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.

Wayang Girl author Ho Lee-Ling will be discussing her work, together with another local author, Adeline Foo at the following Singapore Book Club event:

When: 14 November 2008

Where: Earshot @ The Art House (Old Parliament House)

Time: 7pm

Admission is free, but please register by calling 68488290 or emailing info@bookcouncil.sg with your name, email and contact number.

The History Workroom is proud to present Wayang Girl, the latest creation of local author Ho Lee-Ling.

Wayang Girl is the second book written and illustrated by Lee-Ling, author of Samsui Girl which received the inaugural “First Time Writers and Illustrators Grant” from the Media Development Authority in 2006.

Wayang Girl features Amber, the same protagonist in Samsui Girl. The book follows Amber’s adventures as she discovers the art of one of Singapore’s fast disappearing cultural heritage – wayang (Chinese street opera). After watching a live performance, Amber decides to learn wayang. The experience is both educational and humorous as the cheeky and clumsy Amber struggles to be a refined and graceful performer.

When Lee-Ling (or Stephanie as she is known to many) decided to write and illustrate Samsui Girl, she merely wanted to put into action her dreams to write and draw. She had not expected it to win the FTWIG nor did she expect the book’s initial print-run to be sold out. Samsui Girl was received warmly by school children.

“I am glad that Samsui Girl was well received. It also got considerable publicity in the media. But what was most rewarding was the positive comments and feedback I received from readers, even those who were not Singaporeans,” said Lee-Ling who is in the final stages of completing her PhD in public history.

The success of her first book is not the only reason for Wayang Girl.

“When I was writing Samsui Girl, I had already planned a series of several books in which Amber meets different people who are an important part of Singapore’s history and heritage. The positive reception to Samsui Girl is an added motivation for me to continue writing ‘uniquely Singapore’ children stories which I feel are sorely lacking in Singapore.”

Wayang Girl and Samsui Girl are the first two books in a series that aims to interest and educate Singapore children (between 7 to 11 years old) on Singapore’s history and heritage but in a fun and engaging manner.

A second edition of Samsui Girl will be published in the second half of the year.

Wayang Girl is available in all major bookstores or directly from us.

A Sneak Peek – Read Chapter One here.