pink packages." He also described Singaporeans as "very enthusiastic, but in a quiet, polite and very organised way" and made a terrible joke about Philippinos, which he quickly apologised.

He also chatted away gleefully, like the way a child talks about his first exotic pet, about his bees, on his mission to save the bee colony, and about how he got into bee-keeping and the second blue ribbon in the county fair that he and his bee-keeping team (Loraine and Birdchick) won for Extracted Honey and for Comb Honey. For him, that was the third best award ever. It beat a dozen of others literary prizes including the new 2010 Les Grands Prix de l’Imaginaire Award for translated short fiction of Des choses fragiles (Fragile Things, collection), he said. The top two are Newbery and Hugo.

Of course again, he told us about his new nonfiction project inspired by the Chinese Legend Journey to the West (西游记) and bits about his day with Mr Liu Xiao Ling Tong (六小龄童) - the Chinese actor who acted as Monkey King (I watched him on TV when I was 9 or 10, can't believe it was so long ago). He also commented that his new books will contain stories about his near impossible meeting with the fourth high-level monk and all the peculiar encounters he had during his various adventures in China including the one about a hawker trying to sell him a human elbow.

I am not surprise with what one can find and experience in a country with a history of over five thousand years. I personally discovered quite a bit online when doing my research for my book Guai Wu The Chinese Elf. As for the subject of Monkey King, in fact, two months ago Lak Khee, an illustrator-friend of mine who is currently based in France, and I had a discussion about this Chinese folktale character whom almost everyone knows. And in my Little Lit! talk at The Arts House in May, I mentioned, in connection to incorporating Asian elements to children's book, Professor Ma WenHai, another illustrator-friend of mine, who created a series of children's books based on the tales of the monkey god for the American market. In his 4th, which is also the latest, book Monkey King Defeats Red Boy, he had put my kids in as characters for his watercolour paintings. His books had been translated to other languages. That goes to show the popularity of this mythical character that most Chinese grew up with. So I look forward to read Gaiman's take on the legend.

Someone in the audience also ask him to talk a bit about his visit to the amazing Studio Ghibli. He said, as he looked back, meeting Mr Hayao Miyazaki, the prominent Japanese filmmaker of many popular animated feature films including Totoro, Spirited Away and, most recently, Ponyo, and spending an afternoon in his studio was one of the best day ever for him. With regards to Totoro's appearance in the background of the illustrated version of Stardust, Neil's answer was that the idea was from the artist but he would have done that too if he had thought of that.

Despite being a rock-star in the literary scene, Neil Gaiman is an amazingly open, unpretentious and down-to-earth person who take time for each one who patiently queue to meet him in person. He is also a very witty and incredibly charismatic storyteller. Hannah shook hand with him (nervously) and had her book signed. As for me, I am thankful to him for an opportunity to revisit my childhood memory through Sun WuKong, the curious and fearless monkey, whose dream to become immortal, brings to life a series of awe-inspiring adventures as the Great Sage Equal to Heaven who continuously creates havoc in the celestial world, had kept me amused and entertained when I was little, and still does even as adult.

If you like to hear from Gaiman himself, go to www.razortv.com. There is a series of interesting interviews from the press conference that happened during his visit.

In one of the recordings, he talked about bribing a watchman to enter a closed down monkey amusement park that ended with seriously disturbing scenes of hell where sinful people were tortured. I can totally relate to the same terrifying experience he described about a young child who walked through the eldritch tunnels. The trip to Haw Par Villa with my parents when I was six or seven at that time had haunted me for years. After walking out of "18 levels of hell", I remember saying to myself that I want to find another religion (or change god) so that I can go to heaven. I later discovered that it is "possible" with the "western" god. Seek and ye shall find!

Ok. With that, I shall end my long post and thank the hardworking team at National Arts Council, The Arts House and the Singapore Books Publishing Association for organising such a wonderful festival.

I wish you (mummies and children) a good school break. My family and I will be taking an adventurous three weeks holiday in New Zealand. Can't wait to breathe the clean crisp air.

Singapore Writers Festival 2009 - Undercover

noreply@blogger.com (Christine Lim) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:37:00 +0000

For writers and budding writers and anyone who loves books, Singapore Writers Festival kicked off last Friday at The Arts House and will be running till 1st November. Check out the official website (www.singaporewritersfestival.com) for programme information.

