1. What inspires you? As far as I can remember, I have always loved looking at pictures and making one. My father loves art and my mother is the creative one. My sisters helped shape my interest in children’s books. But as time went by, I fell in love with children’s picture book. They look simple yet there is a great deal of thought and effort that goes into making one. We need more picture books which children enjoy, get inspired with, are heartfelt and also thought provoking. I am inspired to create more of such. There are so many children books that I find inspiring but Dr. Seuss books often touch me deeply. 2. What is your favourite story and why? Some of my favourite children’s books are the ones written by Enid Blyton especially the Faraway Tree stories. I also love reading folk stories from Malaysia and around the world. Some of my favourite books include the Cerita Cerita Rakyat collections which my sisters often borrowed from the National Library Malaysia back when it was located at Wisma Sachdev. There were also books on similar stories published by Dewan Bahasa & Pustaka which I kept (and read!) until today. What attracted me most about these stories are the richness of what is beyond our known little world and how exciting the mind is when opened up to infinite possibilities! 3. Draw or doodle your own self portrait. 4. What country would you like to visit and why? I am fortunate to have been able to visit a number of countries so I do not have any in particular at the moment. However, I would love to take some time to explore more of what Malaysia has got to offer! 5. Why do you think children should read? My favourite author-illustrator, Eric Carle once said that picture books are an introduction to literature for the very young reader. I hope to be able to encourage children to see how wonderful it is to be surrounded and touched by books. Books are rich in many ways and reading them will inspire children, encourage them to think creatively and critically and perhaps offer companionship during difficult times.
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1. What is the best day of your life? I don’t know, it’s just great to be alive! 2. Why do you like writing children’s books? Well, they are fun to write. You can let your imagination run wild. You are not constrained by facts. For instance, I have written a series about a young stegosaurus (dinosaur) and a young elephant who meet in the forbidden forest when they are hiding from T-Rex. The dinosaurs died out 60 million years before the first elephant appeared on earth. But that doesn't matter to a six year old. 3. What are your top 3 tips on writing stories for children? You can dream up an idea or see something that sparks an idea and then just let you imagination run wild. Let your characters take you where they want to go. This is what I do and in the end I often have enough material for more than one book which is great because children love series. They love spending their time with their favourite characters. With this in mind I develop my characters and engage them in more and more adventures. But there is one important thing to remember. Children are very observant and they need their characters to be realistic and consistent. As you develop your series your characters will change as you grow to know them better. It is very important, therefore, that at the end of writing your series you go back through the earlier books to make sure your characters are realistic in a child’s mind. 4. Tell us something about yourself that no one knows.
5. What do you do when you are not writing children's books? Life is great when I have a new idea for a children’s book and I can let my thoughts rip. But you can’t write all the time and I enjoy reading historical novels and scientific facts about rare animals and creatures that have long since disappeared like dinosaurs. Peter Worthington will be conducting two Storytime sessions at the upcoming Children's Book Week 2016 on Sunday, 29th May and Monday, 30th May at the Concourse, Bangsar Village II.
Admission is FREE for Storytime sessions - bring the kids for some storytelling fun!
2. What makes you laugh? Fun chat with friends and family. 3. Who is your favourite author/ illustrator and why? I like the simple creative ideas of Oliver Jeffers and Emily Gravett, meticulous sketches of Shaun Tan, intriguing illustrations of Mattias Adolfsson, Jill Barklem for gorgeous details, Lat for bringing culture smoothly into comics. 4. Why do you like children’s books? I love reading the pictures on children's books. 5. Draw or doodle of yourself doing something you enjoy. OK. Here I am having tea with 2 characters I made, The Turtle and The Silly Monkey. Evi Shelvia will be conducting an Activity session - Draw and Colour Your Favourite Animals at the upcoming Children's Book Week 2016 on Monday, 30th May at the Concourse, Bangsar Village II.
Don't miss this chance to meet Evi for an enjoyable afternoon of drawing and colouring! Fengyi Lai was born in Malacca. She graduated from The One Academy, majoring in Graphic Design and Illustration. She received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Hertforshire in 2013. Fengyi is passionate about illustrating children’s book and enjoys using different mediums. Her passion for design is linked to her desire to inspire people everyday with her art.
3. Draw or doodle your favourite animal. Dinosaurs! 4. What is the best day of your life? I have many best days in my life. But if I can only pick one, then it'll be the day when my parents agreed to let me further my studies in Art and Design and then later on majoring in Illustration. I was a science stream students, so it was tough for them. Haha! 5. Who is your favourite author/illustrator and why? I love Eric Carle's book, I love the way how he plays with textures and bold colors. And also local illustrator, Lim Heng Swee's earlier works (寻找遗失的乐园 and 美丽人生).
