[Good books] Chicken Soup for the Soul series

I find that people opinion on the Chicken Soup for the Soul series tends to differ in extremities. Some love it, the other half sneer at it. Gimmicky? Commercialized heart warming stories?

Well, taking a step back, I can see the gimmicks. With more than 250 titles and counting, sure  the series has approached some very specific souls which make the spectators shake their heads in disbelieve. And, tone of the book depends on who co-edit/write it.

For me, I've been reading Chicken Soup series for almost 20 years, on and off. And at the very least, it reminds me every now and then to count my blessings. Secondly, some of the short stories has cheered and encouraged me along the way. Now in the 30s, I can appreciate its title. Well... It feeds and warms your soul!

Below are three titles that are my personal favorites:

Chicken Soup for the Expectant Mother's Soul

Read this during one of my all time low after my first pregnancy ended in a miscarriage at almost 20 weeks. I couldn't help to wonder what went wrong, how about the next ones, ... whether there'll be a next one since the grief was so hard to bear. Fortunately I bumped into this book in the library. Unexpectedly, the stories inspired me that everything is possible.

Life Lessons for Loving the way You Live

This book is like a crash course on serenity prayer. If you want to change it, go and change. Otherwise, be at peace. I think, this book helped me to at least save many years of wondering and wandering. After reading it, I know what I want is to mommy the children. Working is just to support this goal. It matters less where or what I work on.

Chicken Soup for the Preteen Soul

My 10 years old daughter found this book in a bargain section and she bought it. After reading it, she has some sense of acceptance of her life. Come to think of it, surely it's tough to be a child. Almost everyday, your world is changing. New abilities, new teacher, new friends, ... So, back to my preteen. I think there are some situation or problem that she doesn't even know how to phrase it, or whether to share it with us her parents. The book affirms that what she's facing is normal, happens to other preteens as well. And of course, not coming from her naggy parents, she is more readily receptive of the message (I could've said some of the advices myself, but it won't sink in as well).

So that's my top three titles. What are yours?

PS: To those new to Chicken Soup series, if you want to start, start from the original first book. The sequels tend to be less exciting.

[It Works] Letterland

Long time ago, I was a little skeptical about Letterland. I thought of it as just another one of hyped-up-commercially-exploited creation.

However, we've been converted now.

[+]
1. Catchy tunes. My 3 years old son has been humming the tunes for a few months now.
2. Fun fun fun stories. Even my daughter cannot stop reading the book.
3. Bright beautiful colorful characters, both in illustration and in their story roles.
4. Well developed method of phonics introduction, making it easier for children to remember. 5. We did zoo-phonics with our first one, and we're impressed by the more wholesome approach. From single sound introduction, to digraphs, to more as we've yet to explore.
6. Letterland has almost everything we can think of. Games, workbook, storybook, flashcards,... To make learning continuous and fun.
7. They are available everywhere, not exclusive from the school.

[-]
1. Limited range of product in Singapore.
2. They don't provide free online games as other brands do nowadays.
3. Some stuffs are literally breathtakingly expensive.

Another one is minus for me, plus for my son. He can't stop doing the workbook. So one book was finished up pretty quickly. :)

[Good Book] I think it is ... Basic Chinese 500 by Lucia Lau

There is a series of book, which we like.

Since I'm a total newbie in the Chinese language learning league, I have no idea on what is the correct title.
One of the cover looks like this (source: https://www.popular.com.sg/jsp/product/product_detail.jsp?vca001=106&vpd001=94004#):

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1. It is systematic! We really appreciated that the books introduce Chinese character one at a time. Per character, we get to learn the stroke sequence, and there is a mini story that follows, using... the new character AND the previous ones. So if you're as blur as I am, please start from the very first one (marked by big no '1' instead of '2' like in the pic, and the domino like circle starts with one dot).

2. Price wise, it's quite reasonable, unlike those hyped-up system. It's about 6$ per book, by the way. You can get cheaper during Popular promo or if you're Popular member (which I secretly think all parents in Singapore ought to be :p)

3. Pictures... pictures... pictures... :D My three year old loves to trace the strokes with his fingers and simply looking at the pictures. In a true blue kay poh manner, he insisted on doing the higher level ones. Because the first one is 'boring', always repeating few characters.

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The minus is... this is rather discouraging... I can only find the first 15 books in Popular! Per book, they cover 20 characters. So that's only 300 of them. Oh well...
But anyway, we have yet to finish what we have. So we can still keep our fingers crossed. :)

PS : There... out of my chest... so long I've been wanting to share that.

[Good Book] You Can Cook

To my family dismay, I am not a good cook.
I love to bake, though. (But that passion does not guarantee that what I bake is delish :p)

Anyway, to get to the point, I'd like to share a good source of... more than recipes... knowledge, may be.
It's Anabel Karmel cookbook series.

The first one I got is titled 'You Can Cook'.

(Image : http://www.annabelkarmel.com/bookshop)

[+]
1. Instruction is very clear, complete with photos. Step. By. Step.
2. It covers the basic techniques for everyday food, with very clear description of what we need to do. From bread to main course to muffin.
3. Variations to the basic recipes are included. Another presentation (small bread, big bread... all from same recipe), also another flavor (chocolate, vanilla... same basic recipe). This part made me feel like a true blue old-fashioned-mommy who can cook anything. :)
4. This book is actually meant for kids. So it is a good start for the kids.

[-]

Hmmm... Nothing is perfect. But I cannot find a worthy one to write here.