Simple colorful yoghurt :)

Brava, Strega Nona!

Brava, Strega Nona! is a heartwarming pop-up book by Tomie dePaola, with help from Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart. I've been looking for this book for almost 3 years. I found and bought this yesterday :)

Tomie dePaola is one of my fave  author and illustrator for children's book of all time...and of course his artwork too. 

As for Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart, they worked together as children's book authors, illustrators and pop-up book makers.

The three of them worked together for this book..., take a sneak peek  to see the process...(here are some of the pics from the sneak peek)

And voila! Let's take a look of some of the pages..

This book is very very very pretty I might say. It has good story too. It's about six ingredients that make life magical. And the illustration itself, with all the pretty colors and the pop-up too...really makes it magical.
Here are some of the points from the ingredients:

- Famiglia/Family : A magical life begins with family.

- Mangia/Eat : Eating together brings joy.

- Amici/Friends : Remember your friends and they will remember you.

- Pazienza/Patience : Patience is not always easy.

- Celebrazione/Celebration : The most important celebration is life itself.

- Amore/Love : Always share your love and it will bring you a magical life.

Since I love to collect children's book and I love to do paper art work....and I always love pop-up book...I can say, this is one of my favorite book of all time! I wish and hope someday I can make books like this.

Go find it, it's a very nice book for your children....and of course you too :) 

Simple things :)

It's Andy's :)

"This is a cat and dog, their friends.." said Haila

This one from Charlene :)

You can call me cheesy, but it has always touched my heart when the kids gave me their drawings. Simple things that made me happy...two drawings from my 2 students, Andy and Haila....and 1 paper art from Charlene :)

Re-building blocks Help Kids in Natural Disaster Zones

Re-building blocks Help Kids in Natural Disaster Zones
by Jenny Tranter, 03/24/11

If you want to help rebuild children’s lives after recent devastating natural disasters like the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, you can throw your support behind sustainable design company Designing Hope. They have just launched their new very  limited edition (only 50 sets) Re-build Block Set made from recycled wood pieces, and will be donating 100% of proceeds to the non profit foundation, the Happy Hearts Fund.

The Happy Hearts Fund works in natural disaster areas, and is dedicated to helping children rebuild their lives through education, technology and sustainability programs. Active in 9 countries, the Happy Hearts Fund has so far rebuilt 47 schools and kindergartens, improving the lives and future prospects of more than 31,000 children.

Funds raised from purchasing the Re-build Block Set will contribute to building a school in a small Indonesian village affected by the 2009 earthquake.  Each set contains 24 blocks that have been hand made from recycled timber offcuts of natural mahogany and poplar, and can be arranged inside the box like a puzzle or used to construct fun shapes limited only by your child’s imagination. Each set comes with a booklet providing instructions for numerous puzzle combinations, as well as a beautiful illustration from an Indonesian child that really does pull on your heart strings – it’s a drawing of what they hope their new school will look like .

(All words and pics, from : http://www.inhabitots.com/re-building-blocks-help-kids-in-natural-disaster-zones/ )

Our fruit salad :)

Today at school, we're teaching the kids about healthy food. This time we're discussing about fruits. And to make it fun, we're making our own fruit salad. Since I love colors, when it comes to food, i like to play with colors too, especially when it's all natural.

Just prepare...

For the yoghurt, since it's plain, you can add a bit of sugar if you want too. But for me, I already get the sweet taste from the fruits, so no need to add sugar. But it's up to you :)

 Sometimes I put grapes and mueslies too.

This fruit salad is very simple, you can try this at home with your kids. You can eat it yourself or together. It's healthy...go try it and enjoy! :)

Food For Thought

I love this new place, Food For Thought. It's at the SAM at 8Q, the location is not far from Singapore Art Museum. It has nyummeeh menus. 

Their mission is get great comfort food, have fascinating conversations, find new friends and discover simple ways to give back to the local & global community.

Here are their missions:

"Every 15 seconds a child dies due to the lack of clean water. For every $2 you donate to enjoy a free flow of water at FFT, you will bless one African for one year with that same privilege. In support of Living Water International, www.onedollarwater.com"

"Every night, 1 billion people go to bed hungry and the United Nations is looking to the rest on the other side of the world to make a difference. Part of Food For Thought's profits goes towards filling the bellies of the world's poorest. For just $20, we help feed one person for a month."

"Solving poverty requires a cocktail of long-term and short-term solutions. Part of Food For Thought profits is used to sponsor children from Asia and Africa under World Vision's Area Development Programmes. For just $45 a month, we help our sponsored children through the overall development of their community's access to water, basic healthcare, education, nutrition and financial independence.
In support of: World Vision, www.worldvision.org.sg Currently, Food for Thought sponsors 9 children from Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, India, Philippines, Vietnam and Ethiopia."

"Schools provide children life-saving care, the opportunity to dream and tools to fight against disease, poverty and ignorance - giving them and their country a shot at a decent future. In East Timor, only 58.6 percent of the population is literate. For every (pre)loved book or other merchandise you buy from our shelf, all profit goes towards funding the education of a Timorese orphan. Educating one orphan for one year costs $864.
 In support of: School of Thought & Love East Timor's Orphan Scholarship Fund, www.loveeasttimor.com"

"We need not do great deeds to see great change come to this world - just small things with great persistence. Join our events and community discussion groups. Start now. Start small. You never know what you will begin if you do not."

I tried this Pancake...it was nyummeeeeehhh :p They served breakfast, they have toasted rolled oats, scrambled eggs, brioche...and so on and so on you name it :p And they served sandwiches. They all looked good! They have soups, salads, pastas, risottos, and their main courses too. Of course with desserts :)

It has nice book corners too :) you can eat or just to have coffe and read books, nice right?

Overall it's a nice place....go try it. 

It's on 8 Queen Street and 420 Northbridge Road, Northbridge centre #01-06

The Lion King Musical

I've been waiting for this Lion King Musical for almost 6 years. Dreams do come true :) I got to see it last Sunday in Singapore. Happy tears...yes, I got happy tears, goose bumps while watching it.

 We weren't allowed to take pictures, but...I wanted to share it with my friends, so me and my cousin were able to took 4 pics :p

Julie Taymor (as the art director of the show) said she was inspired by Indian, African and Indonesian culture. I was so proud as an Indonesian because there's this part where Zazu sang "Rasa Sayange". Not a long version of it, but still, it's from Indonesia. And I can see some "wayang" (shadow puppet/javanese puppetry) elements on some of the backdrops too.

Costumes, stages, props & everything in it...awesome!! Hats up to Julie Taymor.

Go see it if you have time. IT'S WORTH IT!! :)

Forever Young :)

I've been looking for this book for almost a year. Childrens book by Bob Dylan, illustrated by Paul Rogers. Both are my favorite artists.

Hopes do come true :) I got this last Monday when I was in Singapore. I'm so happy :)

The book has good message for your kids and for you too :) 

Try to look for it!

Here's the longer version of the song :)