Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Review + Giveaway: A Night at the Safari, A Day with the Duchess & The Lion Dance by David Seow!

David Seow is an author that we are not unfamiliar with having read his books – Emma’s Elephant, If I Were a Blue Kangaroo, etc. David started writing stories when he was babysitting his niece and nephews, and decided to write one about them. And that’s where he drew his inspiration from for the famous Sam Sebbie and Di-Di-Di series.

Sam, Sebbie and Di-di-di are three siblings who go on wonderful excursions and encounter amazing adventures along the way. Here are Dumpling’s top 3 picks.

:: At The Night Safari
The Night Safari is always an adventure for Dumpling whenever we visit it. There is just a hint of mystery in the air when it is a night outing. The tram ride, of course, is a key draw. Dumpling would start whispering and pointing out those nocturnal creatures the moment the ride starts.

And it is the same for Sam Sebbie and Di-Di-Di. The trio started their adventure on a tram ride when suddenly, the tram stopped suddenly with a bump and a bam! Turns out, one very sleepy animal was in the way.

How will they be able to get past the giraffe? Will anyone be able to wake him up? This lovely story, told in an easy rhyming style, is great for younger children as it introduces the various animals and vocabulary in the Safari. 


:: A Day with the Duchess
Amongst all 3 stories, this is my favourite. While “At the Night Safari” is less wordy, “A Day with the Duchess” is more suitable for older children. Dumpling remembers the Duchess’s visit to Singapore, 2 years ago, as I showed her the articles in the papers then. She was very excited that someone from the Royal Family (almost like a real princess mama?) visited Singapore. :)

The story was a joy to read as Kate (Sam’s pet hamster) was brought to meet the Duchess.

(Can you spot where Kate is?)

Unfortunately she was separated from the siblings along the way. The story is ‘true’ as it highlighted the various places the Duke and Duchess visited. From Gardens by the Bay to Queenstown to Raffles Hotel, it also shares how Kate ended up being part of the Duchess ‘entourage’.

Of course, the 3 siblings were worried sick; will they ever be able to find Kate and get her back?

The illustrations by Soefara Jafney were really good! Being quite known for her impeccable fashion sense, I pored through the drawings of her outfits. :p Upon close inspection, I realised that the drawings of the Duchess’s outfits were “true” to what she wore during her visits!  (I did a google to check that out!)  


:: The Lion Dance
The final book that Dumpling has selected is The Lion Dance. On “one extra-special holiday” the siblings (with new member Xandy) were told by their parents that they would be watching a special performance: a lion dance! So who is this lion and where does it come from? Does it really dance?



Like the other titles, the excursion proved to be yet another adventure for the children. They ventured into a ‘hidden’ area, drew open a big red curtain and saw “the funniest lion”. They decided to put on the Lion costume and surprised their parents by hopping out from behind the curtains, only to realise that they are the ones who were surprised instead!


The crowd cheered and the drums went “doong doong doong bang!” and gongs  went “doong doong doong chang”!

“Oh, goodness gracious me!” exclaimed Xandy… “What do we do?” he asked.

How will the children be able to shimmy their way out of this ‘adventure’, or will they :)
 
This title is a simple yet lovely tale with captivating illustrations. I enjoyed thumbing through the pages and pouring over the traditional Chinese elements - cranes, lanterns and even the 'Bruce Lee' lookalike outfit donned on by Sebbie!
To place an order for these books, you can visit Epigram here.
I am pleased to share that I have not 1, not 2 but a bundle of these 3 autographed titles worth almost SGD50 for a giveaway!
(For SG residents only)
:: To enter:
1. Enter through rafflecopter below!

2. Leave a comment below on how you encourage a love for reading with your kiddos at home! Please include your email address  


:: Terms and Conditions:

- Entries that do not fulfil the requirements stated will be disqualified without notice.
- Winners will be notified by email, through the email address provided.
- This giveaway is for Singapore residents only. 


Disclaimer: I received copies of the titles from Epigram Books in order to do a review on and give my opinion of it. No monetary compensation was received for this post. Epigram Books is the sponsor of this giveaway.

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44 comments:

  1. We read together before my kids retire for the night.

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  2. I leave books around the house, and encourage him to read whenever he is bored.
    Adeline / growingwiththetans@gmail.com

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  3. bed time story time
    chueimei@hotmail.com

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  4. Reading before bedtime and encouraging to pick up the books more often when they hv spare moments on hand.
    Wld love to hv these to the collection of books we hv ;)
    Etoilebb08@hotmail.com

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  5. Bed time story and go to library to borrow books weekly.
    khorleeling@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  6. I've books all over the house which my boy can pick up anytime, anywhere to read whenever he wants. I also faithfully read bedtime stories to him every night. When we enter a bookshop, he's free to choose whichever books he's interested in.

    Irene Fock
    puffish03@gmail.com

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  7. I have a mini library in each of their room. They have an hour everyday to read their storybooks since young. We login online together to select & buy their favourite books! I will also dramatise the whole scenario when i read to them. They simply love it!

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  8. I have a mini library in each of their room. They have an hour everyday to read their storybooks since young. We login online together to select & buy their favourite books! I will also dramatise the whole scenario when i read to them. They simply love it!

