I remember moving from Kampung Chai Chee to Bedok in late 1977. I was in primary three then. One of the most enjoyable things I had in those days was a chance to visit a bookstore. One day my mother brought my siblings and I to the EPB bookstore near Bedok Central (I remember the bookstore was still running till around mid-90s when I started working). As we were browsing through among the bookshelves, some books caught my eyes. They were Ladybird titles, but not the usual fairy-tale stories, which were popular with kids in those days. They were non-fiction titles : there was one set of three books, entitled "Great Artists", and some titles on animals. As we were queueing to settle the payment, my mother discovered that she did not have enough money. At that time my father came and my mother asked him for more money to pay for the books. I remembered him taking out his wallet and forked out 10 over dollars, but he did it with some struggles. It was at that time that a sense of guilt rose in my heart. I knew it was not easy for my father, who had just switched to becoming a school van driver. It was not easy for children in those days to own too many books. So these books have stayed with me all these years.
The Great Artists series were my first introduction to the great artists of the western world. It was through these children books that I first learnt about Rembrant, Rubens, Michaelangelo, Da Vinci, Van Gogh, etc. The illustrations were of very high standards, like what the introduction page claimed : "Special artwork has been comissioned to set a standard rarely seen in books for this reading age and at this price." The animal titles, on the other hand, deepened my understanding about certain animals like the lions. For example, I learnt that a lion can consumed up to 18 kg of meat in a single meal. This is very interesting information for a child in those days, considering that internet was not even known at that time, so the only source of information we can get was through books or magazines.
I am still very impressed by the publisher of Ladybird books, that they would take children publications so seriously. In 2012, the year which celebrated the great British writer Charles Dickens 200th birth anniversary, they re-released a 1965 title on the life of the writer. This just go to show that even children books, if properly written, can stand the test of time. To me, these books were not only timeless. They were treasure troves of some of my most precious childhood memories. And perhaps not just for me, but for many Singaporean children who grew up in the 1970s to 80s.
