Got this for the Kiddo at Kinokuniya on Orchard Road in Singapore.
Title: The Diary of Amos Lee: I Sit, I Write, I Flush
Issue: Volume 1
Publisher: Epigram Books
Date: 2009
Writer: Adeline Foo
Artist: Stephanie Wong
When we were exploring Singapore, I took the Kiddo (my son, age 9) to the Kinokuniya book store on Orchard Road. I picked this out basically assuming that this was Diary of a Wimpy Kid, but set in Singapore. I was pleasantly surprised to find that, while it had some similarities, this book had a very unique and distinctive flavor as compared to the Wimpy Kid books.
Amos Lee is a typical Singaporean kid whose mother has decided that he should get in some writing practice whenever he sits down on the toilet. This diary is the result. The story follows one full calendar year of Amos' life, and it brings in current events at the time of writing, as well as loads of local flavor and culture.
In places, this story reads almost like a Singapore travel guide, with the occasional snarky comment. The book is not loaded with jokes the way the Wimpy Kid books are, but there is plenty of humor, and Amos Lee has a more snarky and subtle side to his sense of humor.
As the story progresses, more plot elements come into play. There is a school bully who has been bothering Amos and his friends, and Amos is constantly coming up with new money-making schemes to earn cash for the portable video game system he has his sights set on.
Over the course of the year, we see Singaporean events like Lunar New Year, the National Day Parade, the F-1 race, and Deepavali. There are references to many of the sights, sounds, tastes, and smells of the city. It was fun reading about places we had gotten to visit where we were in Singapore, as well as seeing other areas of the city through Amos' eyes.
The plot takes a while to build up, and the book feels a bit random in the early going, but it intensifies as it reaches the end, and I liked the fact that the bullying issue is not resolved in perfect storybook fashion.
It also helps that, in spite of some cynical and lazy tendencies, Amos is a fairly likeable character with some well-developed interests and some moments of introspection and compassion.
Rating: 7.5/10
Title: The Diary of Amos Lee: I Sit, I Write, I FlushIssue: Volume 1
Publisher: Epigram Books
Date: 2009
Writer: Adeline Foo
Artist: Stephanie Wong
When we were exploring Singapore, I took the Kiddo (my son, age 9) to the Kinokuniya book store on Orchard Road. I picked this out basically assuming that this was Diary of a Wimpy Kid, but set in Singapore. I was pleasantly surprised to find that, while it had some similarities, this book had a very unique and distinctive flavor as compared to the Wimpy Kid books.
Amos Lee is a typical Singaporean kid whose mother has decided that he should get in some writing practice whenever he sits down on the toilet. This diary is the result. The story follows one full calendar year of Amos' life, and it brings in current events at the time of writing, as well as loads of local flavor and culture.
In places, this story reads almost like a Singapore travel guide, with the occasional snarky comment. The book is not loaded with jokes the way the Wimpy Kid books are, but there is plenty of humor, and Amos Lee has a more snarky and subtle side to his sense of humor.
As the story progresses, more plot elements come into play. There is a school bully who has been bothering Amos and his friends, and Amos is constantly coming up with new money-making schemes to earn cash for the portable video game system he has his sights set on.
Over the course of the year, we see Singaporean events like Lunar New Year, the National Day Parade, the F-1 race, and Deepavali. There are references to many of the sights, sounds, tastes, and smells of the city. It was fun reading about places we had gotten to visit where we were in Singapore, as well as seeing other areas of the city through Amos' eyes.
The plot takes a while to build up, and the book feels a bit random in the early going, but it intensifies as it reaches the end, and I liked the fact that the bullying issue is not resolved in perfect storybook fashion.
It also helps that, in spite of some cynical and lazy tendencies, Amos is a fairly likeable character with some well-developed interests and some moments of introspection and compassion.
Rating: 7.5/10
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