The Nanobots and Other Stories

Author : Golda Mowe
Illustrator : Lim Lay Koon
Publisher's Review : by Peter Duke

What fun! Micro-robots too small to be seen, a ballooning sun about to gobble up earth, aliens galore and even an old legend intriguingly woven into a story about aliens.   Golda has all these and more in her sci-fi story book coupled with Lay Koon’s imaginative black and white illustrations. Each story ends with a short review of real scientific facts that have been carefully woven into the story line. Here are snapshots of a few of the stories.

In Golda’s first story, ‘Nanobots’, Manujam, a slave boy controlled by an evil alien discovers a tank full of a strange looking liquid which attacks metal alloys. They are Nanobots. Can Manujam free himself and his friends from the evil alien with the Nanobots? Do you know what Nanobots are? See the science page at the end of the story.

In ‘A New Beginning’ Rashid and his little sister are the only two survivors of an atomic bomb strike on their home. There is nothing left of their home, just a big hole in the ground and there is nothing left for them to eat or drink. Who or what can save them from certain death?  

‘The Container of Grass’, deals with a future world where the ozone layer, which protects the earth’s surface has been destroyed by pollution. Here everyone lives in fear of the sun and their lives are carefully controlled by the authorities. But Sunil discovers a few grass seeds stuck to his trousers and with these, he sets in motion great change. 

How would you like to go to a zoo full of half - half animals or chimeras? In ‘Main Attractions’, Siew Ping, the zoo keeper’s daughter worries about the tapir-bear, the monkey cats, and the small elephant cross bred with a tiger, as they seem so dispirited, never want to play and die young. Can she help stop the trade in these poor creatures?

In the final story, ‘The Way of Puteri Gunung Ledang’, Golda weaves an old legend into the future. The beautiful alien Milipa does not wish to marry the great alien general Pedo. In desperation she turns to her human slave girl, Anita, for help. Anita tells Milipa  the story of the demands made by Puteri Gunung Ledang when Sultan Mansur Shah sought her hand in marriage. Can Milipa use the same trick to ward off general Pedo?

Boys and girls will love this exciting new book and it should spark interest in exploring science.

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