Khaleef’s 1st Theater : Roald Dahl’s ‘George’s Marvellous Medicine’

I absolutely LOVE theater, plays and stage performances. since my school days, I’ve been staging plays annually for teachers’ day – as the script writer, or director, or actor – I’m just so in love with performing LIVE in front of anticipating audience. it was such a thrill.

click here to read about my theater craze!

 

I still keep a collection of my theater tickets!

 

staging the plays is just as fun as watching them. been to countless plays at the actors’ studio in dataran merdeka (closed after the devastating KL flood), in bangsar, istana budaya, and many other venues in between. I just LOVE it so much!

and now that I’m a mom, I’m hoping to channel that interest to my boys. starting last week when I took my eldest khaleef to see the staging of roald dahl’s ‘george’s marvellous medicine’ by the birmingham stage company. I was more excited than he was, I’m sure!

it was staged at centerpoint theater, DUCTAC (dubai community theater and arts center) at the mall of emirates.

 

 

fans of the masterful roald dahl should be familiar with the story of ‘george’s marvellous medicine’. a boy named george concocted a medicine for his cranky grandma using all sorts of everyday stuff around his house – shampoo, lipsticks, powder, and even paint! eww! when his grandma drinks the medicine, well, things starts to get pretty weird!

I am a huge fan of roald dahl – his children’s books as well as his stories for adults – always quirky, always witty and funny; and with an unexpected ending! so knowing that it’s gonna be staged as a play really gets me excited – how will they achieve all the visual effects on stage with a wonderfully weird story of george and his marvellous medicine?

 

(pictures are from google)

 

apart from the funny story, wonderful acting and adorable set; what I love about the play roald dahl’s ‘george’s marvellous medicine’ by the birmingham stage company :

• it’s interactive – in the story, the stove broke down and george needed heat to mix the medicine well, so he asked the audience to rub their hands together and channel the heat towards the pot of medicine. khaleef enjoyed this part very much! very good for restless little kids, and get them to move and do all sorts of hand gesture
• personalizing the audience – the character george started out his scene by speaking to the audience. khaleef was immediately hooked. george also kept asking the audience “in?” whenever he picked up some random stuff from the kitchen or bathroom to put in the medicine. nice one! this made the little kids very attentive to the storyline
• george and his family live in a farm. there are chickens, pigs and cows – the whole house, barn and shed done really well to appeal to the younger audience.
• the repetitive song or music in the play was not annoying, thankfully – in fact, khaleef liked it and everyone anticipated something funny will happen when that song went on

 

overall, a fantabulous first experience for khaleef, watching an awesome story like roald dahl’s ‘george’s marvellous medicine’ being staged and performed really well by the birmingham stage company. in fact, it was MY first children’s play. I’ve never seen so many little children in a theater hall before! haha.

kudos to the birmingham stage company! I look forward for more stage plays from them! click here to read the interesting interview with the play’s director, phil clark on time out dubai about this play.

 

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entrance of DUCTAC (dubai community theater and arts center) in the mall of emirates – there’s also a library at the red building

 

where we watch ‘george’s marvellous medicine’ come to life!

 

for mak & khaleef. yay!

 

we got the balcony seats as the seats down below are all sold-out! and this was already the last few days of performances. ingatkan dah tak crowded!

 

but the view was still good, as we got the middle seats. mind you, the cheapest ticket is already quite pricey, so settling with the balcony seats may not be a bad idea. view is still ok! maybe for khaleef’s next few theater and plays we’ll try and get the seats closer to the stage

 

love, love, love the set. adorable, quaint little farm house where magic was about to happen. really well done.

 

 

I can see a lot of MOMS bringing their kids to watch the show, and just a few dads. haha. and there are a few teachers too bringing in their little students in uniform.

really, this is the first time I’m in a theater hall full of little kids. and it was loud with laughter and sounds of ‘yessss!!!’ or ‘nooooo!’ whenever george ask them questions. selalu tengok theater senyap je, and you can’t even whisper without getting angry stares!

 

glad you enjoyed the show, my little khaleef! hopefully this is one of many, many more that you will like!

Kisah Dongeng Tak Bermoral?

aku marah dengan status mengarut macam ni. kalau nak buat lawak, buat la smiley ke, atau smiley ada lidah terkeluar ke. takpe. aku terima. walau tak lawak, tapi aku terima kalau niat tu sebab nak buat lawak pagi2 jumaat ni,

dulu ade dah status begini bergelimpangan kat facebook tapi dalam bahasa inggeris. nada agak comel sikit, bak kata aku lah, sebab disusuli dengan smiley face atau lidah terkeluar tanda ada unsur lawak di situ. klik sini untuk yang bahasa inggeris.

tapi bila tulis status begini, pastu akhirnya tulis “ish..ish.. sume xbermoral..” aku sangat bangkang. tambahan pulak aku sayang kisah-kisah fairy tale ni. tak salah pun. enjoy je lah. aku memang membesar dengan cerita-cerita magis dari dunia khayalan dongeng ni – dengan puteri-puteri jelita, putera-putera perkasa, makhluk-makhluk aneh, watak jahat yang sentiasa tumpas di tangan keadilan. jugak kisah-kisah tauladan di sebalik cerita-cerita dongeng ni.

 

 

status mengarut tu berbunyi begini :

tarzan hidup separuh bogel..

cinderella balik lewat malam..

pinocchio menipu manjang..

aladdin suka mencuri..

batman memandu 320 km/j..

superman pakai underwear kat luar..

sleeping beauty pemalas asyik tidur..

snow white tinggal serumah dgn 7 lelaki..

 

ish ish..sume xbermoral..

