"Hello Bali" by Giselle Shardlow

Have you been to Bali? I have not. This latest book by Giselle Shardlow gives an insight of how it might be like in Bali with the sun and the sea, not forgetting the beautiful dancers and the lovely padi field. This book is recommended for 2.5-6 years old. The keywords written in this book increases Little One's list of vocabulary. Words such as "sunbathers" and "villagers" introduce Little One to a new concept and way of life since these are not a common sight in Singapore. I also like the descriptive sentences such as "rays of light" and "rolling waves". I loves the way the illustrators draws out the rays of sun. The whole book looks so warm and welcoming that one can easily visualise the Bali sceneries in the mind.

As this is also a yoga book, don't forget to introduce your children to the yoga moves!

At the end of the story, you get to learn counting 1-20 in Malay as well as some Malay phrases. Coincidently, Little One and I have been learning and playing with an phone app to learn Malay.

A map of Bali is included but I think it would be better to include a map of Indonesia as well so that children get the chance to find out where exactly Bali is.

Some Ideas and Activities you can do with this book

1) Read the book to the child/ children and get them do some yoga together.
2) After reading, get the child/ children to recall what they have seen. You may want to proceed with getting them to do the corresponding yoga pose.
3) Find out more about Bali and share the information with your children.
4) Google for images of Bali dancers, Padi Rice and Pura Gubug temple and show them to your children..