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Sypnosis:

Sylvia's mum, Marjorie, gives her an ugly wooden chest. That very night, Sylvia hears strange sounds and gets the shock of her life when she realises that the carvings on the chest have come alive. She befriends Tukty and his little family and is told that they have a condition that can only be cured by another little family that lives in another chest.

In this story, Sylvia goes through many adventures to find the other chest, while keeping Marjorie in the dark. Eventually, she manages to track down the other chest. There is an emotional reunion between the two little families who are related and used to belong to one chest. Then the search for the materials needed for the antidote begins.

Will Sylvia let Marjorie in on the secret and can they race against time to make the antidote and save the lives of Tuktu and his family?

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Nine Little People Who Lived In a Chest by Wee Su May can be bought in any MPH Bookstore in Malaysia and Singapore at RM29.90.

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Click here for a book review of Nine Little People Who Lived In a Chest.

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Student Essay 32: Television by Eugenia Kwon

Should children be allowed to watch television? By Eugenia Kwon, Grade 6, ISKL

Today, there is at least one television in everyone’s houses. Most people in developed countries watch television for at least two hours a day. The television has become an important machine to us. They show us other countries, news, history of ancient times and so much more. Sometimes they are useful but sometimes they are not. Watching too many cartoons or comedies isn’t good for us. Moreover, we should watch television for a reasonable amount of time because it isn’t good to waste time. Sometimes, parents tell their children not to watch television. However, I believe that children should be allowed to watch television for several reasons.

Firstly, children should be allowed to watch television because it is educational. There are useful documentaries on some channels. If children watch documentaries, they can learn about other countries’ history and culture. They can also learn about nature and the animal kingdom. There are many channels that can help us increase our knowledge. For example, there is a program in Korea called ‘Master of Study’. This program teaches us how to study. It gives us good tips on how to study for different subjects such as Math, Science and languages. On top of that, children can also learn about current affairs from the news. They will know what is going on in their country and the world. The news also tells us bad things like crime and diseases so we will be careful.

Secondly, students can learn a language more easily by watching television. Students can hear how native people use the language. For example, I am learning Spanish and I don’t get to hear it much because it is mostly spoken in South America. When there are any Spanish programs on television, I watch them and listen to how the language is spoken. Therefore, when a student learns another language, it is useful to hear it. Also, they might hear new words that they can use somewhere else. Whenever I hear a new word, I ask my teacher about it. That is how I improve on my language. Thus, children will be able to speak more fluently if they are allowed to watch television. Hearing a conversation can change their pronunciation and help them develop a more natural way of speaking the language.

Thirdly, television is entertaining. It helps children to relieve their stress and boredom. If students get too stressed, they can become ill. Every day, after I finish my homework, I ask my mother if I could rest for a while. After she says, “Yes,” I either watch television or use the computer. Before starting the next homework, I often rest first. This prevents me from getting stressed. It isn’t good for children to study non-stop because they will get bored of doing their work. Children should rest and play too. Playing helps them to relax. Watching television also helps. If students study all the time, they won’t be good at socializing with their friends. Before I got cable television, I felt so isolated because I couldn’t participate in conversations about television programs. Hence, watching television is also a good way to become more sociable.

These are the reasons why watching television is good for children. It helps children to relax, it increases their knowledge and it is entertaining. It also helps them socialize with their friends. These are the ways television help children all around the world.

Student Essay 31: Pets by Shin Tae Min

Should pets be treated like family members? By Shin Tae Min, Year 9, Sayfol.

Do you like your family to be kicked? In the past, many people used dogs for hunting because they are wild, fast and they have sensitive noses so they could track targets easily. Nowadays, not many people hunt and they keep dogs as pets instead. Unfortunately, some owners hit their pets or treat them badly. Pets used to do whatever their owners ordered them to do but now they have rights to be treated as well as a family member. I think pets also have the right to be taken care of like a family member.

Firstly, pets are living things. Even though they are animals and have lower intelligence than we do, they have rights too because they are living things like human beings. They also like to enjoy their life and have fun. I once saw a dog that was abandoned by its owner and it was roaming around a rubbish yard. I was so sad to see that. I do not think that animals should be mistreated this way. In addition, a lot of these animals have lost their natural habitats because of human activity. Therefore, we have the responsibility to take care of them. We must take care of them like a family member because they are also creatures that breathe and live.