 

mengarut!

hello! ini pandangan peribadi aku :

tarzan tak memilih nak separuh bogel. dia dibela oleh sekumpulan gorilla, yang tak pakai apa-apa pun. itupun ajaib dia bole terpikir nak pakai cawat. kalau dia dibela oleh yusuf haslam ke obama ke, pehtu gatai nk pakai cawat lagi, baru la kita bole belasah dia!

cinderella rajin buat kerja rumah. korang yang like status tu, sinki tu dah clear ke?

pinocchio tak ‘menipu memanjang’. hakikatnya hidung dia akan panjang JIKA dia menipu. dan pinocchio selamatkan ayah dia dari perut ikan paus. bukan ayah betul dia pun!

aladdin dapat 3 hajat (wish). dia berkorban untuk tak menggunakan hajat ke-3. dia wish genie biru tu bebas dari menjadi genie. tak selfish.

batman membantu orang dalam kesusahan.

superman tu alien. lantak dia la nak pakai apa. nasib baik la dia sanggup jugak membantu rakyat bumi walaupun dia dari planet lain. korang yang asyik kutuk tu, cuba offer khidmat nasihat etika pemakaian orang bumi kat superman – barulah dia faham!

sleeping beauty tu asyik tido je bukan sebab pemalas! sila baca BUKU weh. dia tu mangsa bomohan oleh musuh bapak dia. kena curse ok. bukan sebab malas. tu dah fitnah. huhu.

snow white larikan diri dari mak tiri dengki yang nak bunuh dia, dan 7 orang lelaki kenit tu yang selamatkan dan dengan baik hati bagi snow white sembunyi kat rumah diorang tanpa bayar sewa pun. sila jangan buruk sangka ye. kesian 7 lelaki tu, nak buat baik pun disalah erti..

 

ok, dah lepas geram. maaf kalau aku over. aku sayang dunia buku aku.

lain kali lihatlah sesuatu tu dari kebaikan. macam kalau berpolitik contohnya, daripada mengutuk parti lain, ceritalah kebaikan, kebolehan, kepintaran parti sendiri. eh eh, dah masuk politik plak! haha. oh, dan rentikanlah buruk sangka. sekian, terima kasih.

salam jumaat semua!

Questionnaire : Books Books Books!

 

if you love books, love collecting books, love reading books – answer these questions – for fun! i got all these questions from the facebook page of bookxcess – a bookstore in amcorp mall that sells great titles with great affordable prices!

i’m tagging all my readers who love books!

What book are you currently reading? How far in are you? What's it about? Are you enjoying it? i’m currently reading agatha christie’s ‘poirot’s early cases’, a collection of short stories on the esteemed investigator’s earlier cases. being a mom of 3 boys – time is never enough, so short stories are the best – it’s short and easy to digest. i can finish one story in one sitting, and continue my chores right after.

If you could live out any storybook (as a character in it), which story would it be? any story happening on the discworld. discworld is the wacky world created by one of my favorite authors terry pratchett as the setting for his books. a police force made of trolls, dwarves, a werewolf, vampire and a few humans; a librarian who was cursed and turned into an orangutan and prefers to stay that way – all happily living and solving crimes on discworld!

 

the discworld series

Lets say you had to donate your old books. Is there ONE book that you could not bring yourself to donate? it’s probably gonna be really hard to part with my books, but if i had to choose, it would be john adam’s ‘watership down’ (about adventures of rabbits) because it belongs to my late mom, and she was always asking me to read it so that she could have someone to talk about the book with. i would keep THAT one.

Do you recommend books to other people? If you could force everyone you know to read one book, what would it be? george orwell’s ‘animal farm’. people not familiar with this masterpiece need to know that just because it’s a classic written before the dinosaur age, it doesn’t use difficult words. the story is easy to follow with an interesting plot. it has engaging loveable animal characters and even more touching and meaningful message.

What’s the first book that you ever read more than once? What book have you read the most times? And–how many? i’ve read many books more than once; but the FIRST book that i’ve ever read more than once would be stephen king’s ‘it’. and it’s a mighty fat book! finish reading it is like losing a friend, because i got really attached to all the characters.

now the book that i’ve read the MOST times pulak would be roald dahl’s ‘omnibus’ – a collection of adult short stories by the author more popularly known for his wonderfully wacky children’s books. his stories are so very interesting especially in the way he wrote it, the sentence structure and most of all the ending – that countless re-reading will not get you bored.

 

 

A book you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving? i’m stubborn. i very seldom read books outside my favorite genre or other than my favorite author. however a colleague of mine recommended yann martel’s ‘life of pi’ and i ended up being so engrossed in the book and his writing style. it’s about a shipwrecked boy who survived at sea on a boat – with four zoo animals; a tiger, a hyena, an orang utan and a zebra. interesting, huh!

Name one book that you hope never, ever, ever gets made into a movie (no matter how good that movie might be). twilight. no, wait ----

What’s the last book you were really EXCITED to read? And, were you excited about it in advance? Or did the excitement bloom while you were reading it? Are there any books you’re excited about right NOW? the last book i was really excited to read was jasper fforde’s ‘the fourth bear’. yes, i was excited in advance because for the rarest time, i actually tried to be more adventurous and ventured out to discover new authors that i might like, instead of sticking to the same authors (reading ONLY my favorites) – that’s when i found jasper fforde and that he writes about cases that involved nursery rhyme characters. so interesting, and wacky! just how i like it!

 

What’s the largest your personal library has ever been? What’s the greatest number of books you’ve ever owned at one time? the largest nearly 200 i think – JUST storybooks! and i’m not done yet!

What is the most annoying character in a book ever? frodo. just thrown the daymn ring already, and don’t be so lembik!

What is your favourite fictional relationship between characters? (romantic, friendship, familial) there are so many favorites! the relationship between christopher boone & his dad in 'curious incident of the dog in the night time' is sweet and needs patience because of christopher’s condition as an autism kid; also hercule poirot & hastings’ conversations are always delightful – poirot the self-confess genius in solving crimes while hastings just put up with him; oh, and the wonderful sisterly love in 'little women' ~ many, many more!

 

What is the most difficult book you’ve ever read? beowulf. had to read for a class in college. yech. he made shakespeare looks like dr. seuss for beginners! tak paham ape!

What animal-related books have you read? Which do you love? Do you have a favorite literary animal? definitely, definitely george orwell’s ‘animal farm’ – one of my favorite books, and the best story ever written in my opinion. i still cry at the end no matter how many times i’ve read it.

If you could see one book turned into the perfect movie–one that would capture everything you love, the characters, the look, the feel, the story–what book would you choose? there’s so many – but i would choose terry pratchett’s ‘the truth’ – set in a magical world, a clever plot, it has an inspiring hero who rises to the occasion, a love story, an adventure, a mission – it would be a very enjoyable movie!