HIGHLIGHTS

26 October 2009, 7:30 pm
Inspector Singh Investigates: A Bali Conspiracy Most Foul by Shamini Flint

Come celebrate the launch of the new Inspector Singh book by author Shamini Flint. You just might discover why Daily Telegraph (United Kingdom) has described Inspector Singh as “a crime series hero like no other”. In this thrilling second book of the series, the Inspector is sent to Bali to help with anti-terrorism efforts, after a bomb blast has been set off on the island.

27 October 2009, 6:30 pm
Literary Pioneer Series: An Evening with Edwin Thumboo

Every society has its pioneers. Without Singapore's literary pioneers laying the foundations, Singapore literature would not be where it is today. Following a tradition started in 2007, SWF takes pride in focusing on SWF 2009 Literary Pioneer, Emeritus Professor Edwin Thumboo. Aside from exploring his works through the years with Jonathan Webster and Thiru Kandiah, there will be heartwarming moments aplenty as friends and family join the man himself in this evening of poetic melodies and anecdotes.

31 October 2009, 12:30 pm
Sudden in Youth: New and Selected Poems 1998 – 2009 by Felix Cheong

Expect inventive wordplay that cuts through the skin of language in Singapore poet Felix Cheong's new book, which brings together his best poems from the past decade as well as his recent writings. Whether assuming the voice of serial killers or strippers, or musing on love or God, he offers an insight as equally provocative as evocative.

31 October 2009, 03:00pm & 04:30pm and 1 November 2009, 02:00pm
Talks by Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman, English author of graphic novel Sandman, novel American Gods, and children's books The Graveyard Book and Coraline will be making his way to the festival. For the first session on the 31st, find out if he writes in a different mindset when positioning his stories for children and teens, followed by reading extracts from Who Kills Amanda Palmer, a new photo book from the author based on a macabre collection of Amanda of American music duo The Dresden Dolls, in death poses. On the 1st, he will share some of his experiences and inspirations behind his many graphic novels and writings in the fantasy genre.

Also check out Wena Poon's new books The Biophilia Omnibus and The Proper Care Of Foxes.

It is a pity that I have missed a couple of talks and book launch due to family events - Heather's school performance last Saturday and classes on Sunday - so I am looking forward to this coming weekend.

LAUNCH OF OUR BOOKS - Guai Wu The Chinese Elf and Georgette's Mooncake

And don't forget Adeline Foo, Lee Kowling and I will be launching our new books Georgette's Mooncakes and Guai Wu The Chinese Elf this Saturday, 31 October, 6.30pm, at The Arts House. RSVP here on Faceboook. See you there!
GUAI WU ON THE RADIO

Guai Wu The Chinese Elf was reviewed by Michelle Martins on her Talking Books segment on 938Live. Check out this video below with the radio recording.

Book launch at Borders Books

noreply@blogger.com (Christine Lim) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 13:00:00 +0000

Last weekend was a busy one for me and my family. There was launch events for my picture book Guai Wu The Chinese Elf and Kowling's book Georgette's Mooncakes at Borders Books, as well as a wedding of a dear friend of mine (Cindy) on a beautiful Sunday morning at Beaufort Sentosa.

(Click on the images to enlarge)
Our book launch at Borders Books went well on both days. Many thanks to all of you who came to support us. Thanks Jamie, Effendy and Melissa at the Parkway bookstores for their logistic assistance. I think I did better than the first time when I did my presentation at Little Lit. At least not as nervous. I also enjoyed coming up with my own craft activities for the children.

I want to especially thank my girls Hannah and Heather, my husband Jon (who came despite being under the weather), Mariko and Wen for stepping forward to give me a hand with the events. Mari helped me to cut some of the templates for my shoe making session and brought for me my paintings while I went to the wedding before the event that morning while Wen helped me out with photography.

I held my tears when my mum and dad came to the bookstore until the end of the event. I am very touched by their support all along despite of their poor health. Thank you mum and dad for everything.

Double book launch
In celebration with the release of Georgette's Mooncakes and Guai Wu The Chinese Elf, Ethos Books will be hosting a double book launch during the Singapore Writers Festival, on the 31st October 2009, 6.30pm to 7.30pm at The Arts House. For more info, please go to my Facebook Pages or visit the official website of Singapore Writers Festival.

I look forward to catching up with you again. In the meantime, wish me luck with a few new sets of paintings for OIC.