Next, pets have feelings, like we do. If we are sad, pets can play with us so that we don’t feel lonely. There is a Korean belief that feeding our pets can help us overcome our depression. Animals, like us, have feelings such as hunger, sadness and happiness. They are very similar to us in that respect. Besides that, they are also very loyal. There is a story about a man who woke up the middle of the night and found that he was surrounded by fire. His dog ran to a nearby river, wet itself, ran back and rolled itself on the fire to put it out. It sacrificed its own life so that its owner could survive. Stories like this abound and they show that animals are not only similar to us in many ways, but they may be better than us in some ways. Thus, we should take good care of them.

Finally, if we respect our pets, they will be more ready to obey us. If we treat them well, they will listen to us because they regard us as family. However, if we don’t respect or ill-treat them, they could harm us. I once saw on television a dog which often bit its mistress. Its master and the children were puzzled. Finally, they found out that she often beat the dog and didn’t feed it whenever she was left alone with it. So, if we treat our pets well, they will do whatever we tell them to do in order to earn our love. We will be able to discipline them if they behave badly like like we discipline our children. Hence, we must treat them well so that they will also treat us well and respect us.

In summary, pets should be treated like family members because they are living creatures with emotions. In my opinion, we should take good care of them because they are very helpful so we must repay their kindness. We should definitely not ill-treat or destroy the habitats of animals.

Student Essay 30: Family Traditions by Kwag Kyung Seo

Important Family Traditions by Kwag Kyung Seo, Year 11, ISKL

Do you have any important family traditions? My family has several important traditions and I would like to tell you about two of them.

To begin with, among all the traditions that my family has, the one that I like the most involves playing traditional games whenever our extended families meet up at my grandparents’ house. We play many different types of traditional games, including card games, board games and yard games. These games are important because we area all equal – regardless of age, gender or status. Everyone has an equal chance to win. Often, we play a game called ‘Yut-Nol-Yi’, a traditional game which originated from the ancient Korean Empire ‘Goguryeo’. To play the game, we form teams of four. The members of each team must be from different nuclear families. We have to work closely together to win the game. This really helps us to maintain a good relationship with each other. Moreover, it is fun and makes us look forward to gatherings at our grandparents’ house every holiday.

Furthermore, on every important holiday, like New Year’s Day and Thanksgiving Day, my family holds a huge feast for the entire village. It is our way of giving back to the people. As my grandparents are generous and pro-active people, they often help poor people, even when they were poor themselves. Now, their children continue their kind deeds. Since I was born, my family have been holding parties for everyone in the village. I enjoy the parties because they are attended by everyone I know in the village. Although we spend a large amount of money on the feasts, we don’t mind because what we get back is far greater than what we put in. However, our party has gotten smaller recently due to economic recession.

Overall, these two traditions are my favorite ones. Because of them, my family can maintain close relationships with each other and with the villagers. We also learn how important it is to spread happiness to others, especially the poor and suffering.

Student Essay 29: Twenty Cents Coin by Wee Su Lin

A day in the life of a twenty cents coin by Wee Su Lin, Year 8, Sayfol International School

I am a twenty cents coin. I was in a wealthy man’s wallet. I was content with my life because I was not in the trash, street or a beggar’s hand. Some of my friends were suffering in beggars’ hands. I pitied them because they were unimportant. I didn’t have to suffer because I thought I would always be in the rich man’s wallet. But that was only my illusion.

One morning, my owner went out. He drove his limousine to town and there was a bad traffic jam. Beside his limousine was a beggar asking for money. My owner took out his wallet and opened the window. My friends and I wondered who would be sacrificed. Unfortunately, it was me! My owner placed me on the beggar’s palm and the beggar threw me into his basket. I felt like the world was crashing down. I really hated to be in the beggar’s basket.

I realized that I would never get back into the rich man’s wallet again. I had to live in the unpleasant beggar’s basket. However, I made some friends there. They told me their life stories. Some of them had also been in rich men’s wallets, just like me. Soon, more coins joined us in the basket. Passers-by were throwing coins into the beggar’s basket. They didn’t know how we felt. How sad we were when we were with the beggar!
Suddenly, there was a heavy storm, the beggar quickly took his money and ran under the shade of a tree. It was raining heavily. Out of the blue, a man pushed the beggar and I was flung out of the basket. Nobody noticed it. When I fell onto the ground, everybody had disappeared from my sight. How could this happen? It was the worst day of my life. It was better to be in the beggar’s basket than on the wet and dirty ground. I regretted my previous attitude towards the beggar and his basket.

After a few hours, the rain stopped. I was still on the ground, unnoticed. Then a woman came. She was a sweeper. She swept me, among rubbish and dirt, into a dustpan and threw me into a garbage bin. I was totally helpless. So my day ended up in the garbage bin.