By Maureen Tai, 26 November 2018

“Soon the teachers will come, and then you’ll be filled with children.” – Janitor

Do you remember the muddled-up feelings that you experienced on your first day of school? A concoction of fear and joy, excitement and anxiety, freedom and homesickness? I do. And so does the newly built Frederick Douglass Elementary school, the unexpected narrator in the whimsical and clever School’s First Day of School. This is the perfect picture book to read with a pre-schooler whose first day is looming. What will School’s first day be like? Continue reading →

By Maureen Tai, 24 November 2018

An exuberant rabbit invites his grumpy mouse friend to an outdoor picnic.  No sooner has the picnic basket been opened, the clouds take over the skies and it begins to pour.  Using just 5 words in the entire picture book, Good News Bad News tells the humorous and charming tale of what happens next to this engaging pair. Continue reading →

By Maureen Tai, 22 October 2018

“But the girl wasn’t just a girl.  She was a witch!” 

‘Tis the witching season and what better than to curl up under a blanket with a flashlight, a pile of spooky storybooks and a plate of chocolate chip cookies (mind the crumbs).  For the youngest of little ones with faint hearts and short attention spans, Ghosts in the House! is the perfect Halloween read.  Boldly illustrated and sparsely written (155 words in all), it is delightful.

And there are lots and lots of ghosts …

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By Anna & Maureen Tai, 30 September 2018

Our thin paperback copy of My wobbly tooth must not ever NEVER fall out is battered and bruised, like the banana that Ben brought home from school the other day.  Most of the pages have been cello-taped back together, the spine has rubbed off and the majority of the free stickers are on the underside of my mum’s coffee table in Malaysia.

We acquired our Charlie and Lola books over a decade ago, before we discovered the TV series, and read them to Anna on an almost daily basis – sometimes twice daily – for much of her toddler years. I wonder if Anna still remembers them … Continue reading →