Between The Lines: Two books that teach children how to help others

Every one of us starts life as an egocentric baby, concerned only with having our own needs fulfilled. Somewhere along the road to adulthood, we all become less self-centred, to varying degrees. Some children are so protected from growing pains that they never let go of their self-centredness. Others grow up in an environment that […]

Between The Lines: Six great Lunar New Year story books for children

This article appeared on Tuesday 10 February 2015 in the South China Morning Post print edition as “Children’s tales for Lunar New Year”. For me, the essence of Lunar New Year is perfectly embodied in A New Year’s Reunion, the award-winning picture book by Yu Liqiong. I didn’t discover it until 2011, and since then I […]

Between the Lines: Discussing books with children improves their creative writing skills

“Why is Goodnight Moon such a big deal?” my friend asked me. The classic story by Margaret Wise Brown doesn’t seem that notable on first glance: a slightly off-putting colour scheme depicting a story without any exciting plotlines or humorous developments. I urged her and her young child to give the picture book another try, and pointed […]

Between the Lines: The joys of letter writing

  I have fond memories of writing many letters to many people in my youth. In fact, cherished relationships were built and strengthened through letters. In Year 10, a friend wrote a one-page Arthurian story with characters that mirrored our circle of friends and passed it to me to read. I continued the story by […]