Recommended English Books

[jasmineong]

Hi TAS,


Btw, can I ask, I saw from the link to your website that there will be a new branch opening at Bukit Timah. When will it be opening? What are the classes offered there? Also, where exactly is it, which part of bukit timah?

I see that your centre actually organises events for children and parents too.
When will the next book sale be? My regrets that I missed the first one…

[The Alternative Story]

[quote]Hi TAS,


Wow, thank you for all your recommendations. It really helps! Can I ask, are those books you mentioned which are similar to 'The Giving Tree' available? I would like to get them. It sounds really good for the kids. Good way to spend time with the kids also. [/quote]Hi Jasmine,

Those books that I mentioned that are similar to The Giving Tree should
be available at libraries and perhaps you can get online from Amazon.
We do not sell those books.
[quote]Btw, the book 'ctrl Z' and 'Monsteroso' sounds very exciting.[/quote]Yes, they are both written by very good authors:)
[quote]I saw the link you gave me, and it says there will be accompanying phrases? How does the phrases actually help the children? [/quote]Yes, each book comes with creative writing phrases that has been
extracted from the book. So the children can make use of these
phrases in their writing. The phrases come under different headings
like 'Anger', 'Fire', 'Drowning' etc which helps the child to also
know which phrases to use to describe a certain scene.
[quote]Btw, the 10% discount is until July2010. Is there any discounts or whatsoever if I spend above a certain amount? [/quote]We have a privileged card that was launched during our recent
'Night at the Reading Museum' booksale event. When you spend
a certain amount of money, you will first get 5% off the books and when
you spend the next fixed sum of money, you get 10% and finally, you can
get a free book. This card will be given to anyone who makes a purchase
of our books.
[quote]Thanks for the prompt and quality reply. Appreciate it![/quote]

You are welcome!

TAS

[The Alternative Story]

jasmineong:

Hi TAS,


Btw, can I ask, I saw from the link to your website that there will be a new branch opening at Bukit Timah. When will it be opening? What are the classes offered there? Also, where exactly is it, which part of bukit timah?

I see that your centre actually organises events for children and parents too.
When will the next book sale be? My regrets that I missed the first one...

We will be opening our branch in late August. We have some classes for
primary 1, 3, 4 and 5 that are starting when it opens. These classes have
children waiting to start so we will start with these classes first.

Our centre is at Bukit Timah Shopping Centre, next to Beauty World.

We are going to have our next booksale during our open house.
The date is yet to be confirmed, it will probably be in mid-september.

However, we have the confirmed dates of our next parents workshop
for creative writing at this branch. We will post up the details
on the Happenings thread in this forum. This is the link:
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13090

TAS

[singapore45]

Hi TAS,


Do you all have books that is good for upper primary boys? Maybe some books recommendation to help them love reading more.

Thanks!

[isabella.026990zola]

The Alternative Story:

We also explain the creative writing strategies that are used and show
you how you can teach them to your children during the
creative writing parent's workshops. We are going to have
one coming up in August/September.

Hi TAS,

I'm interested in the creative writing workshops! Will it be a teaching kind of lesson, or more hands-on activities? The workshop will be at the new centre at Bukit Timah?

Thanks!

[cloubhappy.05320live.05320com]

Hi TAS,


My gal is N2 this year and she is now 4 end of the yr. She likes reading and is picking up phonics at the moment from her preschool and enrichment class. She is able to identify the first sounds of most words corectly with no problem.

She is able to read all beginner books rather well and is currently at level 2 of those readers series. She does read Peter and Jane series at times and she is currently at book 4a and 4b. I don’t particularly stick to one range like scholastic etc… so that she can read more different type of books.

Is she on track for her age?

Would be glad to hear your recommendation for good books for her stage so that she can enjoy more interesting stories to widen her imagination and creativity.

Thanks!!!

[jasmineong]

Hi TAS,


Thanks for the prompt reply! Must we register for the booksale?

[The Alternative Story]

singapore45:

Hi TAS,


Do you all have books that is good for upper primary boys? Maybe some books recommendation to help them love reading more.

