David Seow's Blog, page 15

All too Much for Oliver until it's not.

'All too Much for Oliver' is a touching story about a young boy who finds the busy world around him a bit too much for his liking. Truth be told, the busy uncontrollable world we live in is too much for some adults as well. 

Oliver is a highly sensitive child who does not like loud noises or crowds and he prefers to stay indoors and play in the tranquility of his own room rather than in a chaotic playground or the packed neighbourhood pool with children and grown ups belly flopping and splashing about uncontrollably. 

That is until Odile moves in next door and opens up new  experiences for him. Because of their fast friendship, Oliver dares to venture to a playground with her and he even attends Odile's birthday party and joins the many guests in all the noisy celebratory activities.

Though Odile provides him the key to a world outside the comfort of his carefully controlled playroom, it's Oliver who ultimately unlocks the door to the loud and crowded world that he bravely steps into on his own terms and in his  own time.

There are a lot of sensitive children -- and adults too -- just like Oliver who are so deeply misunderstood and judged. As a child I was an introvert and not very sociable,  some would even say I'm socially awkward, brash and some would say even worse. So I can relate to this book very well.

'All too Much for Oliver' is a sweet, charming story written with a lot of heart and great sensitivity and understanding by Leila Boukarim and charmingly illustrated by Barbara Moxham.

Don't Worry, Spratly!

Now, we all don't like change but it's an inevitable part of life. Over the years and even in the past almost 9 months, I've had to face big, difficult and painful changes myself.  Have I liked them? No...Have I worried about them? Yes...but thanks to a few very dear friends (who know who they are) I am facing them and overcoming them and moving on.

'Don't Worry, Spratly!' is a charming book about the fear of change and facing it head on. Written in delightful verse by my friend Helen Sampson, Spratly finds out that he has to move to a new school and that's a big change and understandably he finds his tummy in knots about it.

It's a sweet tale that every child and, might I add, every grown-up will be able to relate to. Though Spratly doesn't like the fact that there's going to be a big change, he knows it's going to happen anyway and in the end...well you know in the end, he'll have nothing to worry about.

This is Helen's first picture book and it is just delightful and as an added bonus there is a craft section at the back of the book that parents can use to entertain the little ones. 

Great job, Helen.  Hopefully this is just the first in many adventures we can expect from Spratly and his friends. To find out how to order this fast-selling book, please click on the link below.


                                     ORDER SPRATLY

Meet Kobe the Cavoodle

Meet Kobe, the newest member of our family. A puppy is a lot of work, but also gives you a lot in return. They may be naughty and may occasionally drive you completely nuts, but they will love you unconditionally, they'll make you laugh and they will always be loyal to you.  So please meet my best friend, Kobe the Cavoodle.

Congratulations, Joseph Schooling!

Congratulations to Singapore's first Olympic Champion --Joseph Schooling.

The Journey Home

Children's writers have to be very sensitive when they are dealing with a sensitive topic like death. I've seen some books that try to deal with topics like neglect or compassion and oh boy, I wish I had never picked them up.

You've got to know your subject really well and you can't make it didactic either, so it was with great delight that I received my copy of Charlotte Douglas's The Journey Home.

The author carefully traverses the landscape  spirituality and the well-spring of emotions that comes with the death of a loved one. In this beautiful heartwarming story, Oscar and Kiki's grandmother has passed away or has gone to her eternal home and with the help of their angel friends, Alexandra and Maksim, they realise that Grandma is with Grandpa, all her friends who have passed on before her and even Scottie, their cheeky dog.

This is a must read for any parent and any child, it will warm  hearts and bring tears to the eyes. In a world that is filled with so much war, anger and hate over the big things and small, this book reminds that life and love is precious and above all it is everlasting. Kudos to Charlotte Douglas for writing a masterpiece for kids and adults around the world to enjoy. And Nicola Spencer's illustrations are charming!  Make sure kids  look out for the bright shining yellow star on each page. The Journey Home is a treasure for the whole family.


CLICK HERE TO BUY THE JOURNEY HOME

Winner of A Royal Adventure Giveaway

Congratulations, Paul Ratcliffe, the winner of A Royal Adventure Giveaway. The book is in the mail!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Prince George

A Royal Adventure Giveaway

I'm giving a copy of A Royal Adventure to the first person who can tell me where Kate actually wore the dress pictured in the illustration below (*Hint*: it was on her royal tour in 2014) where Kate actually wore it. You can either email me your answer @dyw.seow@gmail.com  or comment in the section down below.

A Royal Adventure Excerpt

Ocean Dreams at the S.E.A. Aquarium

Last night Soefara, Winston and I went down to the S.E.A. Aquarium for a bedtime storytelling session as part of the overnight Ocean Dreams experience, which allows visitors to tour the Aquarium after closing hours before camping out for the night at the Ocean Gallery. Kids are supposed to be in their sleeping bags by 10:30pm.  

Sleepyheads will get an early wake-up call from the divers at the Ocean Gallery before tucking into breakfast of congee. With their stomachs full, they'll get to watch the Mantarays have their morning meal.




Winston was already at the Aquarium when Soefara and I got there, and after meeting a few of the families participating in the experience, we got down to the business at hand of reading the story.

Soefara gave out two original pieces of artwork and we distributed paper dolls after a quiz about the story. Thanks for arranging everything, Winston.