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Toy Tales for Reading {Review and Giveaway of award-winning series by Emily Lim}

Since Angel was two, we have instilled a habit of bedtime reading. For good or for bad, I like to see it as good, she now refuses to go to sleep without having her daily dose of three books. Try to negotiate for anything less on weary nights and you would see a forlorn little girl. Tell her to go and choose three books from her library and her beaming face can light up the darkness.

When it comes to books for a preschooler, I like the ones that come with bright, vibrant illustrations, not overly heavy yet thought-provoking text, and most importantly, books that help to inculcate moral values and build up a child's character.


We were thrilled to receive a set of the award-winning books from the Toy Series written by the talented local author Emily Lim. These stories celebrate the themes of love, friendship, charity and second chances. If you are a Pen Pal Whizz owner, you will be happy to know that these are compatible versions and your child can even tap on the characters to hear their dialogue and play games by answering fun quizzes.

I have to tell you that not just my girl, but even I myself fell in love with these books from the first time we read them. Take a closer look with me into each title and I'll tell you why.

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Bunny Finds The Right Stuff


Bunny Finds The Right Stuff is about a stuffed bunny rabbit who becomes floppy as time passses. When the toymaker goes on a holiday, he takes the chance to stuff himself using wet soil, blueberries and even tries to reach for the clouds. Every time he fails, it is his friends - Dinosaur, Grizzly and Kangaroo who come to his rescue and give him a good scrub.

More than that, these good friends of his realise that it is within them to give to Bunny what he needs and thus they not only help him to restore his shape, they make him understand just how much he is loved.

This is such a sweet and happy tale about friendship and a reminder that we are never alone even during the darkness moments of our lives.

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Just Teddy

Just Teddy is about a teddy bear who feels lonely and tries to fit in with the toys in a toy factory. He makes great efforts to blend into the polar bears, pandas and penguins and in the process, he forgets who he is deep down and loses his identity.

Until one day, he meets a girl who sees him as special and a one-of-a-kind bear that makes him realise that he is not just a teddy. From then on, he no longer feels alone and knows his true worth is enough to make someone love him for who he is.

I like how this story teaches children, and even adults, to be happy for who we are instead of trying to be someone we are not. Yes, contentment in life is something I try to inculcate in my girl since young.

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The Tale of Rusty Horse

The Tale of Rusty Horse is about an old, forgotten horse who longs to be a favourite with the children once again. One day, a fairy grants him his wish and he turns into a real horse who becomes well-liked by everyone. Alas the magic does not last and he becomes himself again and that is when he meets a handicapped child who cannot walk - and becomes his best playmate.

When the fairy returns with a spell to turn him into a real horse forever, Rusty has to choose between being the most handsome horse in the stable or being a rocking horse to his one true friend.

This story teaches us not just to love ourselves and be proud of who we are, it touches on a more important value - to make sacrifices so as to give happiness to others around us. 

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Prince Bear and Pauper Bear

Now for my favourite book - Prince Bear and Pauper Bear talks about the story of two bears. Pauper Bear is a teddy bear who is poorly stitched, has eyes which do not match and is without a mouth - he longs to be loved. Prince Bear is a proud, well-stitched bear with a handsome crown - he loves only himself.

By a twist of fate, Prince Bear ends up with a rich girl who plays with him for a while, then leaves him in a corner and lets him be chewed up by her new puppy. On the other hand, Pauper Bear becomes friends with a boy who does not have much money but he has a heart full of love - he even stitched a happy mouth for Pauper Bear. Fate decides that the two bears' paths cross again one day and Prince Bear asks Pauper Bear to save him from his plight. Will Pauper Bear do it and risk losing his place as the favourite bear and bravest knight?

A touching and inspiring story about friendship and kindness, it teaches us to love, to share, to lend a helping hand, to forgive and to give others a second chance.

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More about the author

Emily Lim is an award-winning children's book author who was inflicted with a rare voice disorder and subsequently found her voice through her books. She draws inspiration from her coping journey and sees her books as small beginnings towards a larger purpose of inspiring both children and adult to find meaning in their lives. More of her story on her blog.

You can also find her books at these retail outlets:

Kinokuniya Bookstores
MPH Bookstore (Raffles City)
Tango Mango (Tanglin Mall)
Big Bookshop (Harbourfront)
OG Albert
Rainbow Shop (Robinson Road)
Attic Pals (Tanglin Mall)
Smart Alley (Centrepoint & Changi Point)
 
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Now, what better way than a giveaway to motivate all my readers to share the joy of reading?

We are now giving away the Toy series with four autographed books (by Emily of course, unless for some reason you want us to sign for you too) to TWO lucky readers. Yes, that means each of the winner gets to keep not one, but two books!! Now, isn't that double the fun and double the joy of reading?

To enter, simply leave a blog comment with your name and email address. To increase your chances of winning, you can carry out the options below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Terms and Conditions
1) This giveaway is open to readers residing in Singapore only.
2) The titles will be assigned to the winners randomly, I like surprises in the mail, don't you? You have my word that all four books are absolute delights to read!

Best of luck!

Disclosure: We received a set of Pen Pal Whizz compatible Toy Series titles for review purposes. No monetary compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

36 comments:

  1. heard abt these series and wld love to share with my bb!
    Gerine

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    Replies
    1. Hi Gerine, please leave me a email address for me to contact you. You can drop me a separate note at summer@ahappymum.com if you wish.

