Treasure hunt + heritage? You know those two things will definitely pique my interest! For my milestone birthday, the hubs booked us on a mystery “maze” in the Bras Basah Arts & Heritage District (probably my favourite district in Singapore) called The Lost Pages of Bras Basah. It’s a collab between @gourmazesg and @urbanist.singapore . Imagine a walk with several clues given to you via WhatsApp and a school exercise book. You go at your own pace and at each stop you solve clues, answer questions and simply take in the historical significance of that stop. The overall design is good, with three F&B food stops included. I appreciate the story that holds the treasure hunt together — better than some escape room plots. The F&B operators were also well selected (I can’t say who they are), each taking pride in their business and chatting with us about their menu. Although it drizzled throughout our walk and greyed out our photos, it was at least cool weather which made it much more enjoyable! My reel only shows some parts of the experience because I didn’t want to give any spoilers in case you’re doing this too.
This experience made me want to develop my Stacey series for older kids. The series is now about 10 years old and the kids who read it as preschoolers when it first launched would now be teens! If only I had the time…
Was it a work meeting? Yes, but also no. As workers in Christian media, work is also ministry. So much to learn from @pohfang and as she said, it felt like we have been friends for a long time. ❤️
Attended Hedwig Anuar Book Awards Shortlists event last night with Lucy to support Janice for her book Shelby and Mona. Also a good but hurried catchup with writer pals and publishers! Congrats to all the finalists, so many first timers!
+65 Making Multicultural Singapore | A Journal by the Founders’ Memorial on Singapore’s Post-Independence History and Society | Vol. 4 2025
Loving the content but also its presentation in the print medium. Appreciate all the work that went into this.
Browse here:
https://www.foundersmemorial.gov.sg/-/media/founders-memorial/65-journal/2025/65volume4_21oct.pdf
Saturday morning walk from Botanic Garden’s Cluny Gate to Tanglin Gate to appreciate this beautiful UNESCO heritage site. Paused at the Prisoner-of-War steps by the Plant House. The bricks were made by Australian prisoners-of-war. In a secret act of defiance against their Japanese captors they marked the bricks with arrows, a symbol used to mark property of the British crown. Popped by the Heritage Museum, a fitting end to the walk.
Had a little excursion to the National Archives Singapore yesterday. It is located at the site of the former ACS (Primary). The building was designed by architect Ng Keng Siang and built in 1956. It was a walk down memory lane for the old boys, most of whom remembered capteh games and marching drills. The retired teachers in our group recalled tossing out textbooks of naughty boys which would land at the back of the school, next to Fort Canning hill. 😆 We also got to see the work of various departments at NAS—I’m particularly fascinated by the work of the oral history and restoration departments!
what an a-马-zing morning at Botanic Gardens ❤️🌿
Spending Valentine’s surrounded by the people we love — big and small — is truly our favourite way to celebrate.
It was so special seeing familiar faces and meeting new friends. Thank you to everyone who came out, braved the heat, and spent your morning with us. (We were basically a walking burnt tomato by the end of it 🍅 but so worth it.)
A huge shoutout to Lianne, and her team at @heartfeltmakan for joining us — your super cute felt toys and sweet nursery rhymes added such a beautiful touch to the morning.
Wishing everyone a love-filled Valentine’s and a joyful Chinese New Year. May it be full of connection, warmth, and meaningful moments ❤️🍊
It was a glorious morning at Botanic Gardens today! Heartfelt Makan popped up at Little Blue Chair’s sensory play session @littlebluechair_sg and it was fun to meet families and watch little kiddos play. Open-ended, uninterrupted play is so important and you learn so much about your child.
I was tested on whether I knew all the rhymes from Sing A Song of Hawker Food and had to sing the most obscure one, “Old King Koh” for a very tough audience. Wonderful that some parents had the book already and had also visited the Children’s Museum and played with Heartfelt Makan’s food before!
It was very fulfilling to see HM and my author life come together this morning! Thanks Alice and Joy for having us!
~ Lianne
I met Alice late last year, she is one half of Little Blue Chair @littlebluechair_sg . Together with her daughter, they run sensory play sessions for young children. I love their creative take on play, and they pull all the stops to carry out the themes. Check out their account to see what I mean!
Just this weekend they conducted a hawker themed play session and my title Timmy and Tammy Discover: Singapore Hawker Food was part of the play session. Heard that parents and kids enjoyed the book and nursery rhymes from Sing a Song of Hawker Food too! 😀
Photos by @littlebluechair_sg
It’s always a joy for authors when we can get our books republished. So that Pauline Loh @pauline_ltl was able to get a title she wrote for SG50 “Playtime with Ye Ye” a new lease of life! Together with “Ye Ye and the Singapore National Anthem” (published in 2025), the two titles on Singapore’s national identity and history are essential for all children’s libraries.
The title won funding from the Singapore Memory Project Fund and went on to win the 2nd Prize Samsung KidsTime Award in 2015. Since then, this title has been presented in over 100 preschools during storytelling sessions, in the July and August months every year to celebrate National Day.
This new release is a revised edition and has been re-illustrated by artist Kristen Kiong @kristenkiong . I love the updated illustrations and smiled at all the different head gear Ye Ye wears throughout the story (good activity for kids to spot and identify all the “hats”!).
Pauline told me, “I’m thankful to World Scientific Education for their confidence in publishing an improved Playtime with Ye Ye! I hope Ye Ye continues to be a favourite in the libraries of young children and preschools.”
Get your copies here:
🛒 Available now on Shopee from World Scientific Education @worldscientificedu
👉 https://bit.ly/LearningwithYeYe
#WSE #WorldScientificEducation #WSEBooks #LearningwithYeYe #PlaytimewithYeYe
Into The Modern: Impressionism from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston at the National Gallery Singapore
Went during a quiet part of the afternoon so had the luxury of time to enjoy the paintings. (During peak periods timed entry is implemented.)
I was just thinking of the Wentworth jigsaws @wentworthpuzzles we’ve done based on artwork, and which ones in this exhibit would drive us nuts! 😅 Probably the pointillism ones by Sisley or Signac!