Chinese Embroidery Patterns for Illustration Friday

noreply@blogger.com (Christine Lim) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:22:00 +0000

It has been a very very long time since I participated in Illustration Friday, where I first discovered the possible opportunity to illustrate for children's book. This week's topic is PATTERN and I happened to have some illustrations that fit in rather nicely.

These illustrations are from my new picture book Guai Wu The Chinese Elf, a story set during the Qing Dynasty. The book tells a story about a boy in China who looked different from other children and a seamstress who took him into her house and gave him shelter and food. In those days, the Han Chinese wore elaborately embroidered silk costumes and handmade shoes with beautiful patterns inspired by nature, folk culture and folk tales.

More article on the book can be found here, here and here.

…
Book information
Author: Adeline Foo
Illustrator: Christine Lim Simpson
Publisher: Ethos Books
Format: Soft Cover Trade
ISBN: 9789810828981
Medium: watercolour

Hot off the press!

noreply@blogger.com (Christine Lim) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 19:49:00 +0000

Labour of love
25 September 2009, Friday - I have been waiting for the moment to write this post for nearly 365 days. My parents had taught me well the virtue of patience.

This morning before I dashed off to meet my bookseller, Wai Han my publisher at Ethos Books, was so sweet to send over some copies of my newly printed books Guai Wu The Chinese Elf. For the first time, I feel relieved. I flipped through the book but didn’t scrutinise my paintings and the printing like I normally will do. Today, I told myself it’s time to walk tall. My work is done, or at least I am down with only the marketing aspect for my book. That’s right, illustrating and getting published is only part of the book business.

Almost an entire year of hard work is in this picture book. Is it worth it? YES, and I will do it again and again and again. I have learned so much from my author-partner Adeline Foo, my incredibly patient publishing team (Wai Han, Hoe Fang, Adeleena, Alvin and Merlin), Thomas and Hao You at PICA Scans, Steven and Ah Man at Utopia Press and everyone else whom had shared with me their wisdom in creating picture books. Thank you all for all your efforts.

Special thanks to Professor Ma Wenhai at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who had shared with me his personal pictures of China. His constant notes of encouragement are like cushions. My gratitude to Ken Spillman for all his inspirational and uplifting words.

Also, thanks in advance to the team at MarketAsia for distributing my books, all the staff of Borders Books for their support for the upcoming event on next Sunday, 4 October, 2pm at Borders Parkway, other book sellers, as well as each and everyone who will come and support me.

Last but not least, thanks to a few very important people in my life - Hannah and Heather (for everything that no adults can give and teach me), Jon (for providing for us), mum and dad (who has never once force me to become a doctor or a lawyer) and my sister Dawn (for looking after my mum and never once ask me to go get a properly paid job), my trustworthy neighbours Mariko, KiSeung and little Yuri (for your friendship, support, kind acts and for saving me time after time), my generous friends including Selena and Boo Kian (who never fail to bring out a smile on my kids’ face), Miko (who regularly buy me coffee to keep me awake on Sunday), May (who sends me love regularly from Toronto) and ALL my little friends (who loves peeping over my shoulder when I draw and paint) - each one of you is an inspiration behind my work.)

So, with further ado, I would like to invite you and your child to celebrate with me and Adeline for the launch of Gu Wu The Chinese Elf on the following dates:

4th October 2009. Sunday. 2pm. BORDERS BOOKS (Parkway Parade) There will be storytelling, guided shoe making session*, exhibition of original artwork and book signing.

* Parent/guardian's assistance for younger children is required.

You can find more info on my Facebook Page.

31st October 2009. Saturday. 6.30pm EARSHOT at THE ARTS HOUSE
Singapore Writers Festival event Joint book launch with Lee Kowling, illustrator for Adeline’s Peranakan series, for Georgette’s Mooncakes and The Beaded Slippers, also authored by Adeline Foo.

Kowling will also be launching her new book Georgette's Mooncake and The Beaded Slippers at Borders Books (Wheelock) on 3rd October 2009, Saturday from 2pm to 3pm.

Please see the image for details.

We look forwards to seeing all of you.

If you are a bookseller, a school teacher, a parent looking for have us over to do a talk, workshop, storytelling, please drop me an email.
…

Almost there!
22 September 2009. Tuesday - I am glad that my book is finally printed. Last Friday, I went all the way to Tuas with my publisher to do the press check. Ah Man, the press operator at Utopia Press, patiently took me through the process and taught me how colours can be adjusted to make the final appearance more pleasing to the eyes. Binding should done on today. The books should be delivered to the publisher by Wednesday ... I can’t wait to see my labour of love in print. Stay tuned for updates regarding book signing and activities!

