Librarian’s Review

“Far, far away, in the darkest cave in the deepest valley amongst the highest mountains there lives a huge and terrifying dragon. With his fiery breath and mighty strength, this awesome beast fears no man, but he is afraid of just one thing…”

Here comes another fine book from the award-winning Christopher Wormell. The mighty dragon attacks a castle and captures his prey – a beautiful maiden, perhaps a princess, for his supper. None of the soldiers can stop him. But all is not lost for the mighty dragon is afraid of tiny George. Who is George? Read this exciting book filled with many colourful double-page spreads to find out. And look out for many little humorous touches in the illustrations.

By Lim Sieu Pin, National Library Board

George and the Dragon is available at the National Library, find out if George and the Dragon is available at the public library nearest to you.

Librarian’s Review

“Lazy Leo, you must step down. Get off the throne. Give up your crown!”

Leo the lion, King of the Beasts, can’t believe his ears! His subjects, all the other animals, are so fed up with their lazy king that they are actually deposing him! Outraged and offended, Leo retreats to the savannah, convinced that the animals won’t be able to manage without him. But the animals get by just fine. In fact, no one even seems to notice Leo is gone. Can Leo learn to change his ways and win back his crown?
From the creator of the international bestseller The Rainbow Fish comes a whimsical yet thought-provoking story about the abuse of power and the responsibilities of leadership.”

This is an old but rare children’s picture storybook about leadership. While older children may find it a tad too didactic, preschoolers will enjoy this charming tale of animals with all too human qualities. The story also provides opportunities to view things from different angles. For example, a seemingly inconsiderate rampaging rhinoceros turns out to have been stung nastily by a wasp. Children can also pick up some new words (savannah, wimpering, moist), while enjoying the story with their caregivers.

By Lim Sieu Pin, National Library Board

How Leo Learned to be King is available at the National Library, find out if How Leo Learned to be King is available at the public library nearest to you.

Librarian’s Review

This is a wonderfully humorous book that parents may be able to relate to as they read it with their child. Bird and Raccoon are playing ball when Bird is accidentally hit on the head. Bird cries inconsolably as one after another, his friends try in vain to soothe the bump on his head. From a kiss to a hug and even cookies – nothing works. In the end, his friends feel so helpless they end up crying! Oh dear! Will the crying ever stop? Look out for the comical ending that will surely bring a smile to your child’s lips.

By Lim Sieu Pin, National Library Board

Boo Hoo Bird is available at the National Library, find out if Boo Hoo Bird is available at the public library nearest to you.

Learn how to pronounce the English names of your favourite Chinese New Year dishes correctly!

The biggest difference is that ‘lay‘ requires an object object, and ‘lie’ does not.

For example, ‘you lie down on the sofa’, but ‘you lay the book down on the table’ (the book is the object).

However, when past tense is involved, the past tense of lie is ‘lay‘, and the past tense of ‘lay‘ is ‘laid‘.

For example, ‘she lay down and closed her eyes’, and ‘she laid the tablecloth in the morning’.

[Image credit: Iguanasan on Flickr]

To be incensed and ready for a fight.

Example:

The union members are up in arms over news of a pay cut.

Did you know?

The original use for the term ‘up in arms‘ was literal and used to describe  soldiers armed with weapons, ready for war.

Reference
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/up-in-arms.html

[Image credit: Dunechaser on Flickr]

1. The Weird and Wonderful World of Nouns
Did you know money is an uncountable noun in English?
The purpose of this workshop is to introduce participants to proper, collective, singular, plural, countable and uncountable nouns to ensure that participants can learn to identify different types of nouns and get the basic grammar rules right!

2. Expressing Quantities Correctly
“I have a little money” and “I have little money” mean two different things! Do you want to know why?
Building on the first workshop, this workshop looks at how we can express quantities correctly when talking about nouns.

3. Those Troublesome Articles
When to use “the”/”an”/”a” or none of them before a noun can be a minefield.
This workshop guides you through the potential pitfalls and gives you some practical advice on how to improve your use of articles in spoken and written English.

4. Getting Your Subjects and Verbs to Agree
Disagreement between subjects and verbs is one of the most common grammatical mistakes in English. Agreement is always preferable! Find out how to make your subjects and verbs agree.

Find out:

• Why knowing phonics can change your pronunciation.
• Why we speak the way we do, and how we can improve.
• How to help and influence your child or students to pronounce better.
• Why differentiating short and long vowels improves the way you sound.

This free workshop will introduce you to the exciting world of speaking well with better pronunciation. We hope that you will be inspired to speak up, speak out and speak well!

Timeslot 1

Date: Saturday, 7 Jan 2012, 11.30am – 1.00pm
Location: Programme Zone, Bishan Public Library

Timeslot 2

Date: Saturday, 7 Jan 2012, 2.30pm – 4.00pm
Location: Programme Zone, Serangoon Public Library

Timeslot 3

Date: Saturday, 28 Jan 2012, 11.30am – 1.00pm
Location: Programme Zone, Bishan Public Library

Timeslot 4

Date: Saturday, 28 Jan 2011, 2.30pm – 4.00pm
Location: Programme Zone, Serangoon Public Library

SPACES ARE LIMITED AND ARE AVAILABLE ON A FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED BASIS.

When do use “ring”, “rang” and “rung”?

It’s quite simple, really. The present tense is used for present actions, the past tense for past actions, and the past participle for actions in the past that have been completed.

So to use “ringing a doorbell” as an example,

If you’re talking about someone ringing the doorbell, then you’d say “Carrie always rings the doorbell twice when she’s here”.

If you’re talking about the past, then you’d say “Carrie rang the doorbell five minutes ago”.

If you want to specifically mention the action of the phone ringing that has been completed, then you’d say “Carrie had rung the doorbell five minutes ago”.

The same applies for things like
- arise, arose, arisen
- begin, began, begun
- ring, rang, rung
- sink, sank, sunk
- withdraw, withdrew, withdrawn
- shrink, shrank, shrunk

BONUS TIP: Find out the difference between “ring” and “wring“!

[Image credit: Paul Downey on Flickr]