Do you prefer to read a book really fast, or savor it slowly? definitely savoring it slowly. in fact, even a simple book like an agatha christie, i would be forced to re-read a page if i were interrupted in the middle of a reading. i admit i’m a s---l----o---------w reader!

What’s the latest you’ve ever stayed up reading a book? Is staying up late reading a usual thing for you? YES, staying up late reading a book is a VERY usual thing! hihi. when i was younger, when lights were off at home, i used a torch light to keep reading. what’s the latest i’ve ever stayed up reading? never can tell, because i’d be reading myself to sleep!

Do you read book reviews? Whose do you trust? Do they affect your reading habits? Your buying habits? i do read book reviews, but i’m never swayed by what’s written. i STILL look at the author, and storyline. opinions don’t matter, because books are very subjective. also, since i usually buy books by my favorite author, i don’t really need a review to tell me that his book is awesome! (yes, stephen king, terry prachett and roald dahl!)

 

Choose one book as a gift to:

1. Your best friend – stephen king’s ‘shawshank redemption’ – a wonderful tale of friendship fostered in an unlikely place
2. Your mom/ dad/ both – for mak, if she were still alive, would be jasper fforde’s ‘the fourth bear’ since this is one of the authors that i proudly discovered all on my own without being inspired by what she likes hihi. for abah, it would be mitch albom’s ‘tuesdays with morrie’ to show him that eventhough he’s a man with few words, he taught us just as much as morie did with that young man.
3. Your other half – for mr. khairul? anything with the word ‘leadership’, or ‘business’. *yawn* we have VERY different taste in books!
4. Yourself – complete set of gary larson’s ‘the far side’. mahal nak mampuih. so please someone give it to me as a gift ya hahaha
   

What is your favorite quote, from your favorite book? that’s easy – from terry pratchett’s ‘the truth’,

There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who, when presented with a glass that is exactly half full, say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!

~ terry pratchett’s ‘the truth’

How did you encourage your children to pick up the reading habit? one of the things i did is i bring a pocket-size dr. seuss book in my handbag everywhere we go so that when there’s some sort of waiting involved, i could just pass the book to khaleef for him to read while he waits.

Do you read short stories? What do you like and dislike about short stories?  i LOVE short stories. by roald dahl, stephen king, edgar allan poe, agatha christie, h.g wells. in fact, i have ALL of jeffrey archer's short stories compilation but i've never read any of his novels! being a mom of 3, short stories are the best - easy to digest and fast to finish!

Ever received an unexpected gift of books from your loved ones? a day after i delivered my first baby, mr. khairul surprised me with the latest terry pratchett’s book ‘going postal’ which i finished during the first week of my confinement. it was a very meaningful book because it entertained me during my very boring confinement days. i was in taiping (tokcik’s house) and he works in kl. sob sob.

 

 

From your parents you learn love and laughter and how to put one foot before the other. But when books are opened you discover that you have wings. ~Helen Hayes

 

i would like to tag these adorable dorky bookworms :

1. aisha
2. syidot
3. hmm…

hmm, i know there are more out there, if you did do the tag PLEASE leave your url in the comment section because i would really love to read your answers. love, from a fellow dorky bookworm!

Date a Girl Who Reads

specially dedicated to my beloved husband, who, 7 years ago, made the smartest decision of dating a girl who reads, and eventually marrying her. i wish we had met in a bookstore as per my fantasy haha, but in reality, i would not have it any other way.

the rest of you have GOT to read this piece, particularly for the book nerd in you, people. i found this floating all over tumblr and it’s way too cool not to be shared.

enjoy. and prepare to be swooned.

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“..Date a girl who reads. Date a girl who spends her money on books instead of clothes. She has problems with closet space because she has too many books. Date a girl who has a list of books she wants to read, who has had a library card since she was twelve.

Find a girl who reads. You’ll know that she does because she will always have an unread book in her bag. She’s the one lovingly looking over the shelves in the bookstore, the one who quietly cries out when she finds the book she wants. You see the weird chick sniffing the pages of an old book in a second hand book shop? That’s the reader. They can never resist smelling the pages, especially when they are yellow.

She’s the girl reading while waiting in that coffee shop down the street. If you take a peek at her mug, the non-dairy creamer is floating on top because she’s kind of engrossed already. Lost in a world of the author’s making. Sit down. She might give you a glare, as most girls who read do not like to be interrupted. Ask her if she likes the book.

Buy her another cup of coffee.

Let her know what you really think of Murakami. See if she got through the first chapter of Fellowship. Understand that if she says she understood James Joyce’s Ulysses she’s just saying that to sound intelligent. Ask her if she loves Alice or she would like to be Alice.

It’s easy to date a girl who reads. Give her books for her birthday, for Christmas and for anniversaries. Give her the gift of words, in poetry, in song. Give her Neruda, Pound, Sexton, Cummings. Let her know that you understand that words are love. Understand that she knows the difference between books and reality but by god, she’s going to try to make her life a little like her favorite book. It will never be your fault if she does.

She has to give it a shot somehow.

Lie to her. If she understands syntax, she will understand your need to lie. Behind words are other things: motivation, value, nuance, dialogue. It will not be the end of the world.

Fail her. Because a girl who reads knows that failure always leads up to the climax. Because girls who understand that all things will come to end. That you can always write a sequel. That you can begin again and again and still be the hero. That life is meant to have a villain or two.

Why be frightened of everything that you are not? Girls who read understand that people, like characters, develop. Except in the Twilight series.

If you find a girl who reads, keep her close. When you find her up at 2 AM clutching a book to her chest and weeping, make her a cup of tea and hold her. You may lose her for a couple of hours but she will always come back to you. She’ll talk as if the characters in the book are real, because for a while, they always are.

You will propose on a hot air balloon. Or during a rock concert. Or very casually next time she’s sick. Over Skype.

You will smile so hard you will wonder why your heart hasn’t burst and bled out all over your chest yet. You will write the story of your lives, have kids with strange names and even stranger tastes. She will introduce your children to the Cat in the Hat and Aslan, maybe in the same day. You will walk the winters of your old age together and she will recite Keats under her breath while you shake the snow off your boots.

