Thinking of a Christmas gift?

Give a gift of reading … and Singapore history!

From now till 20 Dec 2009, we’re offering a gift pack of 2 of our best-selling titles, Samsui Girl and Wayang Girl for only SGD$18.00, with free shipping to any address in Singapore.

It is the perfect gift for young readers aged 7 to 11 years. You can opt to have the books gift-wrapped and autographed by the author.

Place your orders by 20 December 2009. For orders or more information, please contact us.

You can read more about Samsui Girl and Wayang Girl here.

Here’s a recent review of Samsui Girl by Dr Carmelita C Ballesteros.

Note: Stephanie worked as a museum educator not a curator as in the original article.

Where have all the people in history gone? This is the question Malaysian book reviewer Daphne Lee wonders in her latest column in The Star newspaper.

She wrote:

in most history books, historical figures are reduced to names linked to significant events and dates. There is no sense of what made them tick, their likes and dislikes, their hopes and dreams. Was Parameswara a serious or cheerful man? Did Frank Swettenham like durians and other local delicacies or was he a fussy eater? Did Yap Ah Loy ever put his feet up with a good book?

How true that is!

For the sake of “objectivity”, “credibility” and “academic-ness”, all the stories have been edited out of history. Anything remotely personal or less-than-epic seems, well, just un-history-like. There is more to history than dates, wars, treaties, great men and women. Let’s bring the stories back.

PS: The History Workroom’s Wayang Girl and Samsui Girl get an honourable mention in Lee’s column.

Join Samsui Girl author, Ho Lee-Ling at the Singapore Philatelic Museum this Deepavali for a story-telling and craft session.

When: 27 Oct 2008, Monday

Where: Singapore Philatelic Museum

Location: Tampines Regional Library

Date: 29 August 2008

Who/What: WISHers Reading Club responses after reading Samsui Girl