Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Book Talk Tuesday - Miss Rumphius 花婆婆 REVIEW & GIVEAWAY!

In 'simplicity', there too can be 'beauty'. That was basically what went through my mind when I first read this title in English as part of the FIAR series. This simple and personal story also won the American Book of the Year award in the year of its publication.



:: The story 
Miss Rumphius, otherwise known as 花婆婆 in this Chinese title, is told through the eyes of a little girl (her grand niece). Miss Rumphius grew up in America where her grandfather was a migrant and an artist who painted occasionally. Miss Rumphius' early memories of her grandfather were those of evenings spent on her grandfather's laps as he reminisced his younger days and regaled his adventures with the young Miss Rumphius. That fueled Miss Rumphius' interest in travelling and she told him that she too, would travel when she is older. 

"很好,“ 爷爷笑着说, ”但是, 你一定要记得做第三件事。”

”什么事?“艾莉丝问。
”做一件让世界变得更美丽的事." 

"That is all very well, little Alice," said her grandfather, "but there is a third thing you must do." 

"What is that?" asked Alice.

"You must do something to make the world more beautiful," said her grandfather. 


And so Miss Rumphius did the two tasks (out of three) that she told the grandfather she would. She visited the countries and places which she wanted to and, stayed in a house by the sea. When it came to the third task, she was stuck. She pondered over this question for the longest time, "what can I do to make the world more beautiful?" 


:: The Illustration

Dumpling and I enjoyed the various scenes from Miss Rumphius' travels in the book. From the icy snow caps to her tropical adventures, each page brings on a different 'delight'. 





The colours are rich and vivid, and the layout, interesting. Many pages have an "overlapping" format where the illustrations would 'bleed' into another page with small "scenes" either above or below the text. :) It is no surprise to know that Babara Cooney (both the author and illustrator) has illustrated over a hundred books with 2 Caldecott Award Winners to her name. The art for Miss Rumphius has a permanent home in the Bowdoin College Museum of Art.




Author & Illustrator: Babara Cooney 

No. of Pages: 32
Age Group: From 5YO (as a readaloud), 7 for reading independently 

Delicately woven with a lovely message, I am excited to share that Read with Me Mommy is sponsoring one copy of this title for a giveaway. :)


Earn credits using Rafflecopter below 
(Please share on what you can do to make the world more beautiful in the comment section. Do remember to also leave your email address in the section too):


 (For Singapore residents only)

The more credits you earn, the higher your chances! :)

That's not all! Just for Beanie N Us readers, you stand to enjoy a 10% savings when you key in this code BEANIENUS at the checkout! 

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16 comments:

  1. I hope to raise kind children to make the world more beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  2. teach my child manners and be more gracious
    Cynthia Lau
    edenie98@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. To appreciate and respect everything and everyone.

    ReplyDelete
  4. To let my child appreciate the world.
    Teo Kiali
    galen.bibi@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. To teach my kids to be kind and appreciate the world..

    ReplyDelete
  6. respect for everything and be kind

    ReplyDelete
  7. Lynn Soh
    sohlayleng@yahoo.com.sg

    There is so much beauty and splendour in our world, and is only marred by people who have no regards for them. I hope to teach my kids to appreciate the beauty we have around us, we may not be able to travel widely, but there is beauty even in the little we see in our everyday concrete jungle; and to raise them to be people with beautiful hearts so that the world can more beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Have a smile and simple hello to even strangers I meet in the lift, along the corridors, the bus driver, cleaners in the office, tea ladies and stall holders in the canteen, etc.

    cmeilim@gmail.com
    Carol Lim

    ReplyDelete
  9. Be more patient, speak with grace, less kiasu, more compassionate. These are the things I hope to impart to my children.

    Robert Sim, robert_sim@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  10. Be appreciative of everything and everyone around us. Better Environment and Nicer People makes the world beautiful.
    Ker Min
    magixn@hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  11. To be kind, friendly and do not take things for granted.
    Yvonne, yitkwee@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  12. learn to be more compassionate and pay it forward

    jaime
    chueimei@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  13. I can smile more and teach my children to give back to the world. :)
    Jus
    makingmum(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  14. To love others as yourself :)
    evangelyncsh@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  15. Greeting everyone with a smile! I think that goes a long way!

    Cheers

    Audrey
    sweetsweethalo@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete

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