…
Book information
Format: Soft Cover Trade
ISBN: 9789810828981

Reading For Pleasure - Nurturing Lifelong Learners

noreply@blogger.com (Christine Lim) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 07:14:00 +0000

Dear friends and readers, how have you been? I hope you have been kind to yourself. I am happy to announce that my book Guai Wu is now in the reproduction stage. There are still lots of things to do - colour corrections for the scans, touching up, colour proofing, cover design, text layout, final press check, etc, before the book goes to the bookstores.

In the meantime, I just want to share with you on the topic of reading for pleasure.

The Strait Times published an interview with Dr Ken Spillman, an Australian author of over 20 books including Blue and Love is a UFO, both acclaimed novels for teenagers, about "Getting the young to read for pleasure".

(Please click on the image to read the article.)

An evangelist of reading for pleasure, Dr Spillman visited Singapore on 24th August to gave a talk on literacy in the interactive world at a conference that is part of the 5th Read! Singapore campaign.

As a parent, I would like to thank Dr Spillman for reminding us the benefits of reading for pleasure. He recently published his new juvenile fiction entitled Jake’s Gigantic List*, which is especially dedicated to Children’s Book Council of Australia for being “so tireless in promoting the wonder of books”.

Jake’s Gigantic List
Jake’s Gigantic List is about discovering the magic of a great story. The protagonist is a little boy who wants it all. Like most kids, he loves birthdays and presents. He has pretty much everything a kid wants, though not enough. So for his coming birthday, his father tells him to make a wishlist which includes everything he has imagined to have - real spaceships, pet crocodile, friendly pirate, remote control football, a good mood tablet for teachers, etc. The list grew longer and longer, and more and more inventive. Luckily for Jake, Auntie Lyn knows just where to find them all. Filled with cute pencil sketch illustrations by Chris Nixon, Jake’s Gigantic List makes a fun book to read at anytime.

I personally had enjoyed reading Jake’s Gigantic List to Hannah, Heather and Yuri (my Japanese neighbour’s child) at bedtime. They all love the story to bits, especially the idea of creating their own adventure packed birthday list. Chris Nixon’s cartoonish, black and white drawings added extra playfulness to the lighthearted story.

You can find out more about Dr Ken Spillman on his website: www.kenspillman.com
Jake’s Gigantic List is published by Fremantle Press. ISBN 978 1921 361 71 5. You can purchase online http://www.fremantlepress.com.au/books/1111

Why reading for pleasure is so important to a child?
The world was once a place where books were not only for knowledge, book were also for entertainment, therefore for pleasure. Reading for fun was a favourite pastime of most children, teens and adults before the 50s. Then TV struck. Back then it was thought that TV would replace movies. Little did they know that movies would survive and reading for pleasure would fall by the wayside.

As TV watching increased, reading for fun decreased in direct proportion. With the birth of computers, popularisation of Internet and portable games gadgets in the 90s, as well as education system reform that stresses on academic achievement, people started to turn away from books to other form of activities for pleasure.

In UK, The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (Pirls) showed that the amount of reading overall outside school continued to plummet since the last study, six years ago. Only 33% of children in England and Scotland read for pleasure, compared with the international average of 40%.

The children's secretary, Ed Balls, said: "This study shows that our highest achieving children are reading less, with children's busy days leaving less time for books at home. As parents we have to get the balance right and as a society we have to send the right messages about the value of reading to our children."

Liberal Democrat shadow children's secretary David Laws said "Despite the success of books like Harry Potter, there is still a worryingly large group of our young people who have absolutely no interest in reading. We have to ensure that youngsters can not only read and write but that schools and parents breathe enjoyment back into what otherwise can be a rigid programme of learning."

In another interview, an award-winning children's author has suggested the current schooling system is putting kids off reading for pleasure.

While some independent schools may be exceptions to the rule, Frank Cottrell Boyce, told the Telegraph that continuous assessment and a focus on literacy may have improved the skills of some, but has taken the joy out of reading for many.

The author was awarded the Carnegie Medal for children's writing after the success of his book Millions, but told the newspaper he feels the focus on how children read is damaging.

