This post is purely out of nostalgia. This was my p1a English textbook some 30 years ago (yes, I kept it!) Published by McGraw-Hill, it's called Adventures in Reading. It was easy for me even back then, but that was a much simpler time where parents actually sent their kids to primary school to learn how to read. Compared to today where you need to know how to read before you enter primary school otherwise you're toast.
Each page only had a few lines with several words used repeatedly, I guess to reinforce learning of the words. The stories were so simple that they didn't register with me at all, but I do remember being quite captivated by the pictures because they were so vivid and vibrantly coloured.
Rummaging through my cupboard, I found a stack of my old exercise books and whadya know! My p1 English exercise book was one of them. Flipping through it brought back a flood of memories. As part of English work in class, we had to copy out a page of text and the accompanying picture. Below is my copy of the textbook illustration and text above.
Funnily enough, the highlight of my English class was not the English but the drawing! I loved drawing the pictures. Looks like I even got a star :D But one thing's for sure, my penmanship has definitely deteriorated over the years!
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15 comments:
WHAAAT?! You drew that in P1??? Prodigy lah. And your colouring was so vivid and all within line, must have been teacher's pet.
And the fact that you still have these books! And your last post talks about not being a hoarder LOL!
I'd like to see more from your past, really interesting.
My mum threw out a lot but I did save quite a few, even found composition books and Chinese composition books (barely passing!!) Will try and post more, this blast from the past is so fun!
You are fantastic, Mon! L-A has certainly inherited your artistic skills plus creative writing prowess! Man! You can draw (and colour) so well at P1!
I remember I could only draw a stick man! LOL.
Hey, I can't really remember this English Textbook. Is it a publication by Panpac Media or something... or maybe from Pacific Bookstore?
Ann: no lah paiseh, I'm only good at copying. Till this day, I find it very difficult to create art, can only copy.
I'm not sure whether textbooks during our time were standardised for all schools. This one was by McGraw Hill Far Eastern Publishers. Ring any bell? But we didn't use the same series every year. I recall the p3-6 textbooks were all different, but I didn't keep any of them.
Hey...you copied wrongly and the teacher didn't correct. Saw it? It should have been "off" and not "of". :)
Yes I noticed. Who are you, btw? I usually hesitate to publish anonymous comments.
Very good drawing! You had great motor skills for that age!
I think when I was P1, I couldn't even read 'in'. :-P
Chris
WOW, great art copying there! And same here, I don't remember this book. But now I know where the Bengs and Lians name come from... :P
Btw, your book still in great condition.
Pfft. Your house must be very big, to keep 30 yrs of stuff!! Farny! And I really enjoyed your drawing. You've got a good eye for details and motion! I think I was still drawing stick pictures then, and uh, haven't improved that much ever since either!
Hi
I'm a new reader of your blog and I must say that it's very good. I was laughing for hours when I read my way through your archives.
That is one good drawing. I used to be able to draw stick figures and I coloured out of the lines.
I used to use a much harder textbook. So jealous of the system in your time.
Thanks ladies! Wah, now my head so big already. Must post more drawings since can inflate my ego so much :D
Veronica: Thanks for reading! Happy you like my blog. Yup, the textbook was pretty easy, maybe cos I wasn't in one of the top ranking schools so they had to cater to kids who really couldn't read? I know we didn't even write compositions until p3 but my friends in other schools like RGS started from p1.
Thanks SO MUCH for providing the joy of nostalgia! This was my English text book back in 1976. We had 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, and so on. I googled it to stroll down the memory lane, and your post was the only one that got me to it. I wish I could recreate the simple world that these books helped me create around myself.
I know this is asking for too much, but would it be possible for you to scan the entire book into a PDF and email it to me? I searched on the web and I don't see it anywhere else. I cannot explain the joy that it would bring me. Regardless, thanks so much for posting this gem from my childhood.
Amer: Nice to hear from someone else who had the same textbook! Umm... scanning the whole book would take a lot of time leh, sorry...
Omg...I was just recalling the stories from this book n so wish my 5 yr old daughter could also read these classics....I have tried to search for it frm old book stores n even on the internet...yours is the only post I have come across...plz be kind enough to upload all pages of the book...
Umm... same reply as above and that's a big favour to ask from an anonymous comment...
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