Category: Ages 12+

Town Boy by Lat

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By Maureen Tai, 10 May 2018

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“And so…there we were – my family and I … beginning a new life in this new place. We have become town people…”

On this first day of a new era for my home country, it is fitting that I should pay tribute to one of my favourite comics from my youth.  Malaysia’s much-loved cartoonist, Datuk Mohammad Nor Khalid (fondly referred to as Lat, short for bulat or round) wrote Town Boy almost three decades ago.  It is an semi-autobiographical tale, set in the 1960’s, of a young Malay boy growing up in a small town.

It is my childhood too. And it is the childhood of several generations of Malaysians. Continue reading →

Eric by Shaun Tan

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By Maureen Tai, 4 May 2018

“Some years ago we had a foreign exchange student come to live with us. We found it very difficult to pronounce his name correctly, but he didn’t mind. He told us to just call him ‘Eric.'”

IMG_2155I have a soft spot for exchange students. I was one myself over two decades ago.  I still acutely remember the feelings of anxiety, excitement, fear, homesickness and nervousness, all mixed up in a gigantic ball in my gut as I landed in Narita Airport, Tokyo, unable to speak or read a word of Japanese.  It was 1989, and a few days later, Emperor Hirohito would pass away, marking the end of the Showa era.

I have a soft spot for Shaun Tan as well, but that is because he is an absolute genius.  Continue reading →

Pax by Sara Pennypacker

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By Maureen Tai, 1 May 2018

“So which it is? You going back for your home or for your pet?”
“They’re the same thing,” Peter said, the answer sudden and sure, although a surprise to him.

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My interest was piqued by the author’s name.  And the illustrations are gorgeous, as you’d expect from the maestro of minimalism, Jon Klassen.  The cover captivated me – the back profile of a red fox, ears pricked and alert, watching the egg yolk of a sun sink into the horizon.

A word of warning though. Despite being easy on the eye, Pax is not an easy book to read.  Continue reading →

Little tree/ Petit arbre by Katsumi Komagata

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By Maureen Tai, 22 April 2018

“No one notices such a small presence … be still here in the snow.” 

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Except we do notice. There is a pristine shard of white paper, protruding from the middle of the first two pages like a beak, or an arrowhead, or a sprouting seed.

Continue reading →