"It is like comparing health to sport," he said. "One is something functional - the other is something you do because you enjoy it." Mr Cottrell Boyce told the newspaper children who read for pleasure should naturally do better at school.

New Children’s Laureate encourages reading picture books for pleasure
Anthony Browne, the new Children’s Laureate, has recently called for greater emphasis on reading for pleasure. Accepting the Laureateship in June he said, “I hope to encourage more children to discover and love reading, but I want to focus particularly on the appreciation of picture books, and the reading of both pictures and words. Picture books are for everybody at any age, not books to be left behind as we grow older. The best ones leave a tantalising gap between the pictures and the words, a gap that is filled by the reader's imagination, adding so much to the excitement of reading a book.”

And, “if children are not encouraged to read for pure pleasure, if they are dragged away from reading books they enjoy – including picture books – and pushed into reading educationally worthy books, then we are in danger of creating a generation of non-readers.”

He also encouraged educators and teachers to revisit picture books. “Picture books are special – they’re not like anything else. Sometimes I hear parents encouraging their children to read what they call proper books (books without pictures), at an earlier and earlier age. This makes me sad, as picture books are perfect for sharing, and not just with the youngest children. As a father, I understand the importance of the bond that develops through reading picture books with your child.”

‘We have in Britain some of the best picture book makers in the world, and I want to see their books appreciated for what they are – works of art.”

Schools have been ordered to overhaul their English teaching after a three-year study by the education watchdog, Ofsted, found that 30% of lessons are not good enough and little attempt is made to encourage teenagers to read for pleasure.

The report was based on inspectors’ visits to English lessons in 242 schools from 2005 to 2008. Although recent developments were praised, test results on the whole have hardly improved since 2004.

Singapore children asking for more time to read for pleasure
In Singapore, children in primary schools are engaged daily for at least 30 minutes of silent reading, which is usually carried out in the assembly hall; although the activity is recently held in classrooms instead due to H1N1. Students are allowed to read anything other than text books, comics and other academic materials such as composition handbooks. As to whether a child is truly reading a book, or simply glancing at the words in it, is probably still a question only he or she can tell you.

A study made by an associate professor at Nanyang Technology University on the reading habits of Singapore children revealed that 62% of the students said that they read to get better grades in their tests and examinations or taking reading as a way to improve language skills as their motivations for reading. Slightly over 20% of the students said that most of the time they read because their parents or teachers asked them to do so.

Clearly, only a limited number of the students were reading for relaxation. This could only possibly be due to stressful Singapore education system which places high emphasis on meritocracy and good grades. Students, including those in the lower primary level (6 and 7 years of age), often face pressure from their parents and teachers to improve their academic performance. Many expressed the wish to have more time for fun reading.

It is, therefore, desirable that Singapore Ministry of Education (MOE), schools as well as parents should consider reducing workload of primary school children so that they may find sufficient time and energy for fun reading.

The other dimension of this issue is that often children of Generation Z have a fixed amount of time and energy for leisure activities and, in addition to fun reading, many activities are competing for their time and attention. With more and more children being technologically savvy, books may perceived as less appealing and exciting in comparison to, say, a cutting-edge handheld game gadget, a fashionable mobile phone or the latest computer activities. Afterall, it does take a bit more brain cells and patience to digest a good story than watching a DVD or playing games on the Internet.

However, we already know that at the end, their imagination and intellectual curiosity is more likely expand hundred times more with books. Through the power and music and magic of stories and poems that children can also develop the empathy and awareness that they will need to tackle the complexities of their own emotions, of the human condition in which they find in themselves.

What can you do to encourage reading for pleasure?
Teachers and parents can play an important role in educating children how to keep a balance in their leisure activities, including reading for pleasure.

Children model after their parents’ lifestyle. I think that how do you instill in a child not to pick their food is similar to how you instill the joy of reading in a child. With eating, you, as a parent, must not be choosy or overly bias (with exception to junk food) and encourage your child to try out a good variety of healthy food. With reading, you must first make sure your child sees you reading for pleasure other than at read-aloud time that you and your child can do together before sleeping. Sharing with your child your enthusiasm for whatever you are reading is also a good way to cultivate his or her interest in reading.