Date a girl who reads because you deserve it. You deserve a girl who can give you the most colorful life imaginable. If you can only give her monotony, and stale hours and half-baked proposals, then you’re better off alone. If you want the world and the worlds beyond it, date a girl who reads.

Or better yet, date a girl who writes.”

~ Rosemary Urquico

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from google, i found out that rosemary urquico is a gorgeous young writer from the philippines. thank you for your moving piece, for your truth in its simplicity.

“..Girls who read understand that people, like characters (in books), develop. Except in the Twilight series.” haha. priceless!

and yes, honey we will spend our kerepot days backpacking across petra in jordan spewing wordsworth and dressing up to watch the royal shakespeare company on stage…

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thank you to my mr. khairul :

1. for shipping ALL my books from malaysia to dubai
2. for buying me a nice ikea bookrack to put all my books in. there are some more. we need another bookrack. or a bigger one. hihi
3. for so many books you bought me – for birthdays, for delivering your sons, to read during pantang, or just because it’s wednesday
4. for looking after the boys, feeding them cereal bars, sitting on some sofas, flipping through superbike mag while i’m lost between the shelves at borders
5. for saying, “get another one lah,” when i said the books are on sale, or when i said i can’t decide between two books
6. for breathing down my kneck, saying, “kenape? kenape? best ke?” when you see me so engrossed in pages of a book that i’m currently reading
7. for listening to me go on and on about the exciting plot of a book that i’m reading though it bores you to the bone
8. for willing to spend A LOT on books. mine, and the boys’. hihi. (well, would you rather me spending your money on ferragamos and jimmy choos? hah!)

this girl who reads loves you very much!

Jasper Fforde’s ‘The Fourth Bear’

it’s official. jasper fforde may well be my next favorite author. i finished reading ‘the fourth bear’, and absolutely love it. scroll down to check out the other authors that graced syigim’s best-read list.

one of the many funny snippets from the book :

“when did he escape?”

“97 minutes ago,” replied copperfield. “killed two male nurses and his doctor with his bare hands. the other three orderlies who accompanied him are critical in hospital.”

“critical?”

“yes; don’t like the food, beds uncomfortable, waiting lists too long – usual crap. other than that, they’re fine.”‎

~ pg. 55

 

 

what is it about?

the homicidal psychopath gingerbread man broke out from the mental hospital, and nursery crime detective jack spratt (yes, a detective who investigates crime that has nursery rhyme characters in them) is off to a chase. at the same time, investigating the disappearance of a journalist – blonde and fussy not-too-hot, not-too-cold – aka ‘goldilocks’, who was last seen at the home of ‘three bears’, and after successfully cracking the case on who pushed humpty dumpty – pun intended.

another funny bit about this books is that ‘porridge’ is like drugs to bears, so the NCD (nursery crime division), headed by jack spratt is trying to crack an illegal porridge-dealing-smuggling syndicate.

"how could the bears' porridge be at such disparate temperatures when they were poured at the same time?" ~ jasper fforde’s ‘the fourth bear’

 

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he’s been compared to terry pratchett, and i can see why. both uses this alternate reality of our world and change it to fit their wacky storyline. for example, terry pratchett’s stories are set in ‘the discworld’, a world like ours but with a police force that consists of few humans, a troll, a dwarf, a hot werewolf, and a recovering vampire who wants to quit drinking blood. funny stuff.

meanwhile, jasper fforde’s stories are set in a place called ‘berkshire’, where the police force consists of a special department called the NCD – nursery crime division. they investigate crimes that has a nursery rhyme theme to it – like ‘mr and mrs dish’s daughter who ran away with mr. spoon’ (get it?), and of course, ‘who killed humpty dumpty?’ as well as a stake-out to rescue ‘red riding hood from a certain wolf’.

so while pratchett puts in fantasy fiction characters in his book, fforde incorporates nursery rhymes characters in his.

to love jasper fforde’s work, you need to GET him, and when you do, his work is pretty hillarious. if you like a weirded-out whodunnit, with a bit of wacky thrown into the mix, you’d like ‘the fourth bear’.

i’m seriously getting his other books. man, looks like i need a bigger bookrack…

 

* * *

 

the other awesome authors in ‘syigim’s favorite’ list :

1. stephen king : master of horror. i love his ‘it’, ‘shawshank redemption, ‘stand by me’, ‘salem’s lot’ and ‘christine’. was involved in a serious car accident that almost took his life. lepas accident tu, buku-buku dia dah tak best sangat. i much prefer his earlier works.
2. terry pratchett : fantasy-satire at its best. his best work that i love includes ‘the truth’ and ‘the moving picture’. he was recently diagnosed with alzheimer! sedih kan? mesti dia nak cuba tulis sebanyak buku yg boleh seblom dia nyanyuk…
3. roald dahl : best work includes, urm – ALL his work! his favorite color is yellow – mine too!
4. agatha christie : queen of crimes. ALL her work is mind-bogglingly fantastic!
5. george orwell : ONLY for his ‘animal farm’, to me one of the best books ever written.

i also LOVE reading short stories; especially by jeffrey archer, edgar allan poe and h.g. wells. and of course, i am a HUGE fan of horror story books (no matter who wrote them), especially compilations of horror short stories.

hmm, now where’s that ikea catalogue? i need to look for a cheap bookrack…

What Kids Learn From Storybooks

there’s a facebook status that has been going around these days.

 

 

the status went like this :

How do you expect kids to listen to their parents as, Tarzan lives half naked, Cinderella comes back home at midnight, Pinocchio lies all the time, Aladdin is the king of thieves, Batman drives at 320KM/h, Sleeping beauty is lazy and Snow white lives with 7 guys. We shouldn’t be surprised if kids misbehave at times! They get this from their own storybooks :P

 

as a HUGE fan of fairytales, and imagination world built by the brothers grimm, enid blyton, walt disney and roald dahl, i was very offended! hahahaha. offended, but very amused. it’s true that the storylines did have these unsightly traits in them! so i really wanted to reply in a way that shows the positive side of storybooks!

this was my reply :

hmm. interesting. but tarzan learns quick from an entirely different species, cinderella does housechores, pinocchio beats a whale to save his father, aladdin selflessly wishes the genie free, batman fights for justice, sleeping beauty is simply a victim of a curse and snow white is compassionate towards animals. we still have hope from kids' storybooks. ;)

 

and throughout the day, i saw few more of my friends who put up this facebook status. and to each one i replied the same!