We are introducing three non-fiction illustrated books courtesy of Gilt Edge Publishing, New Zealand. These three books are carefully planned, using photographs with simple repetitive text to develop literacy and introduce nature to preschoolers. Curious young children will love these books as a parent or teacher reads or talks them through the books. They will learn to observe and see the world around them and to appreciate it. They will also gain confidence as they build up their knowledge. A note of warning - you may find yourself overwhelmed by more questions! Each book also comes with notes for the parent or teacher with suggestions for discussion points and activities to reinforce learning. 1. Here Comes the Bees 2. From Egg to Frog 3. This is My Home
Since we first started our Special Edition of Colourart by Emila Yusof, whereby you get to choose your own cover and inside pages, from a selection of 60 designs, we have been overwhelmed by orders. These special editions are ideal as a present for they show the giver's thoughtfulness in selecting each of the 12 pages - the twelve ways you can show your love and care! And for Mother's Day, we are giving a special promotion - each special edition is now RM18.00 instead of RM24 (you save RM6). This also applies to all the other Colourart books by Emila Yusof, ie RM15 instead of RM20 (you save RM5). This offer is valid from now until 8th May. Just enter the coupon code "MOTHERSDAY" upon checkout. Our customers have delighted and surprised us by their choice of cover design and sometimes, we wished we had thought of them ourselves! Have a look at some of the special edition covers:
Continuing our Around the World in Picture Books adventure, here are three delightful picture books from the Philippines. They are bilingual books - English and Filipino. These three books are published by Lampara Books.
It was so beautiful and delicate with butterfly embroidery. One day, she plucks up her courage and tries to open the door of the wardrobe but it will not open. She asks her mother who opens it for her - inside the wardrobe are old pictures and many things that have been passed down including many beautiful clothes that her grandmother had sewn which had been worn by her mother and now her. 3. A Lesson from Juana
Author: Becky Bravo Illustrator: Jonathan Rañola In the island where Juana lives, little girls are taught to sew and weave while little boys are taught to fish. Unfortunately, Juana is not very good at sewing or weaving. So she asks her father to teach her to fish. Everyone is shocked but her father takes her along for his next fishing trip. Juana learns that the best fish are further away but their little boat cannot reach it safely. Juana feels the wind blowing her hair and she has an idea. She works all night and the next morning, her father's boat has a sail made up from the cloths she had tried to sew. That day, their boat went further and came back with the biggest fish. Today we visit India - the land of many wonders and stories. We select four picture-story books from India's Children's Book Trust, an NGO. These four books are only 16-pages each but the stories are fun to read with bright colourful illustrations to accompany them. India produces some wonderful and award-winning books - think of Tara Books, Katha, Tulika and Karadi Tales. But we select these four books although they are not produced in hardcover or use thick paper because of the sheer pleasure one gets from reading the stories.
First, Bina's father picks up the bottle of jam. Ah, he says, how does Aunt Farida know I need a jar of gum for my carpentry work. He is happy with his present. Bina picks up the lampshade. Oh, Aunt Bina has made me a beautiful skirt. She really likes her present. Oh, this is nice, something for me to clean my computer and CDs ,says Bina's brother, as he picks up the feather hairpiece. Bina's mother is thrilled with her present - a sprinkler - just what she needs. They write a letter to Aunt Farida to thank for the gift of gum, skirt, CD cleaner and sprinkler.
However, all's well that ends well with everyone hopping onto the now repaired tractor to go to the circus.
We have three lovely hard cover books from China - the country we are visiting this month - in picture books! 1. 灶王节 (KITCHEN GOD DAY) This book tells the story of the origin of the Kitchen God Day and how it is celebrated. The Kitchen God day falls on the 23rd of the 12th month of the Chinese lunar calendar, just before the Chinese New Year. It is regarded as a Little New Year. According to Chinese myth, the Kitchen God observes all that a family does throughout the year and then reports it to the Jade Emperor who will reward or punish accordingly. It is therefore a tradition to thoroughly clean the house and to make sweet cakes to offer to the Kitchen God (sometimes referred to as Stove King) so that he will only have sweet things to say. Here are some wonderful illustrations from the book: 2. 牙齿,牙齿,扔屋顶 (Tooth, Tooth, Throw it onto the roof)
This book is published by the China Welfare Institute Publishing House. Written and illustrated by Liu Xun, it won the Outstanding Chinese Children’s Picture Book Award in the Feng Zikai Chinese Children's Picture Book Award, 2015. 3. 一个,两个,三个……蘑菇下躲雨 ((One after another... mushroom shelter)
Approximately 40 people attended the Oyez!Books group book launch held on 27th January at our favourite bookstore, Silverfish, on the second floor of Bangsar Vilage II. The press was supportive and we welcomed reporters and cameramen from Berita Harian and The Star. Oyez!Books Chairman, Mr Peter Duke introduced the new books for January 2016:
Three of the books were in preview format, meaning they have not gone into mass production. We will be having more preview sessions in the future where we will invite the press and our buyers. The preview sessions will help us obtain feedback from the audience and to decide on the print run. "In a rapidly developing market, such as children’s books in Malaysia, Oyez books cannot stand still. We have to keep pushing the boundaries," said Mr Duke. We thank and congratulate our authors for their wonderful work and encourage them to keep on excelling and to aim for world class work. Oyez!Books will continue to support them and aims to bring their books to the international stage.
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