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We love books here at Sassy Mama! Here we celebrate children’s books by Singapore authors (and our fave kids’ books about Singapore)!
In celebration of Singapore Writers Festival (starts this weekend, mama!), we thought it was the perfect time to round up some great reads for children with books about Singapore and books written by authors (including a couple kids) in Singapore! If you are looking for some adult reads, don’t miss our 13 Great Novels by Singapore Authors round up!
Click through the gallery for some great reads to add to your kiddo’s bookshelf!
Read more:
Raising Good Readers: Fave SG Books for Kids
Singapore Souvenir Books
This 8-year-old wrote his own storybook
5 Books that teach kids about embracing their diversity in a mixed race family
Lead image sourced via Getty
Vinod and the Deepavali Dishes is just one of five newly released children’s food heritage books that explore Asian recipes, local festivals and activities that families can engage in. The books are wonderful for anyone who’s new to Singapore to help them discover the different local cuisines. Other titles in the series include: Mei Lin and the Reunion Dinner, Beverly and the Peranakan Feast, Hafiz and the Raya Recipes, and Emma and the Eurasian Potluck.
For ages: 4 – 9 years old
About the author: Debra Francisco, of Eurasian and Peranakan heritage, is a local teacher and mum to three boys living in Singapore. She embarked on this series with the hope that Singapore families can explore their own food memories and discover (or rediscover) all the delicious heritage dishes.
Find it at: Kinokuniya
In Secrets of Singapore: Botanic Gardens, Danger Dan and Gadget Girl go out on a limb to uproot the Singapore Botanic Gardens’ deepest, darkest secrets. They find: a tree so famous that its portrait can be found in any Singaporean’s wallet, an orchid older and taller than any human alive, strawberries that are only pretending to be berries, tomatoes that can’t decide whether they are fruits or vegetables, and sunflowers that are really evil at heart. A walk in the Singapore Botanics will never be the same way again!
For ages: Primary 3+
About the Authors: Monica Lim and Lesley-Anne Tan are a mother-and-daughter writing team. Monica runs her own writing business, has a blog on education and published a book in October 2013 entitled The Good, the Bad and the PSLE. Lesley-Anne is an undergraduate at Yale-NUS. Secrets of Singapore is their third writing project together, after their first two fiction series starring Danger Dan and Gadget Girl.
Find it at: Epigram Books
Asian Scientist Junior is a beautifully illustrated six-part children‘s book
For ages: 4- 8 years
About the Author: Asian Scientist Editor, Wildtype Media CEO and mother of two children Juliana Chan spearheaded the project and wrote some of the books. Her team was intent on giving scientists from Asia more of the much deserved limelight.
Find it at: LocalBooks.Sg
I’m a Girl. See what I can be! is a lovely book that families – especially those with girls – should look into. Written in verse, this book celebrates 10 Asian women by examining their stories of courage. Each woman has been featured on the International Emmy® Nominated series, WomenTalk. There’s Lek, who runs a sanctuary for elephants in Chiang Mai, Thailand; Lily Goh, who advocates on behalf of the deaf community in Singapore; and many other significant women. The book is illustrated by ten differently abled artists.
For ages: 6+ years old
About the author: The author, Eunice Olsen is a Singaporean actress, television presenter, beauty pageant titleholder, and politician. Eunice hopes to encourage more young girls and boys to draw strength from these stories and to know that they can be who they want to be.
Find it at: Euniceolsenmedia.com
Image from Eunice Olsen Facebook Fanpage
The Great Big Lion is a fiction book about a lion who the villagers are scared of, but all he wants is to make friends and be accepted. It’s a story addressing diversity and inclusion in society. Chryseis has a series of five more books that are in the process of publishing.
For ages: 2 to 10 years old
About the author: Chryseis Knight is 4 years old, and is said to have written her book when she was just 3 years old! Chryseis initially wrote this story in her notebook. She then shared the story with her family and, with the help of her mother, they went on to illustrate her book. She is set to host a TEDx youth event in Abu Dhabi.
