YRC 32

Building the Next Generation of Thinkers & Writers

Young Reader Club ISSUE 32 / SGD 8.00 ISSN: 2010 - 1376

Get up close and personal with our Young Authors, brothers Lucas Kua & Ethan Kua Check out interesting school cultures you never knew about!

Learn fun facts in our Top 10 Most Dangerous Journeys to School!

Scan here to know 3about YRC!

Young Reader Club / Issue more 32

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Vol 8. 2011 /

YRC Online provides blogs and reviews by young authors about issues and topics that concern the youth of today, while giving opportunities to maximise the YRC experience through e-books, worksheets for students and teachers, and 4 e-magazines!

SGD 7.50 ISSN: 2010- 1376

Breaking Boundaries: Cambodia

2 teachers and 1 village with a dream

YRC Investigates:

Singapore’s Lost History

Discovering memories & more

Health Matters

Celebrating World Milk Day 2011

Fierce Facts

Cool things about pizza

3 Fascinating Tales You Can’t Resist

Jennifer Yip, Maybank 2007 YAA Awardee Our Featured Author of the Month

Building the Next Generation of Thinkers & Writers3 VOL. 8 2011

THE YRC TEAM Managing Editor / Publisher Catherine Khoo Editor Aileen Kong Editorial Assistant Natalya Thangamany

From the Publisher’s Desk

Circulation Manager

Nannette Marajas-Cruz Designer

Lim Soo Yong Contributors

Bryan Joel Lim, Yogesh Tulsi, Nurul Iiman, Lee Tat Wei, Wong Ziling, Natalya Thangamany Illustrators

Vickie Yong For advertising and sales enquiries

6336 8985 Education Subscription Agent

Emit Asia 6372 0330 Distributor ilovereading.sg Pte Ltd

9199 3758 Email: info@youngreaderclub.sg Website: www.youngreaderclub.sg All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the written permission of the publisher. Call 6336-8985 for back issues.

Printed in Singapore

by Stamford Press Pte Ltd Additional photos by

Natalya Thangamany

We hope that you’ve been enjoying reading YRC as much as we’ve enjoyed putting it together for you.

In this issue, we explore a variety of topics from real life stories in the Walking Through the Rain series of how one boy and his mother struggled with Asperger’s Syndrome since he was a toddler till becoming the fine young man he is today and to fictional stories written by our very own young authors.

We also visited and interviewed young authors Lucas Kua and Ethan Kua and found that life has not always been smooth sailing for these two young boys as they learn to cope with the passing of their father at a young age. Find out more about this wonderful family who bring the idea of unity to a new level as they show us what brotherhood is truly about in the article, Through Thick and Thin.

Finally, we’ve also included some interesting trivia about schools around the world in our Top 10 series. Travelling to school takes on a new meaning in Top 10: Most Dangerous Journeys to School as we witness how children in certain parts of China have to take a narrow winding footpath up a mountain just to attend lessons each day and how children in Indonesia need to walk on a tightrope 30 feet above a flowing river just to reach class.

We also introduce you to a variety of different school cultures in Top 10: School Cultures You Never Knew! You might be surprised to find many extraordinary practices as you delve into the pages of this read!

Happy reading, everyone!

is published by Experiences & Experiments Books Pte Ltd 261 Waterloo Street #03-08 Waterloo Centre Singapore 180261 Young Reader Club / Issue 32

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4 Through the Thick and Thin

Join young authors, Lucas and Ethan Kua as they share their journey

into the world of writing. Life has not always been a bed of roses for these two young writers but through the thick and thin, they have emerged.

10 The Archangels by Vito Martin

Creation was perfect. But the pride of one angel forced God to make the

Archangels: Five special angels dedicated to the protection of man. And the good shall triumph. In the hands of this 11-year-old homeschooler, the biblical conflict is given a new meaning as the angels battle Lucifer, the epitome of darkness.

