BOOK REVIEW: THE BOOK OF LOST THINGS

The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly

I loved fairy tales when I was young. Fairy tales, ancient legends and horror. And a huge dose of anything Enid Blyton. These were the staples of my reading diet as a primary school pupil. If you, like me, also like fairy tales, then this is the book for you.

John Connolly may be more famous for his Charlie Parker private detective series of novels but his 2006 The Book of Lost Things is a totally different kettle of fish. The Book of Lost Things is set during World War II and centres around David, a twelve-year-old boy. Not long after David lost his mother who died after a long illness, his father remarried a woman Rose whom he met in the hospice where David’s mother had stayed and a new half-brother came along, further displacing David from his old life, a golden age which he came to associate with his dead mother, domestic bliss and carefreeness.

Probably because of his unhappiness, David began to change. He started to have seizures during which he would pass out. The only thing was during the periods when he was knocked out, he didn’t really lose consciousness. He would have visions of a strange world and he knew that because vignettes of his hallucinations would return to him when he was lucid but these tattered fragments made no sense to him.

Another eerie change was that he began to hear the chatter of books. Yes, books talk. And the tone and content of their conversations depend on the contents between their covers. David was worried and frightened by these weird changes but there was no one he could talk to because his father was occupied by his efforts for the war and trying to adapt to the new family, and David’s relationship with Rose was highly antagonistic.

A Short Story - Stall No. 51

We just posted a short story set in Singapore on A Quiver of Quirks.


This story was runner-up in a Writing The City competition. Head over, read it and let us know if you like it.  :)

BOOK REVIEW: BALIK KAMPUNG

Balik Kampung by Verena Tay

Balik Kumpung is a collection of short stories centred around local neighbourhoods. They are written by authors who have lived in these neighbourhoods for considerable lengths of time – at least a decade. All these stories were edited by Verena Tay, which is why only her name is reflected in the title of the post.

‘Balik kampung’ is a Malay phrase which means to go home, and it is a most apt title for this anthology. Each author has chosen a place that is dear to him/her as the setting of his/her story; each tale is an ode to the neighbourhood in which the author has called home at one time or another, and so when penning the story, the author is in a sense ‘returning home’. As a whole, this anthology is a fine addition to Singapore’s literary collection. It is one more identity marker for all who call Singapore home, one more drop in our cultural ocean pond (but it is growing), reminding Singaporeans to look harder at this island we call home.

The stories are set in neighbourhoods that Singaporeans would recognise easily: Marine Parade, Changi, the Holland Road area, Nee Soon, Redhill, and the Dunearn-Bukit Timah area. Some of the stories – Lighthouse, Tahar and Seven Views of Redhill – easily transported me back to the past and a couple of others are very powerful and evoked a strong emotional response in me.

It is great to realise that there are so many fine writers in Singapore. We may be a small country and although there has been no international award-winning writer from Singapore yet, we are not lacking in literary talent. And you know what, if we want the world to take notice of our writers, we need to support our writers and give them the courage and motivation to continue writing. So do grab a copy of Balik Kampung or borrow one from your neighbourhood library.

(To keep the review within reasonable length, I’ll only be reviewing three stories out of eight.)

A Short Story - Jasper

It has been a long time since I posted.


In today's post I would like point out that there is a free story Jasper posted on our sister blog, aquiverofquirks. The story is meant for students in Primary 5 and above. It's the hols and in case you're wondering for things to do, this is one way for you to pass your time.


For the avid or curious reader, click here.


After reading the tale, feel free to give us feedback. You could comment on the story or tell us what kind of story you would like to read next.


Adieu till the next time.

Book Review: Jacob's Ladder

Jacob’s Ladder by Brian Keaney

I have deeply conflicting views about Jacob’s Ladder. On one hand, I love the concepts presented in the book and the plot is actually quite brilliant but on the other hand, the writing is rather stodgy, which wastes the clever plot and drags the story down.

The protagonist in the book is Jacob (duh) who wakes up one day in a field without any memory prior to waking up. He is met by an elderly man, Virgil, who brings him to a town of some sort where he is put into a dormitory with other boys of his age. In the dormitory, he meets kind and friendly Toby and aloof and sneering Stefan, along with a bunch of other boys. All the boys are dressed in gray and they have dinner in a central meeting place where tons of other boys and girls come together.

