Whenever I’m planning to take the kids to an attraction for the first time or to a place they have not visited in a while, I find it useful for them to read about the destination beforehand. Usually, they would get quite excited and have lots to look forward to and look out for when we are there. And after the visit, the kids get to relive their experience by reading the books again.
So when we were planning trips to Night Safari and S.E.A. Aquarium recently, these books by author David Seow were very handy: Sam, Sebbie & Di-Di-Di: At the Night Safari and Sam, Sebbie & Di-Di-Di: At the S.E.A. Aquarium. In both stories, the three children pay a visit to the respective locations and embark on an interesting adventure. I like that the books are not just about what the children see and do but the plot has them in a situation where they have to get creative in order to solve a problem.
In Sam, Sebbie & Di-Di-Di: At the Night Safari, the siblings have to figure out how to move a giraffe who has fallen asleep right in the path of the tram. During our visit to the Night Safari, Anya and Adam were busy looking out for animals that they had seen in the book and were delighted when a tapir came very close to the tram. After the visit, they talked about all the animals there and compared them with the ones in the book.
Sam, Sebbie & Di-Di-Di: At the Night Safari
checking out the animals we can see there
at the Night Safari!
adventure is out there
we read about the tram in the book
meeting some of the animals
watching the show
learning about recycling
In Sam, Sebbie & Di-Di-Di: At the S.E.A. Aquarium, Di-Di-Di goes missing and Sam & Sebbie go around all the tanks to ask if any of the sea creatures have seen Di-Di-Di and they find him in the most unusual place. Like with the other book, the kids were also very excited to spot the underwater creatures that they had read about in the book. The books help to make the visits more enriching and meaningful for the kids and it doesn’t hurt that the illustrations are so beautiful.
Sam, Sebbie & Di-Di-Di: At the S.E.A. Aquarium
checking out the fish
they even brought the book along
admiring the fish swimming overhead
making friends
touching a star fish
feeding time
they read about the rays in the book
The Sam, Sebbie & Di-Di-Di books are available from Epigram Books and they are currently having 30% off all books with a minimum spending of $40 (with code HAPPY4TH) until 12 July. This would be a good time to snap up all the books in the Sam, Sebbie & Di-Di-Di series or get some other fabulous books. We like the Lee Kuan Yew series by Patrick Yee!