'Malaysia Membaca' or simply translated as 'Malaysia Reads' is a challenge initiated by Malaysia's education minister, Dr Maszlee Malik to encourage reading. A survey by the National Library of Malaysia in 1996 and 2005 showed Malaysians only read two books a year on average. so, Maszlee urged malaysians to share their ten favourite books with the hashtag #malaysiamembaca. he started the challenge by sharing his own ten favourite books. i intended to take this challenge when it was first introduced on 6th august this year. but, knowing my procrastination habit, i just found the time to post it now.
it's hard for me to list just ten books because i'm proud to admit that i'm kind of a bookworm. both of my parents were teachers. so, they encouraged my siblings and i to read at an early age. they would never hesitated to buy us reading materials; magazines. books and even comics. for us, reading is an enjoyable past time. our parents never forced us to read, but instead they showed us. they read, we followed. our father especially loved to read us stories. we are privileged to have our own mini library.
the age gap between me and my closest sister is five years. so, i used to bug her and my other siblings to read me books. they could only tolerate me for sometimes and later told me to 'buzz off' and learned reading myself. they took the time to teach me and later on, i could read. i still bother them by reading out loud at first. you knew, as children, we loved to read aloud at first because we were so proud that we could read on our own, haha.. i finally learned to read quietly and gave my siblings a peace of their time. so, for the first part of my #malaysiamembaca entry, i would love to share my ten favourite children books. some of these books, i read when i am already an adult.
1. Mr Pink-Whistle by Enid Blyton
Mr Pink-Whistle is half-human, half-brownie, and can make himself invisible. he's always helping people in trouble and getting himself into all sorts of funny situations. he uses this magic trick alongside his ability to communicate with animals to right all the wrong things he comes across. once, he uses his power of invisibility to go into a young boy’s room and scare him because the boy is a bully.
2. Malory Towers by Enid Blyton
Malory Towers is a series of six novels by English children's author Enid Blyton. The series is based on the girls' boarding school Benenden School that Blyton's daughter attended, and that relocated during the war to the Cornish seaside. The series follows the protagonist, Darrell Rivers on her adventures and experiences in boarding school. In 2009, six more books were added to the series by author Pamela Cox. Events in these take place after Darrell has left the school and focuses on her younger sister, Felicity Rivers (Wikipedia, 2018). these books actually helped me a lot on coping with boarding school. at least i knew what to expect.
3. The Famous Five - Enid Blyton
to be honest, i first read the malay version of these book (our mini library had the whole collection) and it was known as 'lima sekawan.' only later, i read the original english version. the novels feature the adventures of a group of young children – Julian, Dick, Anne and Georgina (George) – and their dog Timmy. in the malay version, they are known as eddie, dean, mona, george and tompok (spots) the dog. the stories take place in the children's school holidays after they have returned from their respective boarding schools. each time they meet they get caught up in an adventure, often involving criminals or lost treasure.
4. Five Find-Outers by Enid Blyton
again, i first read the malay version known as 'lima penyiasat.' these books i borrowed from my primary school's library. only recently, i managed to buy the original english series. this is a series of children's mystery books set in the fictitious village of Peterswood based on Bourne End, close to Marlow, Buckinghamshire, the children Larry (Laurence Daykin), Fatty (Frederick Trotteville), Pip (Philip Hilton), Daisy (Margaret Daykin), Bets (Elizabeth Hilton) and Buster, Fatty's dog, encounter a mystery almost every school holiday, always solving the puzzle before Mr Goon, the unpleasant village policeman, much to his annoyance. in malay version, they are known as Gemuk, John, Samy, Mary and Seroja. Buster is still Buster.
5. Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis
to be fair, i watched the movie first before reading the books. so, i read these while i'm already an adult. Set in the fictional realm of Narnia, a fantasy world of magic, mythical beasts, and talking animals, the series narrates the adventures of various children who play central roles in the unfolding history of that world. Except in The Horse and His Boy, the protagonists are all children from the real world, magically transported to Narnia, where they are called upon by the lion Aslan to protect Narnia from evil and restore the throne to its rightful line. The books span the entire history of Narnia, from its creation in The Magician's Nephew to its eventual destruction in The Last Battle (Wikipedia, 2018).
6. The Underland Chronicles - Suzanne Collins
author, suzanne collins is famous with her hunger games trilogy. few people knew she also wrote the underland chronicles for children. It tells the story of a boy named Gregor and his adventures in the "Underland", a subterranean world located under New York City. The Underland is inhabited by humans who traveled below hundreds of years ago, along with various giant versions of creatures like bats, cockroaches, and rats.
7. Fairy Tales - Hans Christian Andersen
life as a child would be incomplete without the famous fairy tales. Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish author. Andersen's fairy tales, of which no fewer than 3381 works have been translated into more than 125 languages, have become culturally embedded in the West's collective consciousness, readily accessible to children, but presenting lessons of virtue and resilience in the face of adversity for mature readers as well. Some of his most famous fairy tales include "The Emperor's New Clothes", "The Little Mermaid", "The Nightingale", "The Snow Queen", "The Ugly Duckling", "The Little Match Girl", "Thumbelina", and many others (Wikipedia, 2018).
8. Mother Goose's Rhymes
Mother Goose is often cited as the author of hundreds of children’s stories that have been passed down through oral tradition and published over centuries. Various chants, songs, and even games have been attributed to her, but she is most recognized for her nursery rhymes, which have been familiar with readers of all generations (Poetry Foundation). i often sing her nursery rhymes even until now!
9. Dr Seuss' Books
i became obsessed with dr seuss' works after watching the movie, the lorax. from then, i tried to read as many books written by him. His work includes many of the most popular children's books of all time, selling over 600 million copies and being translated into more than 20 languages by the time of his death (Wikipedia, 2018). please visit Official site of Dr. Seuss and the Cat in the Hat featuring games, printable activities, the complete illustrated character guide and much more.
10. Kumpulan Cerita Rakyat Malaysia published by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka
these are the local malaysian's folklore. i keep rereading these books from time to time. my malaysian's culture is full with our own tales. some of the famous ones are puteri gunung ledang, hikayat mahsuri, lembing awang pulang ke dayang, pak kaduk, sang gedembai, hang tuah and si tanggang. i vow to myself that i will read these stories to my own children in order for them to remember their roots even when they are more familiar with the western folktales. the question is when will i finally have my own children? LOL..
#malaysiamembaca will be continued...
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