Jacob learns that their dormitory is only one of many and that all the children are in the same boat as him. They have all woken up one day in the field with completely no recollection of their life before that awakening moment. In the day, the children are put to work. There is a bus assigned to every dormitory and the children in each dormitory are ferried to empty plots of land where they have to pick up the stones. The rationale for clearing the stones from the land is to build more dormitories because whoever is running the place is anticipating more amnesiac arrivals.

Jacob is unwilling to settle into the mindless routine that is expected of them. He rebels in various ways (refusing to pick up the stones or staying back in the dormitory when he is supposed to be clearing the land) but fails miserably each time. Eventually he decides to run away. By then, he has heard of the Palace of Remembrance which is a sort of legend amongst the children. It is rumoured to be the residence of the King and Queen of the land and it is said that anyone who arrives there will get his memories back and be returned to his previous life. Thus Jacob decides to set out for the Palace.

Two of his good friends, Toby and Aysha (a girl living in another dormitory who arrived on the same day as Jacob) decide to accompany him on his journey.

The rest of the story deals with the trio’s quest to find the Palace. Along the way, they face several setbacks. They run out of food and water, encounter some ghosts that try to bewitch them into staying, come face-to-face with feral dogs that want to eat them and Jacob gets tricked by a strange man who shares some similarities with the witch in Hansel & Greta. In one pivotal scene, Jacob has to climb a long long ladder that seems never-ending which gives us the title of the book.

Does the Palace of Remembrance really exist? What do Jacob and his friends face at the end of their journey? You’ll have to read the book to find out the ending.

Let’s talk about the pros of the book first. The story is obviously well thought-out. The writer, Brian Keaney, leaves some puzzles and hints along the story and at the end of the story, most of these resolve nicely to form a coherent story. If you’re a sharp reader, you may even guess the truth before the writer reveals it.

Clever plot aside, what I really enjoy when I read the book are the themes explored by Keaney. One key theme is perseverance. On his quest, Jacob faces many difficulties and there are times when he comes close to throwing in the towel. But at each key moment, he will cast his mind back on what he really wants, grit his teeth and soldier on.

This perseverance is very similar to resilience and it is the key to success. Read enough stories about successful people and you will realise that most of them faced a lot of hardships before they achieved success but instead of giving up, they chose to plod along the difficult path, believing firmly in their dream, before they finally became successful.

Life is a bed of roses - not!

This is an important lesson, especially for Singapore’s affluent children. Many of you don’t have to worry where your next meal is coming from or if you would have enough money to pay the school fees. But when you enter society and begin your working life, unless you are lucky enough to have extremely influential or wealthy parents, you’ll realise that life is not a bed of roses. But you know what? It is the struggle that makes life meaningful.

Related to this theme is the theme of passion. Jacob firmly believes in his goal and that is what drives him on, even during the darkest moments of his quest. Do you have a passion? Do you have something that will motivate you, give you hope, even when you are feeling down? Don’t worry if your answer is no. Take the time to think what it is that you enjoy doing. Then see if this is something that can sustain you when things seem dire and begin exploring from this point.

I also like Keaney’s take on second chances. He suggests that many second chances are squandered and although the book ends on an optimistic note, one may forgive him for the overly neat conclusion for this is after all a children’s book and he did do enough work throughout the story so that the ending doesn’t feel like too it’s much of a copout.

Now, the cons. Actually there is only one and that is Keaney’s style of writing. He writes in a very simple and direct manner and is very sparing when it comes to descriptions. The advantage of this is that the book is easy to read, but at the same time it makes the book dull.

As such, I would recommend this book for beginning readers, children who find picture books too easy and are beginning to move on to proper books. Or you could close an eye to the dull language and just read for the ideas.

You could get the book from Amazon by clicking on the link below or borrow it from the library if you’re interested.

Rating: 3/5

Suggested for children aged 9 and above.


By TCC

A Link To Our Sister Blog

I don't usually recommend Stephen King to my younger pupils for although he is a great storyteller, he uses vulgarities quite a bit and some of his plot points are rather adult in content.