 

 

what do i really think? what kids LEARN from PARENTS, and their UPBRINGING, they will apply when they read storybooks.

you see, if for example, a child grows up with a maid waiting on him, on her toes upon his every command, wants and needs – (of course not all kids take advantage of having maids, but i personally know that there are kids who yell at their maids, and even tell their teachers how ‘slow and stupid' their maid is!) they won’t see anything wrong with piling works on cinderella.

when their own father ignores the speed limit and drives like they’re racing for F1, then they would idolize batman’s driving skills, “because that’s how my daddy drives!”.

my point is, when your child already has a strong base on morals and manners, and a decent knowledge of the world, storybooks are nothing but fun-filled imagination fantasy-land where they go and meet made-up characters and learn a few lessons on the way.

pick up a book today, read with your kid, and explore the world together. khaleef and i – our pick would be dr. seuss. currently we’re reading ‘horton hears a who’.

lessons learned : ‘a person’s a person, no matter how small!’

 

* * *

 

on the other hand, i read one of the comments suggesting that we expose our kids to kisah-kisah nabi tales of the prophets of islam). oh, how we’re so indulgent in western tales of fairies and magic, that we forget the incredible tales of miracles and mukjizat of our prophets.

i admit my oversight!

i hope to get a whole bunch when we get back to malaysia. any suggestions of any particular books specially for kids? khaleef can read about the prophet who can speak when he was a baby, the prophet whose mother stomped on a spot and there sprinkled the zamzam water, the prophet who can understand animal language, and of the prophet who once had a cloud that follows him, sheltering him from the sun…

Who Likes to Read in The Dark?

lights out by 9.30pm! that’s the rule on school days when i was younger. but i love to read, so i’d take a torchlight and a good book, and read under my blanket. this was especially exciting when it’s a horror story! sometimes i’d fall asleep while reading, and the torchlight was on till morning!

busted!

alhamdulillah i still don’t need glasses to read – yet! but it was one of the most adventurous time i had when reading books. i just enjoy reading myself to sleep! it was just me and the world in the book, in the dark, with just the little torchlight.

* * *

with my 3 boys, the lights must be switched off way before bedtime, to sort off sedate them! they’d still be jumping on their bapak, oh yes – but the atmosphere is already set for sleepy time. and no, we don’t have personal side table lamps like a hotel room!

so my reading adventure had to wait!

 

 

my first ever terry pratchett, my favorite author after stephen king. if you had never read him, this is one of the good places to start!

 

until one day…

…my sis-in-law teh gave me this awesome present! a ‘tiny book light’! it’s the coolest invention ever! haha. thanks teh! i love it very much!

• it’s so sleek, light and white!
• it’s rubber-coated
• it’s got a little hook to be clipped between the pages for it to stand!
• it can be rotated for the light to fill your pages, or the part you’re reading! 

now i can read in the dark! (okay, from all the exclamation marks, you know how excited i am over this!)

 

 

*click* tada ~ seronoknya!

 

 

this ‘tiny book light’ had actually won an award for the ‘gift of the year 2008’! see how it can rotate. eh, this is not a paid advertorial ye. i’m just really really excited!

if you want one, teh got it at borders, mall of emirates but i’m sure it’s available at any borders. tengah sale, so you better hurry up!

 

it’s available in 5 colors! teh punya kaler pink. mine is white.

 

i love to read in the lrt. i love to read while eating maggi. i love to read with ice-cream. i love to read on the plane. and now-

now i can also indulge in my favorite childhood pastime; late-night reading, snuggling between the comforter, without illuminating the rest of the room and disturbing my sleeping little terrorists!

Selasa-Selasa Bersama Morrie

okay, fine - ketinggalan already, huh! been a bestseller for sooo long and only now i find interest to read it. in truth, when i first found out what the book was about, i didn't care much to read it.

tuesdays with morrie - 'an old man, a young man, and life's greatest lesson'. that's the book's tagline.

life's lesson? pfft. i was sceptical. what's new? i just don't like this kind of theme in books that gives you words of wisdom on how to live your life. forgive and forget. mean what you say and say what you mean. hope is frail but the hardest to kill. live life to the fullest. when one door closes, another opens. never give up. think positive. love conquers all.

i've heard it all before. too often.

we've read these magic phrases a thousand times. there's nothing new. they all say the same thing. i know i have to live life to the fullest. i know that hugging a friend today may do me good. i know that money isn't everything (though it can certainly buy a LOT of things).

that's why i greatly despise the 'chicken soup for the soul' series (sorry to the fans!). it's too sickeningly sweet and bordering on pretentious. i guess eventually the writers have to cook up stories just to meet deadlines - that's how bad it was.

but woah-hey! read 'tuesdays with morrie', and you'll get hot, thick chicken soup with homemade croutons, together with corn and carrots. wholewheat bread and a bowl of salad on the side. yum.

it IS about life's lesson. but with *life*!


this book doesn't try too hard to be anything but positively endearing.

a guy, mitch. successful, but drowns himself in work, work, work. then he found out about his dying college professor, morrie. mitch then took time to visit morrie every tuesday for the final 'course' - no textbook, but taught through experience - simply lessons in life.

the story basically revolves around inspirational conversations between the student and teacher; mitch and morrie. morrie in his positive spirit in spite of his crippling disease, while mitch sits in admiration, listening to his favorite professor.

towards the final chapter, i kept carrying the book here and there without really reading it. i almost didn't want to finish it, because i know if i keep reading, morrie will die.

however, funnily enough, i didn't cry when i read about morrie's eventual death.

i cried when he talked about seeking forgiveness. i cried when morrie listens to mitch's wife's singing, and i cried reading about morrie organizing his own 'pre-funeral'! but not when he finally dies - why?

because like mitch the student, even us readers are made to prepare for morrie's death throughout the many examples of how positive morrie is accepting his dying state. to be so close to death, and yet embracing life as never before.

a must-read. oh, dump that chicken soup book, and grab this one, please!

