August 5, 2024
SINGAPORE – On Aug 9, Singapore celebrates its 59th birthday. Get your children in the celebratory spirit by exploring fun books inspired by the National Day Parade and a presidential election. Guide them on how to bake a pandan cake for the special occasion too, with a child-friendly cookbook.
Let’s Celebrate NDP!
by Sharon Koh and Kristen Kiong
The Red Lions parachutists’ free-fall jumps are among the crowd-favourite segments of the National Day Parade (NDP) each year.
But even as your kids give the team a hero’s welcome when they make their descent onto the Padang on Aug 9, they may not realise there are many unsung heroes behind them.
For instance, before the SAF’s parachute team can glide in the sky, they have teammates who help them pack the parachutes, check the wind speed and direction, and prepare the plane.
Picture book Let’s Celebrate NDP! pays tribute to the people who tirelessly put together the large-scale shows to celebrate Singapore’s birthday every year.
It is written by first-time author Sharon Koh, 43, in her capacity as the president of the SAF Officers’ Spouses Club. Her husband is the Chief of Defence Force, Vice Admiral Aaron Beng, 43.
Koh, who works in the sustainability space, says: “Having witnessed the dedication of our military spouses and the entire NDP planning team, we wanted to capture and celebrate their hard work while supporting our community.”
(From left) Editor Nah Jinping, author Sharon Koh, illustrator Kristen Kiong and editor Lewis Soh with their children’s picture book, Let’s Celebrate NDP!. PHOTO: THE STRAITS TIMES
The book commemorates the club’s 50th anniversary and also raises money for the SAF Care Fund, set up to support severely disabled servicemen. This fund is in addition to the Defence Ministry’s existing compensation and welfare schemes.
Bringing to life the 36 pages is illustrator Kristen Kiong, who says this is possibly her most challenging book project, due to the sheer number of people she had to draw.
“We wanted to pay homage to the many people – both public personalities and everyday folk – working on the NDP,” says the 35-year-old. She has a day job as a speech therapist and pursues her passion for illustration after hours. Let’s Celebrate NDP! is her 17th picture book.
Eagle-eyed readers will spot her drawing of Benjamin Kheng, 33, singer and composer of the 2024 NDP theme song Not Alone.
Another musician she included is band 53A’s Sara Wee, 38, who sang the 2016 NDP theme song Tomorrow’s Here Today.
The book is also peppered with fun facts, such as how NDP used to be held in the day at the Padang, from its inception in 1966 until 1973 when it became an evening event.
To ensure accuracy in the text and illustrations, SAF personnel Lieutenant Colonel Nah Jinping and Major Lewis Soh stepped in as editors, consulting with numerous NDP teams.
Major Soh, 36, is currently the manpower officer for the 2nd Singapore Infantry Brigade.
Lt-Col Nah, 37, is Singapore’s first female F-15SG fighter pilot and now heads the SAF Women’s Outreach Office.
She has written two children’s books – Little Girl To Warrior (2023), which was inspired by her flying journey, and Wings Of My Own (2023), an RSAF initiative to engage the younger generation. Both were illustrated by Kiong.
Children’s picture book Let’s Celebrate NDP! pays tribute to the dedicated men and women who make the National Day Parade a memorable event each year. PHOTOS: SHARON KOH AND KRISTEN KIONG/THE STRAITS TIMES
Beyond recognising the efforts of those who make the annual celebrations possible, the team hopes that readers will learn the importance of teamwork and unity from their book.
Koh says: “When we dream big together, we can achieve extraordinary things. Just like how this year’s NDP theme song reminds us: ‘The more we’re together, the further we’ll go, you and I, we’re not alone.’”
Support the fund-raising book Let’s Celebrate NDP!, which goes for $18 a copy and $30 for two at go.gov.sg/OSCNDPBook2024. It is also available at Books Kinokuniya at $16.35 each.
Pineapple, Let’s Roll!
by Peh Shing Huei and Quek Hong Shin
(From left) Author Peh Shing Huei and illustrator Quek Hong Shin with their children’s picture book Pineapple, Let’s Roll!. PHOTO: THE STRAITS TIMES
Government, politics and elections are big words which children usually do not pay attention to. But these topics have been a source of inspiration for author Peh Shing Huei’s picture books.
His third and latest children’s title is Pineapple, Let’s Roll!, a story inspired by the 2023 Singapore presidential election, which economist and former Cabinet heavyweight Tharman Shanmugaratnam won.
For the hustings, President Tharman chose the pineapple as his campaign symbol and was greeted with chants of “ong lai” (Hokkien for pineapple) wherever he went during the nine-day campaign.
Peh, 48, was a member of Team Tharman during the campaign.
His book Pineapple, Let’s Roll! – with illustrations by Quek Hong Shin, 44 – is chock-full of references to the presidential election.
But it adds a disclaimer that “all characters appearing in this work are clearly fictitious because fruit can’t talk”. The book is neither authorised nor funded by the office of the President of the Republic of Singapore.
As Peh’s story goes, Ong Lai the pineapple is an outcast at his school. Thanks to his friend Jambu Jane’s support, he overcomes his low self-esteem and musters the courage to run for the post of head prefect.