My story:
I think I am personally a fairly late convert. My parents speak only Mandarin, Hokkien and Teochew. They were born during post occupation. They came from poor family and had only a few years of education. My mum learnt Teochew (a chinese dialect) through Chinese opera performing, which was her career for many years from the age of 12 until she married my dad. She learnt to read Chinese characters in the opera script. Mandarin was picked up probably in the 80s when television became popular in homes. My dad had to work since very very young, probably about 6 years old. He helped in the farm, grew vegetable and crops, raised pigs, chicken and ducks. My grandmother, who came to Singapore from China in a junk with her mother and sister, was a single mum to nine children, including those of my grandaunt’s own and adopted. All of them lived together under one scrap-metal roof where the toilet was a few yards outside the house. My grandaunt worked as a samsui woman (labour worker at construction sites) while my grandmother ran the household and a farm at home. My father had to give up school before he became a young adult to work as a carpenter, a chicken rice seller and a hawker to live. He had never given up learning languages and acquired sufficient reading skill to comprehend the newspaper and written materials that he finds interesting to read.

During my primary school days, if I am honest, I read to get through book reviews and exams. I didn’t do well in English because there was no help from home and school. And because English was my weakest subject, I find myself struggling with chapter books, which were the only kind of books we were allowed to read and review. I can’t recall much of what I read other than some of Enid Blyton’s and Hans Christian Anderson’s books, and Z for Zachariah by Robert C. O’Brien, a story about life after a nuclear disaster. No one introduced me to AA Milne, Beatrix Potter, Dr Suess or Roald Dahl, whom I believe I would have love to read if I had known them.

Time flew and I was in secondary school. I don’t know how or why I became very interested in literature and turned out to be good at it. Shakespeare was my favourite. I even bought the whole collection of his works later on in life. I guess it was probably then I began to like books a little more. I also signed on as a student librarian at my school for a year or two. As I grew older, books became my life companion. I even worked in a bookshop for a while. After meeting my husband, who is an avid reader, I was introduced to some more world’s best authors including J R.R Tolkien, CS Lewis, Issac Asimov, and many more.

I feel very fortunate to be in the children’s book industry. Not only that I get to read for knowledge and pleasure, sharing stories with children, I even get to meet and work with authors and be the first few to read their stories that can add sparkles to a child’s life (and mine too). Every night, I also get to read aloud to my daughters all the best books ever written. What a blessing … all from my love for reading.

So, it’s really never too late to become a bookworm or raise one.

And it’s definitely not too late to experience every little heartfelt magical moments that you can discover between the lines in books.

Dr Seuss in I can Read with my Eyes Shut said: “The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” While Roald Dahl in Charlie and Chocolate Factory beseeched: “So please, oh PLEASE, we beg, we pray, go throw your TV set away, And in its place you can install, a lovely bookshelf on the wall!”

To end, I would like to quote from author Emma Walton Hamilton, author of Raising Bookworms: Getting kids Reading for Pleasure and Empowerment:

“Let’s help our kids to access the innate joy and empowerment in exploring the ideas and insights of great writers, thinkers, artists, and philosophers. Let’s imagine a world in which they actually participate, with active voices, informed opinions, and the real hope of being heard. Let’s get started right now.”

I am off to read John Danalis' new novel Riding The Black Cockatoo before I hit the sack. He said to me: "There is healing smokes within the pages. Breathe and enjoy!"

Sources and links:
Telegraph UK
Guardian UK
Independent UK
Timesonline UK
Children's Laureate UK
Children's Book Council of Australia
Wall Street Journal Online

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28 October 2011 - Myra Garces-Bacsal did an extensive series of interviews with Ken Spillman on his works at Gathering Book: Intro, Part 1, Part 2, Part3 and Part 4.

Good book, good food, good company

noreply@blogger.com (Christine Lim) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 13:27:00 +0000

The first week of the school holiday has gone so very quickly. Jon and I managed to get out of the house this time to do something fun. This week is all about books, food and company of friends.

Last weekend, Adeline, Kowling and I hosted two little workshops at the National Museum of Singapore. Hannah and Heather had a great time playing with Kowling's daughter Ashley on Saturday. After the workshop, we lunched at a cafe restaurant at Dhoby Exchange. I think it's called Just Acia. We enjoyed our afternoon there as there is a little play corner for kids while the adults get free flow of coffee tea and ice cream. But having said that, we all had only one each. After a nice meal, we dropped by the World Book Fair to meet our distributor.