Find it at: Amazon.com
What do the animals from the Singapore Zoo do on their day off? They meet for cake and tea at Raffles Hotel, of course. Take a trip around the important landmarks and icons in Singapore (yellow taxis, Raffles Hotel, Merlions and more) with this sweet book that’s great for toddlers.
For ages: Baby to 3yrs+
About the author: Fleur Vella-Chang was a teacher in Australia, but found her true calling as a graphic designer after moving to Singapore as an accompanying partner. She wrote, illustrated, and self-published her debut, The Story of Flora, in Australia. While studying the children’s literature market in Singapore, she found few, if any, books for emergent readers (infants). “I knew of so many mothers looking for books for their little ones,” she says. “I had found my niche.”
Find it at: Kinokuniya
Image sourced via Happiness Academy
In this sequel to The Amazing Sarong, a beautiful Chinese wedding basket is used in different ways. Xiaoming delivers a batch of ang ku kueh with the basket, then uses it as a prop for a lion dance and later a hat! This book shows that with imagination and creativity, anything is possible.
For ages: 4+
About the Author: Quek Hong Shin is a freelance illustrator who has illustrated several picture books. The Amazing Sarong – the first book he wrote and illustrated –was shortlisted for Best Children’s Title at the Singapore Book Awards 2016. He conducts workshops for primary school children and is an advocate for Superhero Me, an inclusive arts movement for children with special needs.
Find it at: Epigram Books
This is a beautifully designed book of Singapore! In Find and Seek Singapore, a small boy arrives in the lion eager to explore. The book is written in simple verse, and spans East Coast Park, kite flying at Marina Barrage, the delicious food at hawker centres and more – a visual treat for the whole family.
Find and Seek Books has a second title Find and Seek New York, a range of Art prints and postcards, and a Find and Seek Singapore Coloring Book launching at Boutiques Fair: The Gifting Edition. The Coloring Book is 50 pages full of fun activities and hours of coloring fun.
For ages: 3- 9 years
About the author: Sally Roydhouse is an Australian creative who moved to Singapore from Melbourne in early 2007 with her husband. Now a mother of three boys who were all born here, Singapore has very much become home.
Find it at: Kinokuniya
Written by a former zookeeper at the Singapore Zoo, The Ranger Anne series encourages little ones to read on their own. Read our full write up on this series here! The eponymous ranger takes care of, and plays with, the animals at the Singapore Zoo. The series includes Active Leopard, Proud Flamingos, Curious Snake, and Flying Stingray; and Set 2 includes Noisy Elephant, Magical Fireflies, Graceful Giraffe, and Smiling Slow Loris. The Ranger Anne series is educationally sound and encourage young children to read on their own.
For ages: 5 years+
About the author: Anita Sebastian is a writer, editor, zoologist, and former Singapore Night Safari employee. Anita wrote these books hoping that young people would appreciate animals and ideally start looking at them with renewed compassion, not just as pets and food.
Find it at: LocalBooks
Image by LocalBooks
Timothy Pong’s family only interact with each other through digital machines rather than human contact. That’s a pity, as 12-year-old Timothy is too young to own a phone, so he hasn’t actually spoken to them in years! When Timothy gets bullied at school he turns to Uncle Russ Tee and best friend, Rudy, and they come up with an ingenious plan to get back at the bullies.
For ages: Upper Primary +
About the Author: Ken Kwek is a screenwriter, film director and playwright. Ken studied literature at the University of Cambridge and dramatic writing at New York University. He worked as a journalist and a cook for a few years, then wrote and directed movies such as Unlucky Plaza Timothy and the Phubbers is his first children’s novel.
Find it at: Epigram Books
The animals of Singapore are under threat from ever-expanding urbanisation. So they hold a meeting and come up with a few ideas to defend their turf, including breaking into the Istana to rewrite the Constitution, organising a fundraiser using fertiliser and staging a variety show. Can they get the humans to change their minds?