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  2. Wow.. inspiring and catchy story that my kids will love me to read. mummy belin

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    Replies
    1. Hi Belin, please leave me a email address for me to contact you. You can drop me a separate note at summer@ahappymum.com if you wish.

      Delete
  3. My girls also bargained for me to read to them before bedtime. And even came up with a splendid idea (on their part) to read 1 book on Monday, 2 books on Tues, 3 books on Wed and so on.. They loved stories which they can identify with and with beautiful pictures. Would like to read these interesting tales with moral reflections to them too. Ker Min, magixn@hotmail.com

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  4. My kids and I enjoy reading together. Great for learning and bonding. Karyn. Tassie1995@yahoo.com.sg

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  5. Hope to win these books for my boy as he enjoys reading before bedtime.
    Email: amycpj@gmail.com

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  6. seems like must-have books in a preschooler's library!

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  7. Nice books with nice colors and picture illustrations, I bet my kids will love them!

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  8. keke, i totally understand!!At times, i wish i can have a 'break' from the barney story telling but i definitely enjoy the bonding...i think these books will 'stimulate' my 2 year old to think with more 'incorporated values';p Name: Kit, Email: kit06@hotmail.com

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  9. Wow..Nice stories. My daughter just started reading on her own..will be great addition in her library...Thanks

    Ashmika..ashmikak@gmail.com

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  10. Love the story you share here. Would love to get one of the books and read with my girls=)
    Name: PC
    Email: khor.pc@gmail.com

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  11. Would love to have this for my boys!
    j_xian@hotmail.com

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  12. Would love to add these to our mini library collections!! :)
    mantingtoh@hotmail.com

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  13. Thanks for hosting the giveaway! My children love reading!
    mami@peipeihaohao.com

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  14. My girls need huge dose of books every night. Will be great if I can have these to add to the doses!
    hueyfang20@hotmail.com

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  15. books books book...love them
    Jaime chueimei@gmail.com

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  16. The story is very meaningful. Would love to read to my boy. Reading is one of our way to bond.
    babyhappie@hotmail.com

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  17. Very bright and colorful books, Shuang! Would love to have these for Eva, as she is now at the stage of wanting me to read a lot of books to her (of coz, it helps that both she and Ethan get to snuggle together to listen to my story).. Too bad this giveaway is only open to residents in Singapore.

    Mebbe i can borrow a copy from you when i'm back? Keke... Gd job with the blogging babe.. Keep it up!!! =) Always nice to read =)

    Hazel
    smileger_10@yahoo.com.sg

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  18. i love how reading takes me to wondrous places beyond our tiny island.

    carol, cmeilim@gmail.com

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  19. Interesting books, seems with great illustrations, think my gal wld love them.

    lornat28@yahoo.com

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  20. Great books. Really wish to have them for my girls. Thanks.
    linqiqi79@gmail.com

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  21. Would love to win these for my kids :)

    Elim220380@gmail.com
    Evelyn

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  22. I love reading because it keeps imagination alive!

    Lilium

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  23. These books would be a great addition to my toddler's tiny book collection, especially with all the beautiful illustrations.

    Beverly
    beverlywoo.bw@gmail.com

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  24. Love these books because of the great storyline. Bedtime reading is a good way for bonding esp Daddy and son. Hopefuly, I can win. My contact: evelynngst@gmail.com

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  25. I love reading because I love reading to my children who love reading!!!


    Robert Sim
    robert_sim@yahoo.com

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  26. Reading brings me to wondrous adventures outside of books!

    M Lim, nursingcow@gmail.com

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  27. I'm in love with the ilustrations! Thanks for the recommendation. I would love to check out her books!

    Y Loh, mummywords@gmail.com

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  28. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  29. Coming from a Mandarin-speaking family, I find that having an extensive library when I was young helped me in having a good command of English. Will love to get my nephews and nieces (and daughter in time to come:) interested in reading with these books.
    enileda.ade@gmail.com

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  30. I would like to win those books to read to my child!
    Cynthia Lau
    edenie98@yahoo.com

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  31. I'm sure Little Chuck will love these additions to his mini library :)

    Geraldine, gigi.geri@gmail.com

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  32. Hi Summer,

    I held my first book when I was 6 months old and started reading on my own when I was 4, and hope for the same for my baby girl. I'd love for her to be addicted to books rather than smart phones, tablets or the television. Thus, I've even started reading to her when she was still in my tummy! :P

    I really hope to win these beautifully illustrated books as inculcating values such as kindness and generosity in my child is very important to me as well.

    My email address is marilene.leow@gmail.com.

    Thank you!

    Best regards,
    Marilene

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  33. Hi,

    My daughter Emma loves reading, and we always max out our library cards evey visit. Would love more of our own books!

    jspcafe_jose@msn.com

    Josephine

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  34. I have been married for 6 years and i had a break up with my husband 2 months ago and i was worried and so confuse because i love him so much. i was really going too depressed and a friend directed me to this spell caster Dr. Shiva and i made all my problems known to him and he told me not to worry that he was going to make my husband to come back to me and in just 48hours i receive a call from my husband and he was appealing that i should come back to the house. i have never in my life believe in spell and but now it have just helped me and i am now so happy. All Thanks to him and if you also want to have your Husband back to yourself here is his email and website lordshivaspells@gmail.com, www.prophetofgoddess.com.

    ReplyDelete

Yoohoo, thanks so much for reading my blog and leaving your comment! I am feeling the love! (^.^)