I’ve been a fan of the Ang Ku Kueh Girl’s art for a while now, so I was delighted to learn that she started her own series of children’s books, featuring none other than the Ang Ku Kueh Girl of course. I love the adorable illustrations, and am soooo tempted to buy some of the merchandise, but erm, that’s not the point of this post.
The first book in the Ang Ku Kueh Girl series is ‘Ang Ku Kueh Girl & Friends: The Magical Dragon Playground’, and I like that it incorporates the famous Dragon Playground in Toa Payoh, giving it a truly local flavour. In fact, most of the characters in this book are based on familiar food items, such as Ang Ku Kueh Girl, Tea Egg, and Red Egg, while the villain is the egg slicer, which I personally thought was quite funny. Noah had never seen an egg slicer before, so he was very curious about it, and kept asking me questions about how it worked and why there was a need for slicers. In the end, I showed him our own egg slicer, but figured it might be too cruel to show him how it worked, since the eggs in the story were so terrified of it.
The book begins with Ang Ku Kueh Girl feeling dejected after being told by her teacher that her drawing isn’t good enough for a competition. (I felt a twinge of guilt here, knowing that I often criticise without realising the full effects of my words on the recipients.) Ang Ku Kueh Girl seeks refuge at her favourite Dragon Playground, and there, she meets a group of eggs, trying to blow up balloons so that they can escape from The Slicer. When she has to blow up a balloon, she finds that she cannot do it, and almost gives up, if not for the encouragement of Red Egg. She tries harder than before, and finally succeeds, thus highlighting the importance of perseverance. Noah was most amused that Ang Ku Kueh Girl’s bonnet tore during her attempt to inflate the balloon, and took deep breaths along with her as she tried to blow up the balloon.
I’ve been using this story to remind Noah to keep trying, and to do his best whenever he does something, “just like Ang Ku Kueh Girl”. Personally, I think another important but more subtle lesson of this story is the importance of encouraging and supporting your friends. It is easy to laugh at your friends when they fail, and as a preschooler, I’m pretty sure it happens quite a bit, because they are rather immature. Hopefully, through this story, Noah and other young readers will realise the importance of encouraging each other, and remember to show empathy to their peers, instead of making fun of them.
The Magical Dragon Playground
Noah and I really enjoyed reading this book, and he has already been asking when the next book will be released. We’re definitely looking forward to reading about Ang Ku Kueh Girl’s next adventure! He has been rather inspired by what we have read, and even drew a picture of the Eggys the next day. He also drew a separate picture of the Slicer, but unfortunately, I can’t find it anymore.
Noah’s drawing of the Eggys
Happy reading!
Buy the Book Ang Ku Kueh Girl & Friends: The Magical Dragon Playground on Epigram Books
Check out the previous Friday Flips posts HERE. I’ve also created a photo album on Facebook with some other good reads, and will be updating it whenever I come across more books that we enjoy. Do pop by for a look HERE.
*******
<div align="center"><a href="http://growingwiththetans.com/category/friday-flips/" rel="nofollow" title="Growing with the Tans Friday Flips" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1065.photobucket.com/albums/u391/growingwiththetans/ddfe71e0-1833-4e8f-a5d8-44a1ccef101b_zps78fef841.jpg" alt="Growing with the Tans Friday Flips" style="border:none;" /></a></div>
Comments