Adopting the campaign slogan “respect for all fruit”, Ong Lai urges students to stop making fun of others, and he eventually wins with 70.4 per cent of the votes.
Peh recalls that he was on a family vacation in Desaru a month after the campaign when the story idea hit him.
“What if the main character is a talking pineapple named Ong Lai? What if Ong Lai has a friend named Jane?
“At this point, I started giggling to myself, and my wife thought I had finally lost my mind due to the stress of the campaign.”
Peh’s book is published under The Nutgraf, a strategic content and communications agency that he co-founded. He was formerly The Straits Times’ news editor and China bureau chief.
He shares that his two sons, aged 10 and nine, laughed the first time they read it. He had included a pomegranate character who kept saying “bruh”.
“That character was inspired by them because they love to say ‘bruh’ to me,” he says with a laugh.
His 2017 debut picture book Dream Island: The Mad, Mad World Of Philip Yeo was based on the former civil servant, who had served in various key roles in different government agencies.
In 2019, Peh released Panjang: The Tall Boy Who Became Prime Minister, which tells the childhood story of Singapore’s second prime minister Goh Chok Tong.
“I find it fun to try to relate these very adult themes to children and allow them to have an early appreciation of some of the concepts, values and personalities,” he says. “For example, in Panjang, how Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong coped with being very tall when he was growing up, as he felt awkward literally standing out.”
While the Pineapple, Let’s Roll! story is inspired by the presidential election, children do not have to know the event to enjoy the book, says author Peh Shing Huei. PHOTO: THE STRAITS TIMES
While his newest title is inspired by the presidential election, children do not have to know the event to enjoy the book.
“Young readers can enjoy the story as it is, that of a talking pineapple who found the confidence to be a student leader,” Peh adds.
“Believe in yourself, be proud of who you are and stand up for what you believe in. Most importantly, be nice to one another and don’t bully those who look and sound different from you.”
Buy a copy at $18 on publisher The Nutgraf’s website at str.sg/7sXG and at major bookstores.
Can I Lick The Spoon, Mum?
by Pamela Lim, Japher Lim and Eliz Ong
Pamela Lim, author of Can I Lick The Spoon, Mum?, adding a coconut glaze to her pandan chiffon cake. PHOTO: THE STRAITS TIMES
Do your children crave cakes and cookies? Let them choose a recipe and bake together.
Can I Lick The Spoon, Mum? is a cookbook with fun illustrations to engage the kids, especially those who are visual learners or dyslexic.
Author Pamela Lim has included a wide array of iconic Singapore pastries, including pandan cake, curry puff and ang ku kueh.
There are also popular Asian treats such as Hong Kong egg tart, Japanese souffle cheesecake and Taiwanese shui jian bao (pan-fried bun).
She has made them with her five children from the time they were three years old. Her kids are now aged between 21 and 30. Her husband, 60, is a board member of a few companies.
“Now that they’re all grown up, I wanted to pass on the fun and learning we had in the kitchen to other families or classrooms,” Lim, 58, tells ST.
The book was a family effort. Her oldest child Japher Lim, who has a passion for art, did the initial round of drawings. Illustrator Eliz Ong stepped in to complete the book when Japher had work commitments.
Pamela Lim finds that three years old is a good age to introduce children to baking and cooking.
“At three, kids are getting into textures and shapes, and they’re curious,” she says.
“Baking and cooking allow them to touch, feel and see how things come together. Plus, they get to eat what they make, which is the best reward.”
Her childhood was also enriched by the hours spent in the kitchen with her baker-dad. After a career as an entrepreneur, she enrolled in the Le Cordon Bleu culinary school, where she completed a diploma programme.
“Baking and cooking are about more than just making food. They’re skills that teach patience, creativity and the joy of sharing. They also help children to relax and have a hobby too.”
Here, she shares how you can make a pandan chiffon cake with your kids. It is one of many recipes from her book, published by WS Education and retailing for $31.60 on Lazada at str.sg/5Heh
She adds: “My husband says that it is the best chiffon cake he has tasted.”
Pamela Lim’s recipe for pandan chiffon cake
Ingredients
8 eggs; whites and yolks separated
1 tsp cream of tartar or lemon juice
120g castor sugar
30g cornstarch
60ml cooking oil
65ml fresh coconut cream
1 tsp pandan paste
90g plain or cake flour
A few drops of pandan essence
10 pandan leaves blended and juice extracted
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 175 deg C.
2. In a cake mixer, beat the egg whites at low speed for 1 minute, then add the cream of tartar and increase to medium speed for 1 minute.
3. Add sugar to the egg whites, and beat until medium peaks are formed.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks until light. Fold in the rest of the ingredients and then the flour.
5. Fold the egg yolk mixture into the egg white mixture.
6. Pour the batter into a tube pan.
7. Bake on the lowest shelf for 60 minutes.
8. Remove from the oven once the time is up and hang the tube pan over a wine bottle, or something similar, for 10 minutes to cool the cake.
9. Remove the cake from the pan and enjoy it while it is still warm.