Creating children’s curiosity: A Peek into the Lives of Inspiring People
Panel Imelda Naomi, Low Lai Chow, Priscilla Hoon-Tan, Shawn Tan | Moderator: Melanie Lee
Join us for a dynamic panel discussion on the rising trend of biography picture books in children's literature. Delve into the impact on children's curiosity, dissect the nuances between traditional and narrative non-fiction biographies, and unravel the creative process harmonizing facts and creativity.
Imelda Naomi (Indonesia)
Naomi holds a Bachelor’s in Food Technology and a Master’s in Food Industry Management. She has published 10 picture books, including The Dream Weaver and Luftan and The Monster, which depict the inspiring stories of young teenagers. In 2022, she was chosen as one of Melbourne’s Virtual Writers in Residence.
Low Lai Chow (Singapore)
A journalist by profession, Low Lai Chow is a children's book author with nine books to her name including Becoming Margaret Leng Tan: The World's First Toy Piano Virtuoso (2023) and Catch Mee If You Can: Find the Noodles, Eat the Noodles! (2022), which was nominated for Best Picture Book at Singapore Book Awards 2023. She is the creator of National Gallery Singapore's Art for Tinies (2020) board book series and has worn multiple hats as publisher, illustrator and author of Penguins Eat Pancakes (2022). Her attempts at doodling are best described as questionable.
Priscilla Hoon-Tan (Singapore)
Priscilla Hoon-Tan is the co-creator of the Awesome Women Series. She calls herself an “accidental author” – prior to writing and running a business, she spent 7 years as a professional in the finance industry. With two young daughters, she co-created the Awesome Women Series with her husband to empower young girls everywhere with inspiring stories of female role models. Her interests include girl empowerment, early literacy and financial literacy for children. She is currently working on a new series of gender-neutral books for young readers.
Shawn Tan (Singapore)
Shawn Tan is a lawyer by profession and a children’s book author by passion. With two young daughters, he co-created the Awesome Women Series with his wife to empower young girls everywhere with inspiring stories of female role models. His interests include early childhood education and the Japanese concept of Ikigai — finding one's purpose and joy in life. Through the Awesome Women Series, he hopes to inspire children to be anything they want to be and to navigate life’s adventures with courage and purpose.
Moderator Melanie Lee (Singapore)
Melanie is an award-winning author of the graphic novel series Amazing Ash & Superhero Ah Ma, the picture book series, The Adventures of Squirky the Alien, and the travel guide series Out & About in Singapore. In addition, she has edited children’s books such as Hurry, Murry! and the How to be Human picture book series. She is also a part-time communications lecturer at the Singapore University of Social Sciences.
Programme dates and times are subject to change.