Smories: Stories for kids read by kids

A writer friend of mine and mum of two forwarded on this link with a note: 'why didn't I think of that?!'.

Smories are a website that you could use to keep kids entertained in the back of your car, as the press release says. In fact it was something dreamed up by a couple with kids on a long ride through the Kalahari desert. Simply, they've filmed children reading stories for kids and it's conveniently sorted by age-appropriateness. What I found more interesting is that they accept new stories from writers the world over and you can have them read - ergo, free publicity for budding writers who still get to keep rights.

Kids do make really good readers, putting in a lot of emotion into their reading. I know my daughter will drop what she's doing to see what another child is doing, especially if it is something interesting.

It's only been about two weeks since the launch and the press release says 35,000 videos have been watched. Maybe some of that demographic are mums - even I watched transfixed some of the readings on the site.

A Blue Cat's Tale: A Storytelling Session

Sorry for the long silence. The children's picture book that I wrote has finally been published and is in all major bookstores in Singapore!

A Blue Cat's Tale (ST Press, 2008, 32pp)

Written by Sangeetha Madhavan, original paintings by Michelle Chang

Synopsis: Max has just moved to a new home but all the other cats are afraid of him because he's blue! Follow Max around his neighbourhood as he tries to find a friend.

Winner of the 2008 First Time Writers & Illustrators Publishing Initiative Award, supported by the Media Development Authority and the National Book Development Council of Singapore.

Join me for a storytelling session on Saturday, November 22, 3:00-3:30pm at Woodlands Regional Library, 900 Woodlands Drive, Woodlands Civic Centre.

For those of you who haven't been there, Woodlands Regional Library is four floors of books and their children's section on the fourth level is awesome with its reading park theme, an artificial tree and a twinkling sky. When it opened in 2001, it was Singapore's largest library. Now only the National Library on Victoria Street is bigger.

All are welcome!

Octoburst! activities: 1 - 5 October

Turns out there's more to Esplanade's Octoburst than just a drawing competition - it's going to be a full-fledged lil fest with theatre, music, ballet and Bharatanatyam which is great news for kids. 

Ticketed events include The Japanese Garden, another edition of the Tick, Tock and Tack series and The Nutcracker by the SDT. Free events include a concert by the young folks at NAFA's Chinese instruments programme, Mouse and Cookie by The Players Theatre and Shakuntala by Bhaskar's Arts Academy.

Kids zone at Heritage fest: 12 - 27 July

The Singapore Heritage Fest has set aside a kids zone with activities including games, story-telling, art-making and role-playing activities designed to explore the theme this year - heroes. Entry is free. Call Act3 on 67359986 for details.

The Boy Who Touched the Moon: 30 - 31 August

Act 3 Theatrics is back with their next show for the Esplanade Playtime series, featuring puppetry and shadow play for ages 2 - 4.