* * *

before reading 'tuesdays with morrie', i had actually read this book sometime last year, written by the same author.

'the five people you meet in heaven' belonged to my sister syida. again, i'm not a fan as i have a feel of the 'kind' of story this writer writes. however,

• the book was just lying around the house,
• it's not that thick,
• it IS after all, a bestseller so i wanna see what's all the fuss about,
  
• AND i was bored -

so i gave it a go.

well, you and i both couldn't possibly imagine what heaven would be like.

so, taking this book metaphorically, it's about reflecting on your life - if you can name FIVE people that has affected you, and affected by you, even after you die - who would it be?

now if you started thinking ONLY about people closest to you, or important to you like your parents, or husband or bestfriend, this book will tell you that ANYONE in your life could have an effect on you, or you might have effect on them. and it doesn't always have to be a positive experience.

the makcik nasi lemak who had always been the place you get your breakfast, so that you may start your day strong and tummy-full ready to face the day -

or a few coins that you give to a beggar was used by him to buy soap, so that he can start amik upah cuci kereta, which eventually earned him more coins to feed his family, as well to continue to wash cars for a living. so to him, you're one of the 5 people who affected his life!

can you think of YOUR 5 now?

* * *

mitch albom writes in short, simple sentences. smooth flow of words and so easy to digest. highly recommended if you want a light reading. although i enjoy the colorful descriptive writings of stephen king, and the funny, cyptic style of terry pratchett - albom's easy-going style is a pleasant change of pace.

pick up a copy today if you're in the mood to have a good cry...

A Curious Book & Asperger Syndrome

i'm sure many of you have read this best-selling book 'the curious incident of the dog in the night time', and i found it to be so good that i wonder why haven't i read it sooner! it's written as if from the point of view of a teen with asperger syndrome.

* * *

i've met a boy with asperger syndrome.

Asperger syndrome is a form of autism, which is a lifelong disability that affects how a person makes sense of the world, processes information and relates to other people.
~ click here for source.

i think there are many forms of autism, and asperger syndrom is one of it. and while other kids with autism has withdrawal symptoms (refused to talk or interact with other people altogether) kids with asperger syndrom can talk and talk and talk, BUT the kid's speech is more like a lecture rather than a conversation, because they are not interesting in having conversations.

* * *

these are some of the facts on kids with asperger syndrome, paraphrased the way in understand it, from this site:

• good with things around them but poor in interpreting human relationships
• intense focus on something they really like; a particular toy, machine or hobby
• conversations with people are often one-sided as they're not interested in feedback
• eye contact is not understood or made use of
• the kid may seem to be cold and uncaring but it is not deliberate. he does not think about others and cannot understand the social graces that keep society functioning
• parents must play a huge role in teaching them social skills when they act inappropriately
• kids with asperger syndrome prefer routine and structure and can become irritable and distressed if the unexpected happens that changes that routine
• things are interpreted very literally, meaning that sarcasm, playful teasing and figures of speech are not understood.
• it's difficult for them to generalize - for eg: if they were told not to hit kids in school, they might think it's fine to hit kids at the mall because it's NOT school

* * *

the boy i met is 18, and enjoys the company of much younger kids than teens his own age. his mother said he hates loud noises, and still plays with toy guns when noone's watching.

the moment i met him, he did speak to me, friendly and warm but without eye-contact. most of the time, he prefered talking to khaleef. he spoke perfect english, and his mother said he only spoke malay with his grandmother.

his mother said eventhough he's relatively slow in learning, he has made a lot of progress in terms of social interaction. i agree. if she didn't tell me he has asperger syndrome, i would think he's like any other teenager - in fact, while other teens might keep to themselves, act cool while with adults and malas nak layan budak-budak, he was friendly, curious and great with kids.

now, imagine reading a book written by a boy with asperger syndrome - and you find yourself in a world where 'seeing four yellow cars in a row means it's a black day' sounds logical. if you think that's weird, than think about how you wake up with a 'bad-hair-day' -

sees four yellow cars - black day
hair all over the place - bad day

same logic!


this is one of the most straightforward yet quirky, fantastic books i've read in awhile.

15 year-old christopher boone has asperger syndrome and sees the world in his own special way, weird to some, but totally logic when you think about it. he hates yellow and brown, but loves red - and will completely stop eating if the food on his plate touches each other - like mash potato terkena tomato ketchup or something like that.

he hates being touched, so the only way his mom and dad 'hug' him is just to put up their hand and spread it like a fan, and touch him like that.

he stated that everything he wrote in the book is the truth, because he doesn't lie. and it's not because he's a good person, or that he knows lying is wrong - it's simply because telling something that really happens is so much more easier than telling something that did not.

logic kan?

one day he found his neighbour's dog - dead, probably murdered! since he loves dogs, then-on began his 'adventure' in solving the mystery. to do this, he must go out of his comfort zone, he must interact with strangers and he must do all sorts that he feels are impossible for someone with asperger syndrome.

imagine reading about this 'adventure' from the point of view of an autistic teen. fascinating!

* * *

if you are curious about kids with asperger syndrome and how they see the world, stories with easy-to-digest language and simple words then pick up this book. funny, silly, sad and cheerful at the same time - you can't put it down!

Children's Book Giveaway by Little Red Reading Nook

in the blogging world, there's a term called 'giveaway'.

now, being new at blogging, at first i have no idea what this is. ade je mak-mak blogger put up blog posts like 'giveaway from mimi CD store', or 'mommy_yaya breastfeeding giveaway', or 'ema's best raya pictures giveaway'.

these are mostly online stores or businesses, or even a few mommies 'giving away' mommy-friendly items like breast pump, facial cream, cloth diapers, or children's books in return for winning a contest they set up, just by 'following' their blog, or simply completing a few simple tasks.

i was never really interested in these 'giveaways' until 'little red reading nook' set up one! 'little red reading nook' is a cute little 'bookshop' for your kiddos, selling books via online for boys and girls alike - from the 'disney princess' series to 'bob the builder' and even my childhood favorite (and still is!) 'sesame street' books - and a whole lot more titles!

this site was one of the many awesome sponsors for the 'cutest baby on the planet' contest by mombloggersplanet, and kahfi won a hamper of books, which include few books of his favorite character - thomas the train!

and now, the possibility of getting more freebies books for my boys - just by a few clicks? BOOKS? free books? heck, count me in! i have a whole bookshelves filled with my terry pratchett, stephen king and jeffrey archer books, it's time the boys take a few sides of the shelves for their collection!


the 'giveaway' ends tomorrow so it's today or never! to know more about the 'giveaway', click here! to be part of it is so simple!