But I would mention him in passing to the older pupils for he does know how to tell an interesting story. His stories have great hooks which is why many find it difficult to put his books down. He is also skilled in using the voice of the narrator; he is as convincing when he is narrating in the voice of a well-read college grad as when he speak as a boorish blue-collar worker.


For readers 12 and above, if you are interested, you could read the book review of Night Shift here.


But you have been forewarned: There are coarse words, gore and quite a lot of uncomfortable truths about humankind.

Spelling Lists for Semester 2 Week 21

Advanced Composition

1. Butterflies of vivid hues fluttered amongst the brilliant blooms.
2. entranced
3. sparsely furnished
4. cigarettes
5. smugglers' den
6. dense vegetation
7. ambush
8. stranded




Intermediate Composition

The Swiss army knife - a handy gadget

1. trudge
2. kidnapper
3. hideout
4. dilapidated
5. wealthy
6. modest family
7. a king's ransom
8. surrounded the criminals

Grammar Tip: ''Shining Trinket' or 'Shiny Trinket'?

Recently, we wrote a story about a robbery. In the story, the robber had snatched the victim's necklace and was running away with it.


Some of the pupils became a little confused between 'shining' and 'shiny' and wrote:

He was holding a shining trinket in his hand.


'Shining' actually means 'emitting or reflecting light' (The Concise Oxford Dictionary) . Some will argue that the sentence is not wrong because the necklace does reflect light. Put that way, every visible thing reflects light. Your desk reflects light. Your uniform reflects light. Your worksheet reflects light. Does that make them 'shining'?

Spelling Lists For Semester 2 Week 20

Advanced Composition

1. acquiescence
2. flammable
3. cronies
4. puffing away like chimneys
5. minions
6. stooges
7. deliberation
8. I could see that his mind was busy at work as he calculated the chances of him overcoming Tom.





Intermediate Composition

1. horizon
2. minimart
3. parched
4. shop assistant
5. chugged down
6. pondered
7. weighed his options
8. mulled over

A Composition A Week - Flight

I realised that I've been putting up works only by our primary school pupils.


To address the imbalance, here is an essay by one of our secondary school pupils.

FLIGHT

For years, Man dreamt of one day when he is able to throw off the shackles that bind him to the ground, to be able to be as free as the birds in the sky, to be able to make the sky their limit. Since time immemorial, Man was only able to dream, to gaze wistfully at the creatures of the sky as they soar through the air effortlessly, hoping that one day, he might be able to take his place in the sky.

With the birth of civilisation and Man settling down instead of constantly being on the move, a myriad of flying instruments flourished as Man tried to crack the code that binds us to the ground. From kites and hot air balloons in China to gliders in Europe, Man was able to send objects into the air for a period of time, but realising his dreams of sustained flight and putting men in the skies still eluded him.

A sample of da Vinci's flying machine

By the 15^th century, Renaissance in Europe was in full bloom, with art and science flourishing throughout the continent. Leonardo da Vinci, a visionary and artist, dreamt of great things, designing multiple blueprints for a submarine, a tank, a parachute and many more. But none was more intriguing than his blueprints for a flying machine. Many inventors after da Vinci tried and failed to get larger objects airborne in sustained flight but most ended in failure.

As the Industrial Age drew near, Man had not given up on his aspiration to be airborne. With new technological discoveries, Man was ever closer in having his dream take flight. In the late 18^th century, the Montgolfier brothers succeeded in placing humans in the sky via a tethered hot air balloon. It was a success, now that Man is able to travel by air, albeit slowly. With the invention of the steam engine, aviation was revolutionised as Man was then able to travel against the air currents at a faster speed. Known as airships, they were regarded as the cutting edge of technology, similar to how we regard Google’s project on building a self-steering car today. These balloons were used in the American Civil War as observation posts, and subsequently used in the Franco-Prussian War to evacuate French politicians from Paris before its capture. Though the balloons were ground-breaking technology, they were extremely fragile and slow, so Man went back to the drawing board once more.

