Grandma’s Tiger
Written by Alan John, Illustrated by Quek Hong Shin
Was it really a tiger that Grandma saw on Pulau Ubin while gathering clams one warm, sunny morning? And what will animal expert Dr Sunny Banuna and his team find when they embark on their big tiger hunt across the island?
From the award-winning duo of Alan John and Quek Hong Shin comes another charming and lively children’s story, Grandma’s Tiger. The tale was inspired by a slice of Singapore history – a few frenzied days in 1997 when a tiger was “spotted” on Ubin. Children will turn the pages eagerly as they, too, go on a tiger search and try to spot the tiger along the way. The book is also filled with many beautifully-rendered illustrations of other creatures found in the region, such as the tiger beetle, the giant Asian mantis and the knobbly sea star. Grandma's Tiger won the Best Picture Book award in the 2023 Singapore Book Awards, organised by the Singapore Book Publishers Association.
Alan John (Author)
Alan John is a journalist, writer and editorial trainer. He is the director of the Asia Journalism Fellowship and a consulting editor of the South China Morning Post. In 2023, Alan joined the SPH Media Academy as a trainer for its journalism programmes. His children’s book, Grandma’s Tiger, illustrated by Quek Hong Shin, won the Best Picture Book award at the Singapore Book Awards 2023. Grandma’s Tiger was also included in The White Ravens 2023 recommendation list by the International Youth Library. Alan remembers the excitement in Singapore the year residents of Pulau Ubin said they saw a tiger.
Quek Hong Shin (Illustrator)
Quek Hong Shin is a children’s book author and illustrator. His picture books were twice nominated for the Hedwig Anuar Children’s Book Award and two have won Best Picture Book at the Singapore Book Awards - The Incredible Basket, which he wrote and illustrated, in 2019, and Grandma’s Tiger, written by Alan John and illustrated by Hong Shin, in 2023. Grandma’s Tiger is in the International Youth Library’s White Ravens 2023 recommendation list. Hong Shin visited Pulau Ubin with Alan and they did not see a tiger, but they met a man who insisted it had walked past his house.