Fun With Kids: BBC Earth Screening Festival, free local children's books - The Straits Times

Amri is given a special role in a Malay wedding. For the first time, the 11-year-old is tasked to hold the bunga manggar (glittery decorative sticks on a bamboo pole) while parading with the kompang (traditional Malay instrument) group.

Young readers get to learn about the nuptial ceremony and its traditions through his eyes in the story Escort For King Of The Day.

Written by Farihan Bahron and illustrated by Josef Lee, it is one of eight new free children’s titles inspired by local cultures and religions.

All are hosted on the House Of Mini Picture Books website, where parents and kids can read the stories online. They can also download and print the titles.

Besides established authors, five students from Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts are also part of this book project spearheaded by Lee.

Student Joelle Ong’s Boo Appetit is an amusing take on the Hungry Ghost Festival and features different types of ghosts to represent the races: jiangshi (Chinese), toyol (Malay) and bhoota (Indian).

“Despite looking different from one another, we can all come together and celebrate our love for food with a twist of spookiness,” says Ong, who wrote the funny tale and drew the friendly ghost characters.

Read the stories for free at www.minipicbooks.com