(L to R: Adeline, Me, Stephanie and Kowling at MarketAsia booth)

On Sunday, Selena and Boo brought Gareth and Gawain to the museum. While I was doing the workshop, the girls went exploring the museum and had lots of fun with their friends. After that we spend a splendid afternoon with Selena and her family.

On Monday, I attended a thank you dinner organised by the very nice people from the museum with my usual coterie. Hannah had a good time hanging out with Ashley and Ben. It was a pleasure meeting others who participated in the Children's Season 2009.

Thursday was interesting. We were invited to the opening of Namiko Chan's solo art show "Divergence" by her husband Aaron Lee, a newly found friend I met at Little Lit. Namiko's exhibit will run from 5th to 27th June at the Fost Gallery (near Mohd Sultan Road). That evening, we took the opportunity to experience a taste of French. We dined at Brasserie Wolf by the river bank at The Pier. The girls enjoyed tucking into their gourmet ham and seafood pasta while Jon and I savoured our Roasted Rabbit. After an incredible feast, we strolled down the river to Clarke Quay. We stopped by the Crazy Elephant before we called it a night.

The next day, we slept in till 10. Jon took a day off work to bring the girls to the Science Centre while I joined the Little Lit gang at a Filipino art exhibit at the Royal Plaza and a pretty good local fare at The Canteen at Shaw Scott. Thanks to Eugene!

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Behind a Picture Book - From Ideas to Words and Art
Kid's workshop at The National Museum of Singapore
Adeline, Kowling and I would like to thank everyone who came and join us at the National Museum last weekend. We had fun and look forward to seeing everyone again.

An afternoon of enriching the creative minds at Little Lit

noreply@blogger.com (Christine Lim) — Thu, 28 May 2009 12:47:00 +0000

The inaugural “Little Lit: Enriching Minds & Igniting A Writer’s Spark”, a Pre-Festival Event of the Singapore Writers Festival held at The Arts House on 24th May 2009, was a huge success.

Many heartfelt thanks to our sponsors and organisers - National Arts Council, The Art House, Monsters Under The Bed and Singapore Press Holdings, our publishers Ethos Books and Epigram, our distributor Marketasia everyone who helped out as well as ALL who attended the event.

The panel of speakers including poet Aaron Lee, authors Adeline Foo and Felix Cheong, together with illustrators Joshua Chiang, Lee Kowling, Stephanie Wong and myself were greeted by 200 odd attendees including children, parents, teachers, writers, aspiring writers and illustrators, plus many others who are keen to learn more about writing and illustrating for children.

All of us had lots of fun sharing with everyone our knowledge, journey and passion for children’s literature.

Adeline Foo, author of 13 children’s books, talked about the various career choices for a writer, and other aspects of writing such as book marketing, as well as sharing her process of writing The Diary of Amos Lee, a new book she collaborated with illustrator/book designer Stephanie Wong, who talked about the process in designing the character for Amos Lee and how to create illustrations and book cover for a novel that works.

Aaron Lee, a prize winning poet, an excellent speaker who was also the brilliant moderator for the event, talked about his love for poetry. He shared with us many inspiring poems that touch the hearts of children and adults.

Felix Cheong, an award winning poet and novelist, shared his wisdom on writing fiction for the tweens (children between 9 to 14 years old)and tips on penning the first word. A former TV producer and studio director,with the help of three youngsters, he demonstrated the use of sound to dramatise storytelling.

For me, it was a great privilege to speak at “Little Lit”. This is the first time artists are featured as part of the Singapore Writers Festival, which is Singapore’s most prestigious and only national literary festival.

My talk about Asian Influence in Children's Books covered a brief presentation of my work and illustration style for children’s books,a showcase of children's book illustrators in Asia, an introduction to Asian heritage, a peek into my childhood as a child to a Chinese opera performer and how I incorporate Asian elements, in terms of Chinese values and arts, in my new book “Guai Wu The Chinese Elf”, a story set in China during the Qing Dynasty, which should be in major bookstores by July.

Joshua Chiang, an all rounded animator and illustrator, shared his experience, tips and tricks on how he goes about creating his characters for cartoons and his first children’s book. His philosophy “Remain a child at heart always” conveys the message from every children’s book writer and illustrator.

Lee Kowling, a veteran in the book illustration scene, took us through her journey as an illustrator from the 90s till now. She explained how she developed a wide variety of illustration styles to meet the needs of the stories she worked on. It was a visual feast for the audience.

We look forward to bringing back the event again.