Zepplins - Germany's war machines

Multiple inventions were made to create a faster and safer substitute for balloons throughout the 19^th century but none were as famous as the Wright brothers’ invention of the world’s first sustained flight aircraft powered by a control engine in the early 1900s. The new technology was primitive, and Man still preferred to travel by air via large airships. By the time World War One erupted in Europe, war was taken, for the first time, to the air. Armed airships, known as Zeppelins, bombed London, and observed troop movements. The race to take the airships down started. Both the Allies and the Central Powers drew on the Wright brothers’ new technology, designing the world’s first fighter and bomber aircraft. By the time the war ended, flight had taken a whole new shape. The aircraft technology had advanced rapidly in the short five years of war, at a pace which astounded many. The technological advancements made to the aircraft should have required at least twenty years by the pace they were going, but the war sped it up by four times.

The Hindenburg Disaster -
the aviation equivalent of the Titanic

After the war, the aircraft technology was turned over for civilian use. Commercial flights were available, but they were dwarfed by airships. However, airship travel was slow and dangerous, and a large scale accident involving a certain Hindenberg airship spelled doom for airship travel forever. By the 1930s, the world was once again gearing up for war as Nazi aggression in Europe increases. Primitive biplanes made of paper and wood soon evolved into a much more advanced form. With the outbreak of World War Two, aviation technology once again sped up as nations competed to design and build more advanced aircraft. Soon, pressurised cabins and jet technology came into the picture and by the time the war came to an end, the technology was more advanced than ever. Another arms race began as the two superpowers, America and Russia, competed to gain the upper hand in the Cold War. Jet technology was further refined and the range of aircraft extended. Such technologies affected the commercial market for air travel as much as they did for the military. Douglas initially was the largest producer of commercial aircraft, but Boeing soon cornered the markets with the release of the model 747, which changed the way air travel was run till this day. However, a new giant has recently made it big, the Airbus company with their A380 model, and subsequent advanced designs, making people wonder if there is a new aviation revolution waiting to happen.

From dreams to reality, from kites to jumbo planes, Man has succeeded in taking flight and joining the other creatures of flight in the skies. Once we merely thought of joining the creatures of flight as equals, but today we have surpassed them by leaps and bounds, being able to fly further, faster and higher than any known creature in the world. Man has come a long way since our existence, and out thirst and dreams of desiring something that is bodily out of reach drives us ever forward. We are a species that is not designed for flight, but yet we manage to break the boundaries and chains binding us to the ground. The sky is the limit for us now.

Lee Shao Yee (S3)

Catholic High

Note: The topic was a GCE O-Level essay question.

Spelling Lists for Semester 2 Week 19

Advanced Composition

1. anchor tenant
2. A wide selection of exquisite journals was neatly displayed on the shelves.
3. shiny trinket
4. dainty
5. threw all caution to the wind
6. impeccable
7. galvanised
8. perpetrator

Intermediate Composition

1. biceps
2. His spiky hair was unkempt, sticking out in little tufts.
3. tattoos
4. He reeked of alcohol and stale smoke.
5. air-conditioned carriage
6. clutch
7. felon
8. brief struggle

Spelling Lists for Semester 2 Week 18

Advanced Composition

1. swivelled
2. accountable
3. aspirations
4. molten rage
5. treacherous
6. I did not notice it as a red mist had completely clouded my vision.
7. My shame rose a notch higher.
8. interceded

Intermediate Composition

1. A forked tongue was darting out of its mouth.
2. hiss
3. puzzled
4. relate
5. python
6. slither
7. monstrous
8. This memorable incident would be etched on his mind.

A Misunderstanding II

Another take on a misunderstanding.

A Misunderstanding I

The last writing assignment for the P6 students before they took the PSLE English examination on Thursday was this:

You could hardly believe that your best friend could have done something like this. A wave of fury swept over you.

The story is an example of good content and great language:

Do Not Judge a Book by Its Cover

For the penultimate assignment before the PSLE, the Advanced Composition classes were asked to work on this theme:

You and your brother were visiting your grandparents in a housing estate. As both of you were walking towards a block of flats, a big fierce dog pounced onto your brother. Your brother was knocked onto the ground. You were afraid the dog would attack you next so you started to run.

