Rainforest Hike and Other Stories

Author : Dr. Cecilia Leong
Illustrator : Chooi Ling Keiong 
Publisher's Review : by Peter Duke

What a wonderful collection of short stories that take you back to childhood pleasures in this modern age of shopping malls and tablets. Cecelia has captured the spirit of childhood beautifully with stories of gardens and forest, grandma’s and aunts and their special recipes. Her heroes, Xiao Rae, Timmy and Nazri happily enjoy their adventures in a way that only children can. Cecilia’s stories are ably illustrated by Chooi Ling’s art.

The first story describes the children’s adventures in the forest where they discover  monkeys, frogs, hornbills and even an awful smelling  rafflesia plant .

The second story relates Xiao Rae’s trip to a night market with her parents. Here she sees a lady making pancakes, finds stalls selling colourful fruits and another selling fish.  

Cool Clowns is a story of Xiao Rae and Nazri’s visit to Xiao Rae’s grandma with wonderful pictures of the grandma as she prepares Peranakan special treats. This is followed by a story children all over the world will be able to relate to. Anywhere where there is a small stream, you will often find children with nets and buckets out for a morning’s fishing trip to catch guppies or other small fish.   

Xiao Rae, Timmy and Nazri take a ride on an elephant when they visit a centre for lost and injured elephants. This story contains many important facts about elephants. 

Then we have a story that most parents will relate to when they were growing up. A visit to grandma’s when she was making her special and delicious vegetable pickle.

There are two family stories, one about Xiao Rae and her naughty rabbit and another about special dishes prepared by Xiao Rae’s grandmother for a Chinese festival. 

In the last story Xiao Rae and Nazri go by speed boat to visit Nazri’s aunt who cooks her famous prawn noodle soup. Pulau Aman is a very small island where there are no roads and the environment is still unspoilt.  

I am sure children and adults alike will enjoy this special book by Cecilia and illustrated by Chooi Ling. This a book to keep in the child's library and they may want to keep  coming back to it. Hopefully, it will help them to see that there are many wonderful things they can do and have fun together with family and friends.

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