Little Lit, grooming Singapore's next generation of writers
From 8 to 16, they came and absorbed everything about writing and publishing

Mr Phan Ming Yen (Director of The Arts House) gave an opening speech.

Speakers Felix Cheong, Adeline Foo, Stephanie Wong
Illustrators panel - Joshua Chiang, Christine Lim Simpson, Lee Kowling

Poet, emcee and moderator Aaron Lee

The crowd of 200 plus parents and children (Many others had to be turned away, our sincere apologies)

We are in the Sunday Times!

noreply@blogger.com (Christine Lim) — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 08:35:00 +0000

Author Adeline Foo and illustrators Lee Kowling, Christopher Martin, Joshua Chiang and myself were interviewed by Singapore press on Wednesday. The interview was featured on Sunday Times today.

To read, click on the image.

Meet the monster gang

noreply@blogger.com (Christine Lim) — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 08:30:00 +0000

I have been keeping silence for a few months now. I am so thrilled that I can finally let the cat out of the bag!

Last year late October, Adeline Foo, winner of the inaugural First Time Writers and Illustrators Initiative award, author of Ben's Rainforest series and Peranakan Heritage series, invited me to illustrate one of her newest children's titles. It didn't take me long to say yes after reading the initial manuscript.

Since then, I have been working tirelessly. My book which should be available in major bookstores sometime in May. Currently, production is in full swing. After nearly two months of pretty intensive research, hundreds of sketches and thumbnails, I finally started doing the final paintings a month ago. I must admit I underestimated the amount of time I need to work on the book. I also did not expect myself to be so meticulous over the details on the painting. Anyway, thankfully both Adeline and my publisher (Ethos Books) have been really patient. That really allow me to produce my best illustrations for the book.

Today, the first three books of Adeline's latest series (titled Monsters in the Mind) were launched at the Mint Toy Museum. Me, Hannah and Heather, together with Mariko and her daughter Yuri (our Japanese neighbour) rushed to the book event after Hannah's ballet class. We were fashionably late for a good reason. Wai Han called me when I was half way on the road. Apparently everyone was waiting for me to start the event. My jaw dropped! I was certain that I did inform them that I will get there 45 mins later. Before I could settle down, I was given a very warm welcome and a microphone. I don't remember exactly what I said other than thanking everyone for their support and patience. Truthfully, I am so lucky to be in the team of such wonderful people.

After the launch, the girls and I joined Adeline, Kowling and their family for dinner. We also pop by to see Christopher Martin, illustrator for "The Thing Under My Bed". He is also an artist and the creative director of Splatter. Together with his wife Angela Mather, they are selling their original art pieces Creative Australia 2009 event being held at Raffles City, Level 3 Atrium, from 13 to 22 March 2009.

Do drop by if you have time during the school holiday.

Also don't forget to bring for kids to meet the "monster gang" at Kinokuniya Takashimaya on the 21 March 2009, 3.30 to 4.30pm.

So check out MUTB for other events in Singapore .

Who is asleep?

noreply@blogger.com (Christine Lim) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 01:00:00 +0000

Who is asleep?
Written by Anne Smith
Illustrated by Christine Lim Simpson
Medium - Watercolour
Publisher - Publishwrite

Top: Illustration process

Below: 12 illustrations for a big format children's book for pre-schoolers.

Quick peek

noreply@blogger.com (Christine Lim) — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 13:23:00 +0000

A glimpse of what I am working on now. Here is a small section of a sketch for one of the twelve illustrations. I am hoping to get them finished in watercolour.

New illos

noreply@blogger.com (Christine Lim) — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 06:35:00 +0000

Illustration for First Time Writers and Illustrators Publishing Initiative 2008, a yearly event organised by the National Book Development Council of Singapore. I collaborated with Lynn, a mother who is aspired to be a children's book writer, on this project. I had less than a week to come out with the illos for her book. I managed to complete 1 full colour version with watercolour and 2 tight black and white sketches.

Illustrations for The Felt Elephant
These illustrations are for my regular publisher. All in watercolour.

Click on each picture to see enlarged version

A Day At The Zoo

noreply@blogger.com (Christine Lim) — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 19:55:00 +0000

Illustrations for A Day At The Zoo

New work for children's book

noreply@blogger.com (Christine Lim) — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 02:09:00 +0000

Here are some new work for one of the big books that I was working on early this year. There are 17 in total but these are my favourites.