The review
Our lovely in-laws found this book at a local pop-up and gifted it to us! It's one of those books I don't think I naturally gravitate towards so I'm glad when we have friends and family that expand our horizons!
Described as a Singapore culture playbook, the authors imagine a world where our ABCs are not associated with Apple, Boy and Car but Ah Ma, Banded Langurs and Chinatown. The distinctly local tone and the immediately relatable places are a breath of fresh air. Things like five stones, hawker centres and durian are welcome references.
You don't typically see those backdrops and situations in most stories and it's only in this instance that you're reminded about how much of our content is not in our cultural setting, which is sorely needed.
The authors do a good job in encouraging engagement with suggested activities to take place after reading the stories. These range from prompts and follow-up questions about some of the characters, to invitations and ideas to explore. Afterall, Singapore isn't too big and a great place to start exploring.
On that note - I'm off to look for xiao long baos!