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The Castle Library reminds that sometimes you find the best treasures in books
The Castle Library is a story about Princess Lily who loves to travel. From travel, she learned many new things. She has seen Pyramids of Giza, walked along Great Walls of China and practically travel from one end of the world to the other.
One day, Princess Lily ran out of places to visit because she visited all. Her father, the Sultan, summoned all wise people in his kingdom for ideas on where to travel next. The engineer suggested a rocket and off to the moon she went. And then the pilot suggested hot air balloon and off she went to touch the fluffy clouds.
Then there’s no more places to go. Out of boredom, Princess Lily went to the old library that her great, great, great grandfather had built. After reading many books, she realised that she could actually travel to places she never been. She travelled down the rabbit holes as well as sat on a wishing chair that took her to surprising places.
“Father, I have found the best treasures in books. They are so inspiring,” the princess told her father.
After hearing the delightful news, the Sultan threw a party and opened the library to public.
Princess Lily still travels to places she had been but this time she will bring back new books and toys for the library.
Credit images: Evi Shelvia
Personally, I can resonate well with this story. I love to travel but there are still a lot of places that I have yet to visit. I sometimes wander to all the places in my bucket list by reading books, travel magazines as well as visit websites about the countries. Like the princess, I like to buy books from places that Ivisited and keep it in my own library. But oh how I wish to have a tree library like the one that the princess has.
The writer, Hayati Hanif wrote this story to show how reading enriches the imagination and one does not have to be confined to one place. She has written a number of books for children. This is her first picture book in English.
Evi Shelvia, the illustrator, also a friend of mine, really nailed it. Her imaginations were so wild and out-of-this-world that I myself could not ever think of illustrating. Kudos!
Evi was born in Jakarta. She studied industrial design. In 2009 her family moved to Kuala Lumpur following her husband’s new appointment. The first picture book she illustrated, The Gift of the Ladybug, was an Amazon bestseller on the first day of its launch. This encouraged her to illustrate children’s picture books professionally. She has illustrated for a number of picture books both locally and internationally.
This is a book to help your child discover the magic of reading and the adventures that can be found in the imagination. You can buy online at Oyez Book Store.
Title: The Castle Library
Publisher :Oyez!Books
ISBN :9789670908014
Author :Hayati Hanif
Illustrator :Evi Shelvia -
Going to Frankfurt again this year
I have not missed the Frankfurt Book Fair (FBF) for the last 3 years and certainly will not going to miss it this year. Having made friends and connections with publishers from around the world, it is hard to say no to FBF and Frankfurt itself. I like to think of Frankfurt as my 2nd home. 🙂
A lovely fall scenery near Main River.This year will be different as I will travel with a writer friend, Syikin, and will be sharing a room together. Planning for accommodation is good because during the book fair, all hotels in the area will mark up their hotel price. If normal rate is Euro 50, the rate will go up to Euro 100 or more.
Using HotelsCombined, Syikin and I found a cheap hotel in the central station (Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof), a walking distance (about 10 minutes) to the book fair.
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