weekends mean quality time, and the long cab ride to the hospital with the little one on saturday morning afforded some. we played the point-out-everything-you-know game, which included the trees, the clouds, the cars, the motorbikes (at which he got momentarily distracted when the ahpek on the motorbike made funny faces at him)…
i also asked him to point at uncle (cue tiny index finger to cab driver), mummy (cue tiny index finger to me), and aniq, at which he happily pointed to himself. :)
he really digs… people, you know? he could easily amuse himself when there are people around other than us, his parents (coz we’re SO boring!). if we’re in a crowded joint, we’d strategically place ourselves near a table with a lot of people, or better still, with bigger children. coz they’re the ones who attract his attention most, and more often than not, they reciprocate his cheeky grins.
and with his liking for people, his taste in books too reflect that.
see, i went to the library the other day, in a sudden burst of inspiration to pick up some books for him.
the mistake was going to TAMPINES library, lol!
gawd. what can i say, there was an almost appalling selection to choose from.
i was looking for good age-appropriate story books, the kinds i’d seen at a particular early development resource centre i’d visited earlier.
but instead, i found mostly tattered-out, gnawed-at, chewed-up board books…
and nicer, but too advanced books for pre-schoolers…
i noticed that most of the books were about animals with human characteristics. all well and good, of course. i mean, dogs and cats behaving just like humans, how can kids NOT get that, right? :p
but seeing that we hardly come into contact with sheep and cows and horses and penguins and giraffes, i kinda prefer stories with… real humans. oops, please don’t brand me, i’m not anti-animals, really, i’m not! i love them to bits! especially them giraffes, i do! i’ve nothing against them! i used to love ‘em aesop’s fables! imagination is good!
so anyway, i spent a good hour at the dusty ol’ library, sifting through the shelves, trying to find suitable stories that i thought the little one could relate to at his age.
i couldn’t find any! i almost wanted to tear off the baby board books in my frustration! (hmm, come to think of it, perhaps the tattered conditions of them baby books are due to adults like me, instead of teething babies…)
i gave up eventually, and left with a few obligatory (sigh) board books. one on penguins, no less. (he’s got a stuffed penguin at home he pats at night as a sign of affection, so that’ll do.)
and this experience reinforced why i always end up buying books instead of borrowing.
especially books with pictures and stories about people, doing the things he does or had gone through before.
like topsy and tim, who also went to the doctor, opened their mouths, got their ears poked at, and their chests checked with a stethoscope…
and like our two good friends, Peter and Jane, who seem to be stuck in the seventies era and perpetually going to the beach, playing ball, and eating sweets, lol! (btw, mariani, we still owe you for the set, beb.)
aniq loves you, tau, Peter and Jane! and not to mention, Pat, the dog, whom Jane – and Aniq – has a tendency to reprimand.
wags finger: “no, no, no…”
i think he likes the idea that little children like him too can ‘discipline’ others.
ouuh what power thine tiny index finger wields. :)
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Aniq loves reading books aye? That’s really good. And ur mummy buys good books too. Unty loves that Peter and Jane. My time, I got berlambak of them till I passed it down to her siblings and relatives. Kekeke! And talking abt Tamp Library, I think its more to those adults. Byk for them. I’m not so keen in going there. Maybe u can try going to Bedok Lib. Alot of pre-schoolers books. Suitable for Aniq’s age. :)
“aiittttttttttt biasa dia eh!!!”
LOL. remember this phrase? regardless of background, think this phrase is synonymous with growing up la. especially me! merepes queen!
farah, you’ll get to do that “hepp, biasaa dia!” line very soon too! aren’t you excited?? ;D
ouhh u grew up with peter and jane eh, idasie? ol skool ah dorang, lol… but my colleagues swear by them.
and yah, tampines library is a bit kental. mebe when he’s 4 or 5, the pre-school children’s selection would be good for him. i saw quite a few with useful ‘morals’. :)
bedok eh? lemau lah nak pi sana!
utterly!!!! :P
will u let me try on aniq first? LOL. think tak jalan la right?
try lah, he will wag his finger at u too… “naa, naa, naaa!” :D
oouuhh amir has like a ginormous collection of books cos he’s a huge bookworm. i told my sister she should start a library, so that other parents can borrow books from amir. ok what eh idea geliga saya? besides, amir is very careful with his books so everything is in good, working condition. hehe!
btw, my sister swears by king’s bookstore (there’s one at vivocity and another at paragon). their books are priced wayyyy cheaper than at big bookstores. she recently bought a series of books by jane seymour (yes, the actress) about the story of twin kittens called “this one” and “that one”. her writing is quite witty.
datang la ke bishan community library… the entire basement is dedicated to kids from infant to school-going age! ;) the board books were pretty decent shape too! ;)
bedok dah lemau, apa lagi bishan.. lol! ok satu hari kita jelajah sumer library, buat review, apa kata.. ;)
kak m, ehh itu pon idea saya tauu… nak set up book exchange system among mak mak jugak!
dulu dulu, when i was in kindergarten, i was terlalu generous with my books and kept giving them away to my frens, sampai satu hari mak dorang datang my house to return all of them! skarang dah jadi mak budak baru tahu betapa mahalnye buku2 ni sumer. kesiann mak saya, lol! but i dun mind if aniq is also generous with his books, asal dorang jgn campak2 and abuse tu benda sua or use it to kepit-kepit only. respect the books, aye? :)
eh, btw i also want to buy those children’s books by madonna leh… for myself of course, hehe.
ohhh awak punyer otak pon bergeliga macam saya! SNAP!! hehe! but seriously, it’s a good idea, cos we can share the books at no cost. as long as everyone takes care of the books, ok per. that’s right, respect the books!
