Hey, people! Happy to announce that the newest title in the Stacey & the Museums series is out, and should reach bookstores soon. This is the fifth title in the Stacey series. You can find it on sale at the publisher's website and on Singapore retailer's website and stores, Naiise.
The book features four paintings by Singaporean artists. The painting that holds the story together, is Chua Mia Tee's National Language Class, which asks, "Siapa nama kamu?" and "Di mana awak tinggal?" These Malay sentences are translated as "What is your name?" and "Where do you live?" and points to the evolving national identity of our young nation. I hope these questions are ones that young people will start asking themselves when they read the book.
This new adventure took a little longer to cook, but it's been satisfying and very educational for me as an author. As with all the other Stacey adventures, the format is the same - Stacey has a adventure when she wanders around the Gallery. But this time, the "tour guide" device or mechanism in the story, is different. Without giving anything away, I would like to say this book is my little homage to James Mayhew's Katie stories, a series my family and I absolutely love.
I am immensely grateful to the folks at National Gallery Singapore for their kind assistance and also, the artists' and their estates for allowing me to incorporate their artworks into the story.
Do come for the launch happening on 5 November 2016, as part of the Singapore Writers Festival. There are also other events in the pipeline - stay tuned!