21 The Deception by Ethan Kua

In Quebec, things have changed. The nights are no longer safe for

residents to go out. Dead bodies just keep turning up at the break of dawn. Few see them, few live to tell the tale. One did, and his name is Conan. After witnessing one such attack, no one believed him when he shared what happened; after all, who would listen to a kid about myths and monsters coming to life? All did not, except a mysterious old man who gives him a rather peculiar steel box, designed with carvings. He warns Conan to open it in secret. That leaves the question: What events are triggered by this action? Step into the world of the unreal in this shortlisted thriller of Young Author Award 2014/2015!

34 Walking Through the Rain

In this installment of Walking Through the Rain, we met with 23-year-old Ryan Chong and his mother. Ryan was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome when he was a toddler and is currently working at Dignity Kitchen picking up useful skills.

40 Top 10: Most Dangerous Journeys to School

Riding the school bus or your mum’s car might be the norm on how you get

to school everyday but this sure isn’t the case for children in other parts of

the world. You might have a new perspective about attending school after this!

44 Top 10: School Cultures You Never Knew!

Travel around the world and be introduced to unique school cultures in different countries. Did you know that there’s a school in Sweden that allows its students to play Minecraft as part of their curriculum?!

Apparently, playing Minecraft helps to expand their creativity and imagination skills!

Young Reader Club / Issue 32

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Featured Author

Thick Thin Through and

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W

e last met Lucas Kua, now 15-years-old and a student at Anglo-Chinese School (Independent), in last year’s Issue 25 of Young Reader Club when we spoke to him about his links to multiculturalism. This time, we came back to talk to him and his family about his writing journey and personal life. Lucas first popped up on our radar with his dystopian story The Island’s Fortress which he wrote while studying at United World College. The story made him a finalist in the Young Author Awards 2012/2013.

Two years on, his younger brother Ethan followed in his stead, submitting a story of his own for the recent Young Author Awards 2014/2015. Entitled The Deception, Ethan’s story was about an oppressed boy who receives a mysterious power and thus, a great mission. Like his older brother, Ethan, who studies in Singapore American School, was selected as a finalist for the Young Author Awards. So on the last day of the Golden Jubilee Weekend, we stopped by the brothers’ residence to find out more about what makes their writers’ senses tick and what drives them as individuals.

A boy of many talents

IT’S IN THEIR BLOOD

Lucas and Ethan live with their mother Penny, their younger brother Deaclan, and their helper.

As we spoke with the family, we discovered a few amazing things about the brothers. “When I was younger, back in Taiwan,” Lucas revealed.

“I participated in a poetry-writing competition when I was around two years old. I wrote something about a bat - can’t really remember

the details of it though – and it won the competition.

Since then, I started to be intrigued by the creativity and the malleability of words.”

Penny confirms her eldest child’s early writing

Young Reader Club / Issue 32

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Magic & Fantasy

Archangels The

By Vito Martin

I l l u s t r a t i o n s b y V i c k i e Yo n g

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od reclined on his throne, watching the legions of cherub and angels spread out in front of Him. His brow furrowed and his gaze narrowed and he saw his lieutenant, Lucifer, shouting and gesturing.

Maybe Lucifer thought that God could not see him, that the giant redwoods could or would conceal him. God straightened suddenly: he had not expected the force of Pride to be released in Creation so soon.

Then again, maybe He was jumping to conclusions. Then he heard what Lucifer, his most trusted angel was saying:

“What do you think you’re doing, huh? Do you not realize that all this is to help the humans, a task given to us by the Creator himself! You imbecile!” he shouted.

God sat down in shock, a silly expression on his face. God knew the damage that Lucifer could do: he had made the angel to be powerful; powerful, but he hadn’t intended for him to be proud! The problem was, God couldn’t stop him: on the Seventh Day, he had said that he would not directly harm any of his creations – and that included Lucifer. Then God had an idea: to create a more powerful angel, an angel to lead all others; he would be called The Archangel. Or maybe he could make several Archangels. Yes, he would do that.

He compulsively rose and rapidly walked to the balcony. He watched Lucifer’s intent expression and felt a small twinge of sadness. The best path for this would still be just to blow over, for Lucifer to lose his small following. It would be too much to hope for Lucifer to choose to change his ways.

