Recommendations by Celebrities

HAC's Storyland invited the views of four celebrities on ways to encourage children and youth to read more and ways to share reading experiences with youngsters. In addition, the celebrities recommended some of their favourite books.

 

Professor Charles K. Kao, Patron of the HAC

According to Professor Kao, "I appreciate the sense behind a story. Although not all stories would have a happy ending, all of them are meaningful".

Professor Kao, a scientist who is recognized as the "Father of Fiber Optics", observed that "Reading would help a person to improve. It would not be affected by external environment. You can choose your direction and achieve your goal."

He feels that children's unwillingness to read books can be attributed to parents and schools. Parents sometimes do not explain and also do not allow children to ask questions. Schools only focus on repetition and rote memorization which can hinder children from innovative development. Children then feel that books are boring and are easily tempted into the computer world.

The first step of encouraging children to read is by arousing their interest and allowing them to express their feelings. Even if there is failure, the experience would be invaluable. Parents and teachers should guide children to challenge those traditional principles. As a result, children would be able to draw their own conclusions and build up their self-confidence.

Professor Kao recommends children to read the Collection of Anderson's Tales and Stories; people feel great admiration for the loyalty of characters in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The picture version is most suitable for children; 「奇趣科學館」uses stories to explain scientific phenomenon and is very interesting.

 

Dr Fernando Cheung, Legislative Councillor

Dr Cheung who has 3 children expresses the view "to allow children to analyse and decide what they want to do, establish their own ability to analyse, and develop own their personal views."

He is too busy every day and thus he does not have enough time to read books with them. He realised that his little boy would prefer the internet and TV games to reading and that it is difficult for traditional story books to compete with the rapid development of information technology.

Discipline and strong effort would be required to establish a reading habit. For example, schools can organise reading competitions; organisations can also help children to build up a reading habit. Dr Cheung hopes that by fostering a love for reading, children will have a spirit of exploration and the potentials of a future leader.

Dr Cheung recommends children to read 「我是未來領袖 35個小學生必備的國際常識」and wishes children can explore with their eyes, establish their own judgement, and be prepared to become future leaders.

 

Ms Almen Wong, Artist and Yoga Teacher

"For children to cultivate a reading habit, parents should set good examples" is the belief of Ms Wong.

Ms. Wong as a mother, pays much attention to the cultivation of the reading habits of children. She would tell a story to her little daughter before she sleeps. "It would be a punishment to my daughter if I cancel it." Ms Wong laughed.

She advises that parents should set good examples to children. She points out that if parents only watch television at home, how can they help children to establish a good reading habit? External information would only help children to receive part of the whole picture, which is impractical. She suggests parents should not allow children to watch television or play games alone, but to have outdoor activities together and establish an intimate relationship.

 

She feels that a bedside story should be short, simple and of wide topic and would prefer story books with interactive elements, which allow interaction of parents and children. Although it is difficult to search for suitable pre-sleep story books, patience would make it a success.

 

Krusty, Young Idols and Singers

"We hope our fans would read more books so that learn more new knowledge." Krusty said.

Jan, a member of Krusty, said that she visited the school library every day when she was a student. However, she developed "a bad habit" - she read books at night under a weak lighting. This is the reason why she needs to wear glasses now! Another member, Chucky said that perseverance is very important for developing a reading habit. She insists on reading every day, even only can read a few pages once she has started reading a book. She will finish one book before starting another one, to ensure she will finish the whole book!

Krusty added that they would write diary, post it on their website and share with their fans. They would also recommend books to their fans when they know any good items. By this opportunity, Jan brings us a book called 「全世界孩子都喜歡的100個童話」, you may find some famous tales in it, like "The Ugly Duckling". Then, Chucky recommends a "flower collection" called The Complete Book of the Flower Fairies, which is a colourful English book.

 

Books recommended

Title:Collection of Hans Andersen's Fairy Tales
Author:Hans Christian Andersen
Publisher:Host & Sons Forlag
Year of Published:2004
Description:Contains 80 famous fairy tales, which include the most famous ones, like "The Ugly Duckling", "The Little Match-Seller"and "The Emperor's New Clothes".

Title:Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Author:羅貫中
Publisher:Ming Pao
Year of Published:2005
Description:One of the four most famous literature in China. It describes the history of Han Dynasty, and the period of post-Han Dynasty. The book is full of wisdom and suitable for people of all ages.

Title:「奇趣科學館」
Author:施仲杰
Publisher:精英出版社
Year of Published:N/A
Description:A book of scientific cases, which uses 10 interesting stories to explain 10 daily sciences.

Title:35 Kinds of International Wisdom for Children Dreaming to Become Global Leaders
Author:施仲杰
Publisher:Sun Color Culture Publishing Co Ltd
Year of Published:2006
Description:Contains 35 pieces of global knowledge for pupils, for example "What is United Nations?", "Functions of International Criminal Police Organization", and "How to lessen Green House Effect?"; simple but profound.

Title:「Learn To Read With」
Author:Sue Graves
Publisher:The Book Studio
Year of Published:2003
Description:A set of books from the United States. Children can learn knowledge from various exercises and activities between parents and themselves.

Title:「全世界孩子都喜歡的100個童話」
Author:克•施特里希
Publisher:Peace Book Co Ltd
Year of Published:2005
Description:Contains the most famous fairy tales such as "Cinderella", "Snowy White" and "Mermaid".

Title:The Complete Book of the Flower Fairies
Author:Cicely Mary Barker
Publisher:Frederick Warne & Co
Year of Published:1996
Description:10 stories based on the theme of flowers can be found in this book. Some of them are categorized by seasons.

 

 


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