Lost in Singapore - feauturing Matthew Cooper

There have been many children's books written about Singapore and this would not be the last for sure.

However what caught our eye about this very interesting book, when we were flying on Singapore Airlines recently, was that it was actually featured in Silver Kris (the airline's in-flight magazine). What piqued our curoisity further was that, we could not buy the book on board the plane and could only get it at certain major book stores. This began our hunt to find the author behind this book and his motivations for writing -  Lost in Singapore.

The team @ Owl Readers Club used all its available resources and contacts and thankfully Singapore being so small, meant that we managed to hunt down Matt Cooper in days! We spent some time with this affable English SAHD&A (stay at home daddy & author!) who recently moved over to Singapore from Hong Kong and was plesantly surprised to find an unassuming father who takes pride in his craft and whose greatest joy (apart from his family of course) is to spread reading and creativity to our young ones and to all who is young at heart!

From Matt Cooper himself:

"I only really became interested in picture books when my first child was born. I was a stay-at-home dad so I spent quite a lot of time looking for books that I thought would interest him. And I soon found out that there were very few books set in a world that he’d recognize – Hong Kong. So I decided I’d have to remedy this by writing my own! And 7 books later I’m still doing it and it’s the best job I’ve ever had. 

I think every book should be a learning opportunity – if my kids find a word they don’t understand I think of that as a positive thing. And when I produce my own books I try to include at least 2 pages of non-fiction that relate to the story. In my first Singapore-based book, Lost in Singapore, I had a section on transport; in my latest book, Singapore Snowflakes, I’ve got a section on polar bears.

I love the freedom that author’s have when writing picture books – anything can happen! I’ve had talking animals, runaway pets, tropical snowfall and bizarre journeys. For me it’s a case of the weirder the better! In a world where there’s pressure for kids to grow up faster than ever and where digital devices are constantly begging for attention, I think that children’s fiction will play a key role in keeping our children’s minds creative. And in a changing world where the jobs they’ll be doing probably don’t exist yet, creativity could be the most important skill we could give them."

Intrigued yet? Do not take our word for it, grab Lost in Singapore today and tell us what you think!

Specially for our members @ Owl Readers Club, those who purchase this book will automatically stand a chance to win a copy of Singapore Snowflakes as soon as it is published! Two winners will have the opportunity to own this latest book off the press! Stay tune on our social media channels to find out who the lucky winners are!

*If you are a Singapore-based author and/or illustrator of children's picture book, drop us a note (writetous@owlreaders.club). We want to hear about your book and work with you so that as many people as possible can share what you have created!