Lucifer, unused to such treatment, was speechless. He drew out his newly designed weapon, a long thin coil of horsehide, and was about to lash out when another of Michael’s brothers pushed Barachiel aside and said:

“Why do we serve that thing that calls himself our Lord? Are we not all just as great as Him? Why cannot we be gods?”

Lucifer

Lucifer grabbed the angel by the hair.

“Please, I am sorry,” the angel Michael answered.

Barachiel, another angel, pulled his huge form over, bellowing at Lucifer. “Get your hands off my brother! I do not care if you are God’s Lieutenant, unhand him!”

“Lucifer, relax. My brother did not mean to drop his package. Look, I’ll carry more if it will hel-” Lucifer shoved Uriel to the ground and was about to strike him with the whip when a deep voice asked, “And what are you doing? Lucifer, what did I tell you about Creations that cause pain?”

God had appeared. “My Lord!” all of them exclaimed, Lucifer with a sarcastic grin. God continued talking. “Michael, bring your brothers. I need your help.

Lucifer, stay here and continue your work.” Michael called his brothers, Uriel, Gabriel, Barachiel, Raphael and Seathiel. They followed God into the huge sequoia forest. They walked. And Young Reader Club / Issue 32

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Feature Story

G

The Archangels

Story Trivia Vito Martin’s story revolves around angels – celestial beings created to serve God (or any major deity) and help mankind. Since ancient times, humans have always seen angels as divine messengers or helpers. But as time passed and our race progressed, what are angels to us today? Are they more than just winged humanoids clothed in bright white?

Angels

Us

Let’s have a little rundown on the history of angels: research points to angels as supernatural winged humanlike beings found in various religions such as Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Sikhism. The roles of angels revolve around serving their gods and humanity – these roles include serving, protecting, guiding, influencing, carrying out divine tasks and relaying messages between gods and mortals.

The angels in Vito’s story include Michael (angel of kindness), Uriel (angel of destiny), Gabriel (angel of justice and power), Raphael (angel of healing) and Lucifer (used to serve God until he became proud and evil). It is believed that individual angels hold specific duties as they were created for such.

The benevolence and divinity of angels, believed to be a trait passed down from their creator, has always been the object of human curiosity and fascination through the ages. Artists captured the beauty and power of angels through painting, writing and sculpting.

Scholars delved into angelology to find out more about these interesting beings.

Even today, social media peeps at personal accounts of encountering angels and several modern religions

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regard angels as major deities or life guides.

Even movies and television shows have featured angels and explored possibilities behind their behaviour and history.

Perhaps angels are truly as immortal as their history shows, and still quietly help us along life in their own way.

Feature Story

Mystery & Adventure

The

Deception

By Vito Martin I l l u s t r a t i o n s b y V i c k i e Yo n g

Young Reader Club / Issue 32

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A

The Deception

man hurriedly ran across the heavily shadowed forest of Canada glancing behind him as he moved on running, always running. A mourning howl of an animal, not of any kind of dog rose behind him, the man sacrificed a glance behind him to find something that would frighten him for what remaining time of life he had left.

It was a hound, but a hound like no other, the hound glared at the man with chilling red eyes that flickered with red sparks dancing around it, that stood out from its night black coat that was the size of a full grown tiger. The hound growled at the back of its throat, freezing the man in his tracks as he stared on at the hound realizing what it was.

A supernatural hound!, He thought, A true monster, and I am seeing it right in front of my eyes! With his fear refreshed, the man picked up a stone and attempted to throw it at the Hound, but failed, as the stone fell short of its mark. The Hound, unfazed, leapt forward at the man with a howl, pinning him to the ground.

The man gagged in the fetid

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breath of the hound as it breathed on him, delighting in its catch.

The man glimpsed another person standing out in the corner of his eye and feebly croaked, “Help me!” The other man turned and revealed his features. He seemed to be an athletic man with jet black hair like the Hound and equally dark eyes.