• follow 'little red reading nook' - the blog or facebook
• add its link in your blog
• add its logo on your blog's sidebar
• place the 'giveaway' banner above in your entry
• include the link to this 'give-away', and leave your entry permalink in that page

all done! i hope i get more books for the boys!

Sofia Anwar, Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl

mr. khairul's youngest sister sofia is 9 going on 10, and she loves to read. looking at her passion in reading, i remember myself when i was her age. young, imaginative, and enjoy going into those fantasy world of illustrated words in books.

i forever give credit to my mak for encouraging this reading habits upon her girls, and abah for his never-tiring efforts bringing us to ipoh tun razak library for our weekend books indulgence. i know abah was a very busy man at work, and yet still find time to bring his girls to the library every weekend!

i hope as parents, i too can spare some more time to read with my boys, and mr. khairul would fit a 'library time' in his busy schedule.

sofia in abaya while in dubai

with the current rush of technology - mtv, disney channels, x-box and wii - i see that sofia can still steal some time to just sit in a corner, deep in the pages of her book. i hope her nephews khaleef and kahfi followed suit and enjoy indulging themselves in books too!

sofia said she likes enid blyton - as any typical book-bug, a kid definitely need to start with an enid blyton book - or at least read some of them as their first few full-fledge reading. enid blyton is the master storyteller of children's stories, adventures and fantasy.

i think if i see any fairy or goblins story, or a 5-sekawan adventure - it's definitely written by enid blyton. gile la dia tu. ntah berapa ratus buku dia dah tulis!

personally, i don't fancy her asrama stories like malory towers and such - instead, i enjoyed more of her fantasy and made-believe stories - like the wishing chair, and the magic tree with different world in clouds stopping by up the tree.

don't get me wrong - i LOVE enid blyton, but since sofia has already read a lot of blyton's work, it's time to introduce her to another master storyteller of children's stories - roald dahl.

man, enid blyton is like mother teresa compared to this more cooler, quirkier and funnier children book writer!


so i bought her one of my favorite roald dahl's books - 'the witches' for starters, because she's too 'old' for 'the enormous crocodile' which is also my favorite! before she's even done with the first chapter, she's already loving it! well, what's not to like?

the first chapter itself describes how difficult it is to recognize a witch in the street, because supposedly, witches aren't the typical wore-black with brooms and long pointy hat! in fact, witches can look like the lady sitting next to you in the bus, or it could even be your nice-looking school teacher! roald dahl's 'the witches' tells a story of a boy who stumble upon a secret witch convention...

oh well, roald dahl is sofia's new favorite author!

...and mission accomplished!

Happy Halloween

halloween is over, folks. but to me there's always a good time to immerse yourself in a good ghost story, and scare yourself silly watching a horror movie.

here are countless ghost stories in my collection to spook and scare in 13 books of horrors!

1. 100 ghastly little ghost stories
2. best ghost stories by charles dickens
3. bodies of the dead & other great american ghost stories
4. ghost stories by m.r. james
5. true ghost stories from around the world
6. the fourth bumper book of ghost stories
7. the giant book of ghost stories
8. best new horror
9. the second pan book of horror stories
10. the13th pan book of horror stories
11. the exorcist by william peter blatty
12. the vampire lestat by anne rice
13. rosemary's baby by ira levin

which one should i read on this dark and (sand-stormy?) evening tonight.. ah, or there's always the endless selection of stephen king's masterpieces...

* * *

hey, i don't celebrate halloween so jgn start ngutuk. but i like the idea that halloween is associated with ghosts and hauntings because i'm fan of ghost stories! - and dressing up like a famous person or character! the picture combo below was not me at a halloween party, but the annual dinner for malaysia hall melbourne.

saje nak bernostalgia...

but we did dress up nice and neat as our fav characters; the really cool ones that i remember was kak laili as the witch (she won best costume, right?), shaq as 'zorro', titi as 'mary poppins', dolah the 'cowboy' and kak efa as 'inspector gadget'! many, many more lah!

some really rented (or maybe bought) a whole set of costume to be 'the fairy godmother' like nurin! some just rely on the magic of make-up like shah who simply painted his face white as 'the crow'. some got creative and made their own using the stuff they already have; like liyana as 'cruella de vil' - complete with handmade bulu ayam head decor!

it was such a fun night!


me? i was fbi special agent dana scully-lah! not obvious enough ke?

Life of Pi the Movie?

imagine you're 16. you're ship-wrecked. everyone has died. you get on a boat. and there's a tiger with you. in the middle of nowhere. 227 days at sea. with a tiger. did i mention the man-eating tiger?

i've never heard of the author but i gave it a go. i really wanna know what happened to the boy! really, it is rare for me to read a book (by choice) by an author that i don't know of, writing about stuff i'm not interested in - unless it's for a class or work assignments - and most importantly unless it was suggested by a friend.

life of pi by canadian author yann martel came highly recommended by my friend haida. thanks girl! best decision i made about a book!


i read this book last year - and was reminded of its remarkable story when i came across a news bit about a planned movie version of 'life of pi' to be directed by academy award winner; ang lee who directed one of my fav movies of all time - 'sense and sensibility'. (bukan brokeback mountain ye hoho).

the story of the indian boy, pi is indeed a remarkable one. the son of a zookeeper, on a ship to canada, moving some of the animals there. the ship sinks, everyone dies except pi, who ends up in a lifeboat.

with him on the boat is an orang-utan, a zebra, a hyena - and a '450 pound royal bengal tiger'. eventually he is left alone with the tiger. yes. he is trapped in a boat, in the middle of the ocean; with a tiger - whose name is richard parker.

