Sunday, October 21, 2007

Putting Sarawak on the Map for Kids

A friend of mine told me the other day that it was disappointing that there weren't more quality, locally-produced children's books around. Here's a piece of news from this morning's Star that might cheer him up!

A writer mother and illustrator daughter are hoping to put Sarawak on the world literary map.

Former English teacher Margaret H.L Lim and daughter Su Jen Buchheim have been nominated for the world's largest award for children and youth literature, the Astrid Lindgren Award 2008.

The debut book in the series, Payah, was published in 2005. It features a little Kenyan girl who rescues wild creatures including a hornbill and a mousedeer in the rainforest. It was followed by Four Eyes, another book in the series Precious Jade and Turnip Head is coming out in November, with a fourth already in the pipeline.

There's much more to read on the Fairy Bird website that Lim has set up.

2 comments:

Gette said...

That is AWESOME. I reviewed both of Lim's books before but funnily enough never met her. I thought Four Eyes was a lot better than Payah, and I love Su Jen Buchheim's illustrations.

Anonymous said...

"Payah" means suffering. It connotes helplessness and futility. I wonder why that name was chosen.