For ages: Upper Primary+
About the Author: Maureen Yeo is an educator teaching English, Literature and life skills by introducing her young students to Roald Dahl’s great principle: “A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men”.
Find it at: Epigram
Rubiah leaves her home in Semarang to become a domestic helper in Singapore. As she takes cooking and English language lessons, she is nervous about her new role. But disaster strikes in the kitchen when she is asked to make carrot cake. This is the first title in the three-book series called Rubiah from Semarang, which aims to shed light on the journey of domestic helpers and open the eyes of young Singaporeans who interact with them daily.
For ages: early readers, 5 yrs+
About the Authors: Atiqah Halim is a civil servant, blogger and writer in her free time. She shares her and her family’s love for travelling on their blog, Familytrippers. Rubiah from Semarang is her first children’s book series. Zafirah Idris, a former civil servant, is an entrepreneur with her own company, Printaparty.sg. She has also written and illustrated a personalised picture book for her son.
Find it at: Epigram Books
Image by Epigram
Jack Is Curious is a charming new series that questions the word through the eyes of curious Jack, who lives in Singapore. Each book addresses a question that could stump many a parent. In Why Do People Cry When They’re Happy?, Jack is with his family at Changi Airport. He notices some travellers crying when they happy and others crying when they are unhappy. But he thinks, aren’t tears supposed to be sad? “Why do people cry with they are happy?” he asks. It’s up to his mama to come up with the answer.
For ages: 3+
About the Author: Linda Locke is a former advertising executive and the co-author of Agnes and Her Amazing Orchid, a picture book about the creator of Singapore’s National Flower, the Vanda Miss Joaquim. Linda Locke lives in Singapore with her family.
About the Illustrator: Chloe Chang is an illustrator and animator based in Singapore. She graduated in 2016 with a bachelor of fine arts in digital animation from Nanyang Technological University. Chloe is currently working as an animator for PaperplaneCo and illustrates children’s books in her free time.
Find it at: LocalBooks
The Magic Tea Cakes tells the story of four little tea cakes that fall out of their basket and go an action-packed adventure! This magical book is written and illustrated by 6-year-old budding author, Sanaya, who believes that every child can write their own story and become authors.
From exploring castles, to zip lining across the playground and fighting bears and wild cats, the tea cakes have a lot of challenges… but they never give up to find their way home. With tips from the author herself on how to write your own story, this is a great book to encourage children to imagine all the endless possibilities that life has to offer.
For ages: 3- 9 years
About the author: Sanaya Sengupta remarkably wrote this book as a 6-year-old when she was based in Singapore. Sanaya, believes that every child can write their own story and become authors.
Find it at: www.magicteacakes.com
There was a Peranakan woman who lived in a shoe.
She made so many nyonya kueh, she didn’t know what to do.
This lovely book is a hilarious modern take on traditional nursery rhymes, incorporating lots of colour and local flavour. There Was a Peranakan Woman Who Lived in a Shoe looks at traditional food, local places as well as traditional festivals celebrated in the country.
For ages: Baby to 3 years old
About the author: Gwen Lee is the author of City of Waves: Vivo City and the Editor-at-Large of Singapore Architect, the professional journal of the Singapore Institute of Architects. Trained as an architect in the UK, she is one of the few interdisciplinary writers straddling the fields of architecture and literature.
About the illustrator: Cheryl Kook pursued an education in Animation at Nanyang Polytechnic, Singapore and continued on to major in Illustration at Laguna College of Art + Design, California. She has a background in game and visual projects which has inspired her to combine her animation background and her passion for illustration into a style of her own.
Find it here: National Library System
The Candy series of books are sweet, easy to read open-the-flap style books. In Candy is a Good Helper, Candy takes care of her little baby kitten siblings: pouring milk for them to drink, giving them a bath, and helping them dress up – introducing great values for little kids.
For ages: Baby – 3 years old
About the authors: Bessie Chua is a veteran author based in Singapore. Linda Yan is an educator and writer, experienced in the field of early childhood development
Find it at: LocalBooks
