General knowledge books to recommend for P3 avid reader
-
Augmum:
I guess I'm in a period of testing water. Until I expose this BBC mag to ds, I'll never know his preference. Used to subscribe to Singapore Scientist mag, but ds wasn't keen (too dry & cheem) so canned it after one year. Thanks!
This is the magazine which comes to my mind when i read FQW's posting regarding recommendations of General knowledge bks....Sun_2010:
FQW, did you see the BBC knowledge magazine? I just saw one sample copy. Quite a wide number of topics covered it seems. It was way too high level for DS but you could tryfor your DS.
Yes, some articles are rather cheem....perhaps still can try out,
if he is not ready, then shelf it to later stage..... -
Harlequin:
I bought one copy of RD for ds to read before, but that time he wasn't interested. That was last yr. Mabbe I should get another copy to test water again. Thanks Harlequin.BBC Knowledge and Reader Digest. My girls can't wait for them to appear in the letter box.
I am sure your boy would love it. -
schweppes:
How about Asian Geographic Junior mag which is more age appropriate?
That one is in the shelf collecting dust now. Hehe. -
Some regional libraries like Jurong and CCK Lot 1 have a variety of magazines. May not be latest issue, still general knowledge.
-
FQW:
Maybe I read too much into it ...oops, pun not intended
Btw, I wasn't able to see Harry Porter as mimicking life's issues and challenges. How do you interprete that? You mean the tension between good and evil? Or there's good even in evil people?
Have you read the entire series? Rowling drew on some of her own experiences with poverty, work at Amnesty International with political refugees, clinical depression (represented by the Dementors) and the death of her own mother to write the series.
Once you strip away the magic and humour in Harry Potter, it is actually very stark and realistic in some ways.
For a nine year old, you can very simply discuss
1. style of leaderships and governance (Dumbledore versus Voldermort).
2. State, media and censorship (Ministry of Magic, Daily Prophet and Rita Skeeter) Rita Skeeter is a caricature representative of the British tabloids.
3. War, resistance and readiness (Dumbledore, Snape and Order of Phoenix waited on edge all these years for signs of Voldermort's return.) Parallel with wars/resistance around the world now and in history.
4. The meaning of friendship, and how different friends bring different gifts to us. Friendship is also about forgiving, making up, and helping out. It is importantly, not defined by money or status or popularity. (Luna is an oddball, but a loyal friend)
5. Related to above, poverty and wealth (Harry is poor in the Muggle world, but rich in the wizarding world. In the Muggle world, he often had to go hungry and poorly dressed, and when he is in the wizarding world, he shares generously with Ron and appreciates Mrs Weasley gift of second-hand watch.) Money is nice and good to have, but not above love, friendship and sincerity.
6. The plight of refugees and the persecuted. Many of the descriptions are drawn from Rowling's work with Amnesty International.
7. Death and loss, and the fear of death. This theme is revisited in every book, with greater understanding by Harry each time until finally in Book 7, he \"conquers\" death when he sacrifices willingly but in the half-way point, chooses to return to meet Voldermort for a final battle. Rowling mentioned that among all Harry's friends, Luna is the one with the healthiest attitude towards death and she helps Harry come to terms with his parents' and Sirius' deaths.
(Of course Snape's unrequited love and mixed feelings towards Harry is something they will not appreciate until many years later, as with Dumbledore's backstory and remorse.)
You can bring it a bit of slavery and slave labour (the house-elves). Notice how Hermione's perception is very different from Ron who grew up with house-elves as a norm? Notice also the very different reactions that Dobby and Winkie have to freedom. Freedom can be both welcomed and feared.
etc. -
schweppes:
How about Asian Geographic Junior mag which is more age appropriate?
To be honest I am not a fan of Asian Geographic. I think National Geographic is still a lot better if you buy issues according to interest. You can sometimes buy good second-hand copies at a really low price at Bras Basah. Doesn't matter if the cover is torn as long as the article/photo/map that your child is interested in is in good condition inside. -
ammonite:
Find AG not too bad lah. Like some of the stories which they featured at times.schweppes:
How about Asian Geographic Junior mag which is more age appropriate?
To be honest I am not a fan of Asian Geographic. I think National Geographic is still a lot better if you buy issues according to interest. You can sometimes buy good second-hand copies at a really low price at Bras Basah. Doesn't matter if the cover is torn as long as the article/photo/map that your child is interested in is in good condition inside. -
ammonite:
:goodpost:
Maybe I read too much into it ...oops, pun not intended
Have you read the entire series? Rowling drew on some of her own experiences with poverty, work at Amnesty International with political refugees, clinical depression (represented by the Dementors) and the death of her own mother to write the series.
Once you strip away the magic and humour in Harry Potter, it is actually very stark and realistic in some ways.
.......
Nice.
If HP series are part of O level Lit, then maybe more students will appreciate the subject. haha
For me, didn't read too much in-between the lines. Read it for enjoyment and to escape into fantasy world. -
Sun_2010:
Most welcome
And thank you schweppes , will see if I can get DS down there. I need to diversify his reading.
FQW:
Haha... know what u mean. Maybe check out the place during your lunch time first, lah. See whether it's worth bringing your son there.
Aiyoh Duxton is so near my office, very stress to go near that place during weekends. Like need to work OT liddat. Admittedly, I'm not your Employee-of-the-year sort of employee. Hehe.schweppes:
There was a period last year where I kept bringing my girls to Littered with Books during the June and Nov/Dec hols at 20 Duxton Road
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Littered-with-Books/153135064725041
The place sells both children and adults books. The staff at that time were young adults - think they were undergrads working part-time there - but definitely with a passion and knowledge of books.
I would tell them my girls' and my book interests, and they would suggest titles that would be of interest to us. No hard selling. U can see the joy when they talk about books.
After our sojourn there, we would explore Tanjong Pagard - so many nice makan and dessert stalls to visit.... and happily read what we bought at the same time. Nice memories to form with our kids.
Jokes aside, will check out Facebook. Thanks Schweppes.
Anyway, better have disclaimer before u all chiong there. I hope I didn't set high expectations of the place. Don't want u all to be disappointed. It's not like the Kino style of mega bookstore. It's a very small place, based in a 2 story shop unit. Cosy and intimate.
If u've watched the show, You've Got Mail - starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, Littered with Books is like the \"Little Shop Around the Corner\".
First time I walked into Littered with Books, I went into a high. The smell of the books was intense. Book lovers, think u know what I mean. -
ammonite:
:yikes: And all I was wondering as I read those books was whether Harry is considered rich or poor in the real (read muggle) world based on his inheritance in wizarding money. That would very much depend on the exchange rate of galleons to pounds, which I don't recall was explained very much by Rowling. I also wondered if Dooby can be trained to cook curry fishhead if I had him as my elf-slave.Maybe I read too much into it ...oops, pun not intended
Have you read the entire series? Rowling drew on some of her own experiences with poverty, work at Amnesty International with political refugees, clinical depression (represented by the Dementors) and the death of her own mother to write the series.
Once you strip away the magic and humour in Harry Potter, it is actually very stark and realistic in some ways.
...
Very paiseh to have missed all the points you wrote :oops:
Hello! It looks like you're interested in this conversation, but you don't have an account yet.
Getting fed up of having to scroll through the same posts each visit? When you register for an account, you'll always come back to exactly where you were before, and choose to be notified of new replies (either via email, or push notification). You'll also be able to save bookmarks and upvote posts to show your appreciation to other community members.
With your input, this post could be even better š
Register Login
Online Users
Statistics
Recent Topics