Woods in the Books Blog — Elf Reads

A graphic novel time travel adventure created by Tina Sim and Alan Bay, Once Upon a Singapore… Traders brings Aloysius and his Grandpa back to the days of Grandpa’s childhood. Together, Aloysius and Grandpa explore the sights and sounds of Singapore in the 1900s, focusing on traders who were once part of the fabric of everyday life. Covering milkmen, koyok men, food hawkers, clog makers, and more, this volume is chock full of historical detail. The love for its subject matter shines in every page, which switches from pages of traditional sequential art panels to informational spreads with ease. The...

The Little People, Big Dreams series is composed of hardcover picture book biographies aimed for children aged 3 - 8. While the series began by covering famous women, it’s also recently begun to feature famous men as well. This review focuses on the books featuring African American civil rights activists Martin Luther King Jr. and Maya Angelou. Each of the Little People, Big Dreams books delivers facts about the featured figure’s life in plain, clear language. A timeline with historical photographs at the end puts each figure’s life in context, for readers to recap the story again. Martin Luther King...

When their teacher Mr Adam spends the night in a haunted mansion, Izzy, Luddie, and Tash certainly don’t expect him to disappear into thin air. This slim volume by Felix Cheong packs a punch as the investigation of the Lit Squad’s favourite teacher casts new light on Singapore’s past. While the title implies horror elements in the story, there’s no evidence of the supernatural in this book. But using those elements of horror segues well into a tense, suspenseful read as the Lit Squad begins receive warning to stay off the case as they uncover the truth of an old...

Bursting with larger than life characters and written in a broad narrative voice reminiscent of Roald Dahl, Timothy and the Phubbers is a laugh out loud school comedy whose misfit characters struggle with the trials of new classmates, school projects, and a world overrun with the smartphone-savvy elite (also known as Phubbers). Lolita Chiong’s sketchy black and white illustrations bring the range of characters to life, the art style reminiscent of Quentin Blake or Tony Ross. The lively combination of art and text create an alchemical blend that brilliantly carries across moments of physical action and comedy. In one example,...