One discovery that I've made over the years is that at the tender age of 11 and 12, most children do not have the emotional complexity to cast themselves as the villain in the story. Most still picture themselves doing the right thing in any make-believe scenario, even if the right actions would come with a very high price. Such purity is of course laudable.


I enjoyed a couple of stories that creatively twisted the original premise that I gave and allowed the stories to unfold in such a manner that the narrator ('I') was not cast in an entirely negative light. Here's the first one:

DO NOT JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER

Sweat trickled down my cheek as I strolled along the pavement under the hot sun. My younger brother Tyson was trailing behind me. We were on the way to visit our grandparents at their place. We were ambling towards their flat when a big fierce dog appeared from nowhere.

The beast stood as tall as my waist. It bared its teeth at us. I always had a soft spot for dogs, but not this one. It looked muscular and strong. Saliva drooled from its mouth as it approached us. ‘Doggy!’ my five-year-old brother exclaimed as he reached out to stroke the dog. The canine actually looked as tall as him. Before I could pull him away, his fingertips brushed against the grey fur of the beast. That set the dog off. I could only watch in numb horror as the dog flung itself onto Tyson. He was knocked to the ground. I was afraid the dog would attack me next so I spun around and took to my heels.

I ran blindly, not seeing where I was going and not knowing what I was doing. Tyson’s laughter and the dog’s excited barks echoed in the void deck. Hey wait, laughter? I stopped dead in my tracks. Just then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a familiar figure hurrying down the path. It was my cousin, Thalia.

Her face lit up when she saw me. She sprinted towards me. Her hair was dishevelled and her voice grew shrill with worry as she greeted me. ‘What happened?’ I asked her.

‘My…dog…went missing…just now,’ she explained between breaths. It seemed that something just occurred to her as she looked around. ‘Hey wait, where’s Tyson? Grandma said both of you are coming.’

Nervously, I swallowed a lump in my throat and tried to change the subject, ‘Erm, you mean the new dog you just got last week? How did it disappear? I was looking forward to playing with it! What does it look like? Maybe we find it together?’

Thalia beamed, ‘Really?’

I nodded.

‘Her name is Mrs O’Leary. An Alsatian. About this tall.’ She lifted her hand to her waist, palm faced down as she described her dog. ‘It ran away when I brought it here for a walk on the way to Grandma’s house…’

My thoughts turned to the dog that attacked Tyson. Without hesitation, I turned and sprinted to where Tyson was attacked. When I reached there, the dog still had my brother pinned to the ground. As I was only focusing on getting the beast off my brother, I did not realise there was a smile on Tyson’s face. Oblivious to Thalia’s shouts for me to wait for her, I picked up a fist-sized rock from the ground and aimed it at the canine. As soon as the rock left my hand, I regretted it. Thalia sprinted onto the scene. ‘Mrs O’Leary!’ she screamed as the rock hit the dog. The dog yelped as it leaped away from Tyson. It did not look hurt at all. It sprinted towards Thalia.

‘Thalia!’ I screamed. To my amazement, Thalia tackled it with a hug.

‘Brother, why do you need to spoil my fun? I was having a whale of a time!’ Tyson complained.

‘Thanks for helping me find Mrs O’Leary, so I’ll forgive you for throwing the stone at her!’ Thalia said, her voice cheerful as it was before and as Mrs O’Leary licked her face fondly. Realisation dawned upon me. I blushed at my recklessness. Fortunately, Mrs O’Leary was not hurt.

I looked at the furry creature and it blinked back at me with its big round eyes, its tongue hanging out of its mouth. I must admit that it looked cute. It also looked friendlier than it had minutes before. It bounded up the stairs as we made our way to our grandparents’ apartment. Why did we take the stairs? It we took the lift, there were two possibilities. One, Mrs O’Leary would squash us. Two, we all managed to squeeze in, but leaving little space for us two-legged humans and Mrs O’Leary would fidget a lot or whack us with its tail.

Huang Xinyi (P6)

Chongfu Primary School

I had one issue with this story and that was the strange fact that the narrator did not recognise his cousin's pet. Hence I added the words in red to address this loophole.

Spelling Lists for Semester 2 Week 17

Advanced Composition

1. canine
2. snarled ferociously
3. denying vehemently
4. feeble attempts
5. grudgingly
6. resignation
7. He was wailing in pain as he clutched his savaged arm which was bleeding profusely.
8. I was mortified that my cowardice had been exposed.



