Recommended English Books

[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

[The Alternative Story]

isabella.zola:

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!

Hi isabella,

It will be both teaching and hands-on, and yes, it will be at Bukit Timah.

The information for the workshop can be found at this link:

http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13090

TAS

[singapore45]

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

Hi TAS,

Thank you for all the recommendations! I will check out some of the books for the kids when i can. Really appreciate your reply!

[jasmineong]

Hi TAS,


I came across a book ‘maximum ride’ recently. Just want to know what do you feel towards this book, what age group is it suitable for etc ?

Tks!

[The Alternative Story]

jasmineong:

Hi TAS,


I came across a book 'maximum ride' recently. Just want to know what do you feel towards this book, what age group is it suitable for etc ?

Tks!

Hi Jasmine,

This is an interesting book. It is about children who have have 2%
avian dna inserted into them at a science lab called 'the school'.

They escaped from 'the school' and are on the run from 'erasers'
which are half human, half wolf that have been released to capture
them.

There are 7 books in all and the last few books incorporate global
warming issues in it.

It is suitable for upper primary kids.

We do carry the book as well.

TAS

[Brenda10]

Hi TAS


Wow. So many nice story books.

May I know how you find \"The Curse of the Blue Figurine\"?

BTW, kindly inform me me once the books are available so I can pick up
may be at end of this month as next week I’m not available.

Thank you.

[The Alternative Story]

Brenda10:

Hi TAS


Wow. So many nice story books.

May I know how you find \"The Curse of the Blue Figurine\"?

BTW, kindly inform me me once the books are available so I can pick up
may be at end of this month as next week I’m not available.

Thank you.

Hi Brenda,

Sure, we will let you know, the books should be all coming in
by end of this month. Sorry to keep you waiting.

The Curse of the Blue Figurine is a very interesting book.

It is about a boy Johnny who goes into a church one day
and finds a figurine. He takes it back and begins to have
all kinds of mysterious things happening to him. He
get strange nightmares and his house gets infested with spiders.

Then he finds out that the figurine could be connected to Father Bart,
a man who some suspect was a murderer who used to live
in the community but has now been dead for many years.

Together with his friend, Professor Childermass, they must
find out what happened and prevent Johnny from being killed
by this curse.

It is a little eerie but very interesting


TAS

[Brenda10]

The Alternative Story:

Brenda10:

Hi TAS


Wow. So many nice story books.

May I know how you find \"The Curse of the Blue Figurine\"?

BTW, kindly inform me me once the books are available so I can pick up
may be at end of this month as next week I’m not available.

Thank you.

Hi Brenda,

Sure, we will let you know, the books should be all coming in
by end of this month. Sorry to keep you waiting.

The Curse of the Blue Figurine is a very interesting book.

It is about a boy Johnny who goes into a church one day
and finds a figurine. He takes it back and begins to have
all kinds of mysterious things happening to him. He
get strange nightmares and his house gets infested with spiders.

Then he finds out that the figurine could be connected to Father Bart,
a man who some suspect was a murderer who used to live
in the community but has now been dead for many years.

Together with his friend, Professor Childermass, they must
find out what happened and prevent Johnny from being killed
by this curse.

It is a little eerie but very interesting


TAS

Hi TAS

No problem.

I shall wait for the arrival of the books.

BTW, thank you very much for the briefing of the above mentioned story book. :lol:

[pokemon]

Hi TAS,


My p1 boy kind of dont like stories involving beasts/dragon/,swords, pirates and haunted/magic, eg storybooks like beast quest, charlie small, zack powers n etc. Do you think he will lose out in his imagination on certain storyline/plot when doing creative writing? Currently he is writting about 200+ word per compo, his sch teacher get them to pract writing almost wkly.

Rather, he enjoys books like charlotte’s web,enid blyton series (faraway tree/wishing chair), boxcar children mystery series, magic treehouse, andrew lost, the littles series n etc. How do you rate boxcar children n enid blyton books as i know nowaday children dont fancy much of these.

Tks.