“Help me!”, He cried out desperately once more, but the other man laughed maniacally, and the man noticed that the laughing man had red sparks dancing around him like fireflies to nectar. The other man stopped laughing and waved his hand dismissively, then said, to the hound, “Claim your prize!” and the last thing the man saw, and felt was the Hounds canine teeth’

Story Trivia

Myth and Legend often hold stories of horrible creatures that terrorize the land until a hero steps forth to save said land. And still, fast forward to modern age, monsters still fuel our imagination and countless websites are dedicated to monsters. So, why are we so invested and yet fear Monsters?

For example, the movie franchise of Godzilla continues to draw crowds. Godzilla was caused by human experimentation and a byproduct of pollution which caused the creation of the over-sized lizard. Could Godzilla represent the fear of the toll that environmental destruction is taking on Earth thus human’s fascination with its story?

But one a more personal aspect, many children fear the monster under the bed or in the closet.

Especially when the light goes out.

Could it be, that fear is linked to the fear of the dark which causes the mind to imagine things are not there which happen to be monsters .

Monsters thus represent the fear of the unknown but fear is just that, a fear. And fear is always beaten by courage and action. Hence it explains our fascination despite our fear.

Young Reader Club / Issue 32

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Feature Story

Monsters have terrified us through films and stories. In Ethan’s story, we explore monsters and why they scare us–is it merely because we fear the unknown? Throughout the ages, Monsters have come to embody more than just a mere fear but represent something else.

Walking Through Rain

Meet 23-year-old Ryan Chong and learn how he copes with Asperger’s Syndrome since a toddler

Every task is important

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n our last instalment of Walking Through Rain, we spoke to a teenager with autism who currently studies at Pathlight, one of our local institutions that aids and educates youths with special needs.

In this issue, we speak to another individual with mild autism - a youth in his early twenties who was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome when he was a toddler.

Always a happy kid Looking at ‘Asperger’s Syndrome’ and ‘mild autism’, some arguments state that the two are one and the same. Other documents refer to Asperger’s Syndrome as being less severe than autism, as those with this autism variant are able to communicate verbally and develop mentally. However, they are still faced with numerous cognitive and social challenges that leave them strained with society. But that does not mean they are unable to succeed and make something for themselves.

We met 23-year-old Ryan Chong and his mother Ms Tan Lee Choo at Dignity Kitchen, where Ryan had been working for a few weeks to pick up experience. That day was his birthday celebration and there Ryan was, switching between clearing plates and giving cake and tokens to some visiting elderly. He was a little shy, yet polite and soft-spoken. Both mother and son shared with us their life stories, and it was a living testament to not just their perseverance but also to the immense role that support plays in one’s life.

Young Reader Club / Issue 32

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H

ave you ever felt tired of going to school?

Many of us have the luxury of either riding the school bus to school or have our parents drive us to school.

However, not everyone is so fortunate. Do you know that in other parts of the world, children have to face an arduous journey each day just to attend school.

Learning doesn’t come easily for them as they take on the most incredible and unimaginable routes in order to receive the education we may take for granted.

Unlike developed countries like Singapore, finding a safe and suitable classroom in some rural provinces is often a challenge for them.

This list we collected will show you just how determined some children can be when it comes to getting an education.

Bijie, southwest China’s Guizhou Province

Children walk for 5 hours along a narrow 1ft wide mountain road to get to school. Banpo Elementary School is located halfway up a mountain and each day students from the nearby Genguan village have to climb a narrow winding footpath cut into the mountainside to get to school.

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This is an intensive introduction to composition writing. Aspiring writers will also learn the art of illustrating from a professional artist.

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Young Author Scheme Advanced (AYAS) This programme is NAC endorsed and is entitled to a 50% subsidy. Young Authors craft a story of 10,000 words or more while exploring indepth characterisation, story structure and tools to grip readers right to the last page of their story!

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For workshop schedules and other information, please contact Janus Education at: T: 63368985 E: books@catherinekhoo.sg 261 Waterloo Centre #03-08 Waterloo Street, Singapore 180261 Young Reader Club / Issue 32

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