Between the lines: The joy of book series
I am an advocate for parent-child reading, so my children are in the habit of bringing books to grown-ups for them to read out loud. In the past year, my eldest daughter has started to take books from our bookshelf and read the words silently to herself. And then one day, I heard her reading […]
Between the Lines: Summer break is a reader’s delight (SCMP, by Percie Wong)
Research consistently shows that we improve in literacy by doing large amounts of interesting reading for pleasure. This is often not possible during the school year, because of the pressure of school-work and exams. Summer reading is the perfect time to catch up on this. In her inaugural column for SCMP, BMABHK trainer Percie Wong […]
Between the lines: stories build bonds between father and child
My husband is great with children and has a good rapport with them. Nevertheless, hanging out with young ones isn’t his idea of a relaxing and fun time. Asked to pick between two weekend activities, nine times out of 10 he would choose the one that didn’t involve children, neither our own nor those of […]
Between The Lines: Lessons from the master
This article appeared on Tuesday 20 May 2014 in the South China Morning Post print edition as “Lessons from the master”. Leonard Marcus is a living encyclopedia of children’s literature who shares his knowledge through the many books that he has written, analysing the authors and artists who have created some of the genre’s greatest […]
Between the Lines: the Confucian way
Happy birthday, Siddhartha Gautama. In Hong Kong, Buddha’s birthday has been a public holiday since the 1997 handover. I suspect that it was accorded such status to allow workers an extra day of rest rather than for religious observation, because a number of Hong Kong Buddhists adopt Buddhism as a cultural philosophy without strictly adhering […]
Between the Lines: explaining Easter’s message to children
To me, Easter is all about children’s games, arts and crafts. This year’s activities included making Easter bonnets, egg decorating, and countless egg hunts. My children, on the other hand, are fixated with the Crucifixion. They chat about Jesus dying on the cross, which leads them to sing in unison a song with an upbeat […]
Between the Lines: books with all the answers for young, inquiring minds
I am sitting at my desk, indulging in time away from my children. After a busy December filled with social obligations, I had looked forward to spending the holidays with my daughters, including a five-day trip to Taipei. However, after nine straight days of having them by my side day and night, I was […]
Between the Lines: children’s picture books
You may not know Deirdre McDermott, but you will know Where’s Wally?, Hooray for Fish!,Owl Babies, and Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!. Although McDermott didn’t write or illustrate any of these books, she and her colleagues at Walker Books have been instrumental in creating these and many other well-loved books for more […]
Cartoons offer a child’s eye view of China
In her latest SCMP column, Annie introduces the art of Feng Zikai and his legacy.