    Pam Wong
    pamwong_diver@yahoo.com.sg

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  9. We will bring them to the library whenever possible to let them explore various different kinds of books to cultivate their interest in reading. Not only that we will also read books with them and explain what we can learn from it.

    KaRen Ong
    karen_opk@yahoo.com

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  10. We go to the library every weekend to immerse ourselves in the world of books. The kids have half an hour of story time before bed every night. Reading aloud & dramatically helps cultivate the love for reading. :)
    mail2magy@gmail.com

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  11. Buy books that are interesting, have beautiful illustrations and simple to her standard.
    Cynthia Lau
    edenie98@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  12. Ratna Mishra
    Ratna.s.mishra@gmail.com

    I have always been an avid reader, so hopefully part of the love my kids have for reading stems from watching me devour books.
    Just as I read to them, the older ones like to read to younger ones!
    We also try to follow up what we learn in books through excursions, cooking and reading more! I also make sure I read everything the kids do so we can discuss questions they may have or things that interest them!

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  13. I have a shelf of books that are easily accessible to the kids and would encourage the elder one to play teacher and read to her little brother!

    Evelyn Hu
    xuelyn@yahoo.com

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  14. We like to read bedtime story every night and visit library weekly.
    leongyeeming@yahoo.com

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  15. I started reading Story books to my kids at early age. Their love towards books slowly encourage them to start reading. One thing we always carry with us when we are out is book.

    Thanks for awesome giveaway..
    Ashmika Jain
    jainash1083@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  16. Either my wife or I read to our children every night since they were babies.

    Robert
    robert_sim@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  17. We have bookshelves for each kid at home and do read story books with them daily

    Dominique
    dominiquegoh(at) gmail(dot) com

    ReplyDelete
  18. I read stories that they love and will be interested in to them every night.

    Louis
    leechlouis@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  19. We try to read to our baby once a day although she is more interested in chewing up the book. Thanks!

    impixie@gmail.com

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  20. I will usually buy books that they are interested. This way, it will allow us to share and discuss abt the books most of the time.

    carol.khoh@gmail.com

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  21. I find books that are closely related to everyday things and read during quiet time before bed and whenever they want to read. We will share with each other things that happen if the book touches on something specific. :)

    Peanote@yahoo.com

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  22. I start by finding books with characters (such as Dora, Princess, Car, Trucks) that my kiddos love, reading with lot of animations, pretend-playing the characters in the books, placing their favourite books in our mini library, taking turn to read the books and including a lifestyle of reading daily.

    giftfmabove@yahoo.com.sg
    Nancy Koh

    ReplyDelete
  23. I read aloud to my kids since they were very young before bedtime every night. Now, my elder kid can read to me and his siblings. We enjoy our bedtime story sessions very much.

    Xgg Chan
    chanxgg@gmail.com

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  24. We have exposed our kids to a wide variety of literature on all kinds of topics from an early age and shown them that reading is fun!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Email address: marklim.suetan@gmail.com thanks :)

      Delete
  25. We started off with interactive books like lift-a-flap and now reading before naptime and bedtime is a routine.

    Evangelyn
    evangelyncsh@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  26. Have books everywhere at home. The parents read as well. Make reading part of bedtime routine.

    Li Peng
    Marveille@gmail.com

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  27. I have been reading David Seow's books to my preschoolers in class for a while now and the children love it. Especially when they get to say "Di-di-di's" name; and once the children love it, they even took the opportunity to read the books to their friends too. I love his collection and it's fun to read too..

    Hajar
    legra88@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  28. read more often and let the kids get used to reading

    jingxian
    j_xian@hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  29. Books are all over the house. My kids are reading from morning till evening.
    I'll read to the youngest one 3 times a day.

    ReplyDelete
  30. We read aloud before bedtime and leave lots of reading materials around the home for easy access. Thanks for hosting this giveaway. We support LOCAL! :D

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  31. Read together with them :-)

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  32. I try to read them a story every night. Every month go library once on top of their school weekly story book loan and bought them a oenpal to help them read aloud
    Rosalind Leong

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  33. I will bring him to library and choose the book he interest. We will read together before he goes to bed.

    Keith Tan

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  34. We make reading a part of our routine everyday without fail!

    Thank you for hosting!
    Jacquelene
    furrypawie@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  35. We read daily and I try to get books that are fun and interesting for them. We like to act out the stories as well, making the stories come to life!

    Shi'en
    liangshien@gmail.com

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  36. I make it a bedtime routine for my boy. I also bring him to the library often and I love to get new books

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  37. My husband and I visit the library with our daughter once every 2 weeks to borrow storybooks. We place the books at her play area and will read to her once a day.
    -meiyi (littledetour@hotail.com)

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  38. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  39. We have our storytelling every night before sleeping and visit library every week.
    we watched the very hungry caterpillar show & Junior Claus play. All of us enjoyed it!

    email: sandranewsg@yahoo.com.sg

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  40. Thanks for organizing this! These books look nice and interesting. I encourage my kids to read by having bedtime reading daily. I created a few mini bookshelves at different locations around our home so that books are easily visible and reachable by them. In addition, we make trips to the library to borrow some books. For my elder, it's very encouraging to see that she will pull out a book or two to read when she is free.

    Thanks, Samantha
    email: hpchengs@gmail.com

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  41. I will read story book every night to my son. I also have a small area for him to read his story books
    Teo Kiali
    galen.bibi@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete

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