he was on the boat for approximately 227 days; surviving on food on the boat, and the must-work plan of providing for the tiger - like serving him fish, turtles and stuff, just so the tiger would not focus on him.

he needs to eat, he needs time to sleep. but these seemingly easy decisions in life are significantly different for this indian boy living on a boat with the most dangerous boatmate you can imagine! every choice he makes means life or death. one of the most important decisions and thoughts of all would be how not to get eaten by richard parker!


his thoughts and plans are put in simple short sentences, very easy to the eyes and mind. so lepak and macam takde ape-ape. it shows how trivial these plans should be - like when and what to eat for lunch - but to pi, these decisions come with the consideration of having a man-eating tiger with him!

you'd think it'd be boring - like the soundless adventure of tom hanks in 'cast away'. however the masterful storytelling of yann martel keeps the story of pi's long voyage moving at an interesting pace.

i can't really put a theme it - adventure? spiritual? come-off-age tale? animal story? great huge metaphor of life's simplest decisions that we take for granted? comedy, action too! it's got a little bit of everything...

* * *

'life of pi' could easily just be an action-adventure with a pinch of dark humor thrown in - but yann martel made it philosophical and spiritual with the plot at the beginning where a young pi grows older, thus more curious and inquisitive - about god.

brought up as a hindu, he slowly found interest in christianity, going to church aside from his usual temple time, praying like both a christian when in church and a hindu when at the temple. then he discovered islam, and then started to pray 5 times a day as well, while continuing his pious activity with his two previous religions.

when the monk, the priest and the imam discovered this 'atrocity', they confronted pi's parents, demanding that pi chooses only one of the religions. in the effort to convince pi, they ended up poking fun at each other's religion - showing weaknesses, rather than showing the young indian boy the beauty of each own's religion (which reminds me of malaysia political scene).

pi simply said, he just wants to love god. and this great, unfaltering 'faith' would prove a huge help as he bobbed alone in the boat with the tiger.

* * *

i'm really interested to see how ang lee is going to go about it - as 'life of pi' contains endless soliloquy - pi's conversation with himself, his solo narration of the daily happenings while alone and tryin to survive with a tiger on the same boat. i mean, in a book - the thoughts, the feelings - it's all there to be read. but in a movie, it's gotta be expressed differently.

'life of pi' the movie needs one helluva good acting.

also in the news bit is that m. night shyamalan (who directed the awesome sixth sense) was also approached to direct 'life of pi' but decided against it on the consideration that the viewers who have read the book would already anticipate the twist at the end. (kan shyamalan punya signature kan movie dia mesti ade twist at the end yang tak disangka-sangka. kalo org dah tau tak best lah)

what's the twist? memang gile. when i was reading it, i was like - woahhhhh. you should go grab 'life of pi' to find out!

New Restaurant, New Baby, New Book

it's a new weekend, and i bring good tidings! of a new restaurant we tried, a new baby we welcome, and a new book i can't wait to devour!

* * *

as usual, we embrace the weekend and go makan-makan!

we stopped by this quaint little 'diner' before visiting afza and aida who welcomed their newborn baby boy yesterday morning. it's the 'metro falcon restaurant & cafeteria'!


this red restaurant is situated right next to the ramadan jumah mosque in sheikh zayed road. we went there with mr. khairul's mckk schoolmate kamil, who said it's a fav food joint for malaysians especially after friday prayers because it's right next to the mosque.

khaleef tensen juice dia tak sampai-sampai lagi!

if you went to any of these kind of restaurants around dubai, the menu would have similar content - types of briyani rice, choices between grilled chicken and lamb, types of bread - paratha, dosa (tose) and such.

and, khaleef's fav - a seemingly endless choices of juice - from single mango or orange to fusions of kiwi and strawberry. you can also opt to order a tall glass of 'cocktail' - a combo of god-knows-what sorts of fruits! interesting to note that there's a ciku juice spelled 'chickoo'. catchy!

khaleef enjoying his juice more than the roti canai

want roti canai? they got 'em. you can choose to pair it up with the usual chicken curry, or go with what we ordered - paratha (roti canai) with keema lamb which essentially is minced lamb curry with green peas. i don't think their roti canai surpass the hot, fresh fluffiness of the ones in green city, but if you're around sheikh zayed road and teringin nak makan roti canai, this will do just fine.


other than the paratha and keema lamb, we also ordered a dish of prawn fried rice and a set of grilled chicken. they're not particularly excellent but decent enough since they're freshly grilled and fried.

if you notice in the picture, we also slurp bowls of chicken corn soup. i'm not much of a soup fan (mr. khairul can slurp sup tulang, tomyam, sup ekor, sup ntahape lagi) but to me, pizza hut's mushroom soup is the only soup i sip! however, i can add this chicken corn soup to my yummy soup list!

wanna know what's chicken corn soup? click here to read my review! and when you're along sheikh zayed road and feels like roti canai-ing, just drop by! it's right next to the mosque, and it's red - you won't miss it.

* * *

after the makan-makan, we tapau some roti canai for the As and headed on to medcare, to celebrate their newborn baby boy named 'Nor Adly'. looks like afza got his fathers day present early this year!

mabruk! mr. khairul quipped that this is the second future koleq boy born in dubai. hmm.

junior nur adli meeting senior kahfi

tucked snugly in his cutesy zoo-animal-comforter, he is perfectly adorable! mama and baby boy sihat belaka! in fact aida was her usual chatty self. afza still seemed to be tired from his long-hour 'ordeal' waiting in the labor room with beloved wife, aida - but clearly a beaming dad.


as usual when these three boys of mckk get together, what else do they borak about? economic situation? right. at that moment i really, truly believe that boys gossip as much - oh, yes AS MUCH - as their ladies counterpart. haha.

congrats again to the As - afza, aida, first daughter alya and new addition, son adli. now you guys are four!

* * *

remember the book that i wanted? refresh your memory here.

i got 'the phantom tollbooth' from kinokuniya at dubai mall! i know it must be in the young adult section - and true enough - there it was! i was so excited and held my breath to look over at the price, half hoping that it'd be at least less than 50dhs, what with the price of books in uae...

and it's only 30dhs! i grabbed the book with no second thought. ok, i better put a dot here already coz i'm dying to read the first page! gasp!