Intermediate Composition

1. cruise liner
2. The sea become choppy.
3. monstrous
4. There was a mad scramble for the lifeboats.
5. crew
6. uninhabited island
7. jubilant
8. unscathed

2012 PSLE Situational Writing

For this post, we'll go though the Situational Writing assignment that was posed in the 2012 English PSLE.


The question is extracted from 2008-2012 PSLE Examination Questions - English Language.


The pictures below show what Amy Tan did after she saw what happened to a boy in school.

Your Task

Imagine you saw what happened in the pictures.

Write a letter to your principal, Mr Raj, requesting him to include in the assembly talk what Amy Tan did.

You are to refer to the given information for your letter.

In your letter, include the following information:

·        the date you saw what happened

·        what Amy told the boy not to do and why

·        what Amy immediately did for the boy

·        the advice Amy gave the boy about his worksheet

·        one important value that pupils can learn from Amy

You may reorder the points. Write in complete sentences.

Note 1: A letter written to the principal would be a formal letter so the candidate must use formal language in the letter.

Model Answer

Leroy The Bully

This composition is written according to a 3-picture question (as per the requirement for a Primary 3 or Primary 4 composition question).

LEROY THE BULLY

A beautiful park with a pond

The weather was beautiful that day. The sun was shining in the clear azure sky. Sally and her friends were walking to the park enjoying the beautiful scenery. The tree branches were swaying side to side, as if they were welcoming them. Sally and her friends walked along the pavement and found a perfect place to sit, at the pond. They were chatting about the homework their teacher had given them. After a while, Sally felt bored and suggested that they make origami paper boats to sail on the pond. Her friends agreed enthusiastically.

A Sweet Incident

For this week's P5 and P6 composition, we'll be posting a story based on a PSLE question.

A SWEET INCIDENT

As I took out my money from my wallet to pay the cashier after shopping in Cold Storage for an hour, events of that fateful day came flooding back into my mind…

It was an afternoon after school.

Rachel and I were at Plaza Singapura buying food for our class barbeque party the next day. Enjoying the cool respite provided by the cool air-conditioning, we casually strolled around, looking for an affordable ice cream we could buy to satisfy our sweet tooth. Finally, we found one – “Ice-Cream” – and soon my bosom buddy and I were licking our cones hungrily, for it was a sweltering day outside, and we had not had our lunch.

Spelling Lists for Semester 2 Week 16

A touch of the whimsical is a lovely way
to start the day.   :)

A Composition A Week

Hero to the Rescue!

‘Yay! It’s finally two o’clock in the afternoon!’ I shouted happily. I had stayed back to do my work. On the surface, I was working diligently. But the truth was that I was waiting for the notorious bullies to leave. Finally the coast was clear.

The notorious bullies had been extorting money from me to buy cigarettes. When I reached my void deck, my heart sank. The notorious bullies, Jack and James, were infamous for their bad deeds. Today, they were waiting for me to show up. I was about to run away when they spotted me.

‘Hey Shortie! Do not even think of escaping!’ they yelled while running towards me. They managed to catch me after a while. ‘I’m penniless!’ I said. Jack replied, with his fist up, ‘Really? You better pay up! NOW!’ I then closed my eyes, hoping for the best as his fist aimed for my face.

After three intense seconds, I opened my eyes and saw Tom, the strongest boy in the class. Tom was a transfer student from Hwa Chong Primary School. It turned out that he was passing by. After seeing Tom, Jack and James ran away like the hounds of hell were chasing after them.

I thanked Tom and asked him to be my friend as everyone was scared of him and did not want to be his friend. Tom then asked whether I wanted to go to his house and play Battlefield 3 on his brand new Playstation 3. I then called my mum and asked her if she would allow me to go to Tom’s house. She agreed and I followed Tom back to his house. That afternoon, Tom treated me to snacks and when I had to leave to go for  my tuition, he even got his father to send me. On the way there, I wondered, ‘Tom is a really good friend. But why no one wants to be his friend?’

Remy Lew (P4)

Catholic High