Thanks!

Hi Singapore45,

These are some books that we recommend for upper primary kids.

These are some of the titles that we have mentioned that are good:

1) The Divide by Elizabeth Kay
2) Bang, bang, you're dead by Narinda Dhami
3) Gone series by Michael Grant (Stock has just come in for Gone)
4) Charlie Bone series by Jenny Nimmo
5) Locked in Time by Lois Duncan
6) Survival by Chris Ryan

New books for upper primary kids:

1) The Candle Man by Glenn Darkin*

Theo has a mysterious “illness” and his guardians force him never to
go outdoors. As he grows older, he begins to wonder why he has to
wear gloves all the time and go for daily medical treatments. He feels
fine, he does not feel sick. At the same time, he begins to wonder
why he has only known 3 people in his whole life. The answers to all
these mysteries begins when Theo discovers a suspicious package on
his birthday and finds one person from the past that will unlock the
secret behind Theo’s “illness” and change his life forever. Then a
burglary breaks out at his house and he discovers his relationship
to the 'Candle Man' and his own power.

A very intriguing storyling!

You can visit this website to find out more about this book. In this
website, they even show you the actual cemetery that was an
inspiration for the author.
http://www.glenndakin.com/candle_man.html

2) The city of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau*

Lights shine in the city of Ember, but at the city limits the light ends,
and darkness takes over. Ember is the only light in the dark world.
This is what the people believe. However, actually, it is an
underground city and the original builders of the city built it to escape
the devastating effects of the war. The city was not supposed to last
for so many years. The original builders passed down a box that
contained information to let the people know when they are
supposed to leave the city.

However, it got lost over the years and now the lights are fading
and the city is dying.

Lina Mayfleet has found a puzzling document, and Doon Harrow
has made discoveries down in the Pipeworks. With these clues,
these 2 children begin to discover that they need to leave the city
and they find a way out, but how can they get the remaining
residents out?

This book is very interesting and it has been made into a movie.

*We have these books and will post the details on the marketplace
thread.
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?p=238167#238167

TAS

[The Alternative Story]

jasmineong:

Hi TAS,


Thanks for the prompt reply! Must we register for the booksale?

Hi Jasmine,

No problem! You only need to register for the Open House. When we
put up the details of the Open House, you can register for it

TAS

[The Alternative Story]

XK:

Hi TAS,


My gal is N2 this year and she is now 4 end of the yr. She likes reading and is picking up phonics at the moment from her preschool and enrichment class. She is able to identify the first sounds of most words corectly with no problem.

She is able to read all beginner books rather well and is currently at level 2 of those readers series. She does read Peter and Jane series at times and she is currently at book 4a and 4b. I don't particularly stick to one range like scholastic etc.. so that she can read more different type of books.

Is she on track for her age?

Would be glad to hear your recommendation for good books for her stage so that she can enjoy more interesting stories to widen her imagination and creativity.

Thanks!!!

Hi XK,

For a 4 year old girl, I think she is definitely on track.
To widen her creativity and get her imagination fired up, you can
get her to read books on fairy tales that come with a twist.

This helps especially if she already knows how the original version
is like. When she reads the other version, it will get her to start to
think and question. She will see that in any story, there is
always 2 sides to a story. You can also get her to see how with a
little change of words, the whole story changes.

These 2 books are good that come with a twist in the story:
1) The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Skieszka
2) The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig by Eugene Trivizas

Another type of book that is good for sparking off creativity are
books that can help the child to imagine how something simple like
a chair or a plant can be used for many different purposes and
a story is woven into this context.

One such book is:
1) Ruby Nettleship and the Ice Lolly Adventure
by Thomas Docherty

In this book, the playground which Ruby plays in is rundown,
nothing works except for one swing for which there is always a
long queue. One day, Ruby is given a magic ice lolly. When
she plants its stick and a multi-coloured shoot appears and grows
and soon this shoot becomes many different things like a swing,
a slide, a magic carpet and it sweeps her friends and her off
on an amazing adventure.

TAS