ouhh, i saw madonna’s books kat border’s, the story is so kooky! heh. jane seymour’s kittens are actually based on her own twins so basically she writes about the antics of her own children. the mother cat is called lady jane and the father is called big jim (her husband’s name is jim and he co-authors with her).
oh another thing, i love books with great illustrations! makes the whole reading process alot more enjoyable.
yes kak hana! our board books r in a pretty sad shape. shhhh. hehe. n ya…u shud try e newer libraries like central or bishan. they hv nicer books.
hey, i’m glad aniq likes the book. Anyway, it’s free, no need to pay me. A gift from me to aniq because u banyak answer to my non-stop enquiries..hehe.
come to think of it, lots of nunu’s books are too animal based! when i bought some, martian will comment, “La, buku animal lagi ke?” I never understood what the big deal untill you mention this. haha!
she likes books, but she’s also still has an experimental approach towards them (ermm… euphemism for the word ‘destructive’!) So I gotta stick to board books & animal themes for now :S
Hello! I am a frequent reader !
You should try the new library at Bugis. The basement have a space for kids tau.
ya lah anne, macam too many animal books kan? observant jugak martian. :D
ahh so far no books were harmed in the process, but those flappy ones kengkadang get accidentally ripped out due to overzealousness!
mariani!! menjelma jugak eh… thank u so much!! dah lama tak do our “monthly” dinner, JOM.
ps: you know im more than happy to answer ur tek queries… ;)
hi has, u also know the state of tampines library eh? haha! budak2 kecik pat tampines ganas kot…
yeah, kak m, i actually envy the kids for the sheer variety of books available to them! sigh. dulu, asik asik fairy tales… lepas tu dah besar, enid blyton… now the books have such beautiful illustrations!
hi raudha! thanks for the suggestion… dah lama tak jejak pat bugis, will make a trip there someday (at least got shopping nearby for ‘detour’ hehee…)
get eric carle’s book..its great…highly recommended for toddlers and pre sch kids…
true! especially when its gss. bugis junction is just ten steps away! haha!
Ehhh that peter & jane book! My mom used to have a set of those when she volunteered to teach some kids reading. Kids who were not of Aniq’s age! Advanced seh Aniq :D
u know peter and jane too, nani? hee! memang the set is actually for pre-readers, i just read it aloud for him and make up stories about peter and jane along the way, lol…
oh, and aniq… is actually a 3-year-old soul stuck in a 1-and-a-half year old body. ;)
ouhh raudha, pls dun remind me of gss! arrghhh~
aniq! where’s your piggy bank…
ah, we do have eric carle’s hungry caterpillar. his books are pretty!
peter & jane masih hidup lagi?! i grew up with that book.
*reminiscing*
“He is Peter.”
“She is Jane.”
“Here are Peter and Jane.”
:ppp
ahh, paaandai mahd baca. can pass down ur books to ur little one!
is there a nursery rhyme about Peter & Jane? I macam pernah terdengar jer “Here is Peter, here is Jane, Goodbye Peter, goodbye Jane.”
anne, i tau ada peter and paul jer.
two little dicky birds sitting on a wall,
one named peter, the other named paul.
fly away peter, fly away paul,
come back peter, come back paul!
gay birds. :D
eh, sheer torture tau memorising the stupid “Here is Peter, Here is Jane…” :pp
waaaaaaah…new perspectives to the nursery rhyme that we know. hahahahah
heyy babe… i used to have the whole collection when i was young…that peter and jane thingy..the books yang ada 1a,1b..so on and so forth…skarang dah tua panjang ni..mana ntah thsoe books go to eh..hehe
acherli hor, i dont mind the books with animal characters doing human things. in fact, i think i’ve too many of them. and recently i noticed that the books which i keep on reading to huda involve monkeys. (tak padan ler anak dara aku tu suka memanjat..)
which stories eh nad?
i like the 3 little monkeys song tau. i find it hilarious for some reason. hee.
dawn, really ah?? tu readers classic arh. but then hor, i myself never read them when i was small leh! im so deprived! :D
Hehehehe! U find so lengit to go to Bedok? Hehe! U stay Tamp kan? Not that far since u can drive right? So senang sikit. Aniq mesti suka.. And I’ve yet to explore that new National Library. Tak terpegi2.. LOL!
*sings to nks at one corner*
3 little monkeys jumping on the bed
1 fell off and bump his head
momma called the doctor
and doctor says
“no more monkeys jumping on the bed!”
*nks claps hand and shakes diaper butt*
laaa…hawra pon looooves peter & jane.
sampai koyak rabak buku tu :P penuh dgn scotch tape all over the pages. lol!
the monkey books i read to huda? the chimp and zee series (very cute and i like that it’s in present tense – i have a thing for narratives written in the present tense), curious george and another one (i cant remember what but when i read that, i realised that there are too many monkeys in huda’s life).
3 little monkeys song tu apa? (my repertoire of kids songs are limited to itsy bitsy spider, twinkle2 star, ummmmm, and bits and scraps of nursery rhymes pulled together to form a seemingly coherent whole)
NAD! i was JUSSST looking at the chimp & zee books yesterday at mph and thought of u, lol!!
it’s not bad…. kenapa lah ko tinggal jauh sangat, kalau tak boleh kita exchange. hmph.
alamak hawra, violent arhh… :D
ahh pandai mak nks nyanyi. there’s one book i saw with really good illustrations, but it started with not 3 but 10 monkeys… and as the song went on, the doctor got more and more frustrated, all the monkeys had bandages on their heads, and the mother ended up like bonkers LOL!
yah lah idasie, i hv no excuses… shd take aniq on the bus more often. :S