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　　Unravel the beauty of choices with "The Red String", a captivating picture book presented by The National Kidney Foundation, featuring the inimitable illustrations of Ah Guo 阿果, along with writer Perry Ho. The story narrates the delightful adventure of a boy as he navigates life’s choices, symbolised by the red string that represents our interconnected existence.

　　Through this heartwarming tale of love, hope, and self-discovery, young readers are encouraged to recognise the impact of the choices today that may shape their tomorrows. This initiative subtly aims to heighten awareness of kidney health, weaving a tale that explores diverse perspectives and fosters new connections.

　　"Planting the seeds of kidney disease prevention in the minds of the young is the key to cultivating a healthier future. By instilling awareness and healthy habits early on, we empower the next generation to make informed choices, fostering a foundation of well-being that reaches far beyond themselves. Investing in the health education of our youth is an investment in a future where kidney disease is not just treated but prevented, paving the way for a generation that values and prioritizes lifelong well-being." Said Tim Oei, Chief Executive Officer, NKF.

　　There is a pressing need for our next generations to be aware of the choices they make. With its simple yet profound messaging, "The Red String" hopes to captivate and capture the imagination of young readers, and spur them on their own journeys of well-being and discovery.

２０２４大众“读者票选好书” 中文组优胜者
Popular Reader’s Choice Award 2024 Winner

　　Unravel the beauty of choices with "The Red String", a captivating picture book presented by The National Kidney Foundation, featuring the inimitable illustrations of Ah Guo 阿果, along with writer Perry Ho. The story narrates the delightful adventure of a boy as he navigates life’s choices, symbolised by the red string that represents our interconnected existence.

　　Through this heartwarming tale of love, hope, and self-discovery, young readers are encouraged to recognise the impact of the choices today that may shape their tomorrows. This initiative subtly aims to heighten awareness of kidney health, weaving a tale that explores diverse perspectives and fosters new connections.

　　"Planting the seeds of kidney disease prevention in the minds of the young is the key to cultivating a healthier future. By instilling awareness and healthy habits early on, we empower the next generation to make informed choices, fostering a foundation of well-being that reaches far beyond themselves. Investing in the health education of our youth is an investment in a future where kidney disease is not just treated but prevented, paving the way for a generation that values and prioritizes lifelong well-being." Said Tim Oei, Chief Executive Officer, NKF.

　　There is a pressing need for our next generations to be aware of the choices they make. With its simple yet profound messaging, "The Red String" hopes to captivate and capture the imagination of young readers, and spur them on their own journeys of well-being and discovery.

　　What is it like growing up in Singapore? This vibrant island is a mosaic of diverse cultures, filled with seemingly ordinary moments that can turn into unforgettable memories. Join a young boy from a new immigrant family as he navigates his unique childhood and discovers the magic in every corner of this equatorial island.

　　What is it like growing up in Singapore? This vibrant island is a mosaic of diverse cultures, filled with seemingly ordinary moments that can turn into unforgettable memories. Join a young boy from a new immigrant family as he navigates his unique childhood and discovers the magic in every corner of this equatorial island.

　　在新加坡成長是一段怎樣的旅程？在這個多元文化交融的小島上，處處都充滿看似平常卻令人難忘的驚喜。這本童詩繪本通過一個新移民家庭小孩的視角，帶你領略別樣的赤道島國童年，感受獨特而溫暖的瞬間。

　　在新加坡成長是一段怎樣的旅程？在這個多元文化交融的小島上，處處都充滿看似平常卻令人難忘的驚喜。這本童詩繪本通過一個新移民家庭小孩的視角，帶你領略別樣的赤道島國童年，感受獨特而溫暖的瞬間。

　　Modern Singapore was forged in the flames of a volatile past. Different groups fought to tear Singapore apart during our early years of nation building.

　　This five-book series traces those turbulent years and tell the stories of the people who witnessed history up close. Written in a clear and down-to-earth way, packed with photographs and with pages of graphic novel storytelling, these booklets will appeal to students, young people and anyone looking for a vivid and concise overview of Singapore’s turbulent years.

The five titles in the series are:

• Battle for Hearts and Minds: Fighting the Communist Threat, 1948-1963 The fight against the communist threat in Singapore and Malaya in the years immediately after World War II. (76 pages)
  
  
• The Undeclared War: Konfrontasi Indonesia’s Konfrontasi (Confrontation) campaign against Malaysia and Singapore in the 1960s, including the 1965 bombing of MacDonald House in Orchard Road that killed three innocent people. (64 pages)
  
  
• Into The Fire: 1964 Racial Riots The deadly racial riots of July and September 1964 that took place against a backdrop of growing political tension in Singapore and Malaysia. (52 pages)
  
  
• Singapore Is Out: Separation and Independence The fight for merger and the issues that led to political tension between Singapore and Malaysia and, eventually, to independence for Singapore. (48 pages)
  
  
• War Is Far From Over: Fighting the Communist Threat, 1968-1989 The havoc wreaked when the communists resumed their attacks in Malaysia and Singapore in the 1960s and 1970s. (60 pages)

　　After Japan was hit by a triple disaster — an earthquake, a tsunami, and a nuclear meltdown — in 2011, Singapore raised about S$35.7 million, one of its largest contributions for disaster relief in another country.

　　In 2023, the year after Japan had relaxed border measures implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic that erupted in 2020, 591,267 travellers from Singapore visited Japan. This was equivalent to almost 15 per cent of Singapore’s resident population. In 2024, this number grew further by 16.9 per cent to 691,100.

　　The people of Singapore have shown strong support for Japan, even though Japan had occupied their home from 1942 to 1945, during the Second World War.

　　Things improved later. After Singapore became independent in 1965, Japan established diplomatic relations with it in 1966 and contributed significantly to its development. Both countries have also since cooperated in various areas, including the economic, defence, and security spheres.

　　The Land of the Rising Sun and the Lion City: The Story of Japan and Singapore illustrates the growing ties between both countries through their people’s experiences. The collection of 68 essays is contributed by more than 80 writers from various walks of life, including government officials, entrepreneurs, artists, academics, and journalists.

　　They include Singapore’s Permanent Secretary for Home Affairs Pang Kin Keong and Japan’s former Special Advisor on National Security Miyagawa Makio, who led the negotiations for the 2002 Japan–Singapore Economic Partnership Agreement; former Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs Tan Chin Tiong and Bilahari Kausikan; Nippon Paint Chairman Goh Hup Jin; Albirex Niigata President Korenaga Daisuke; TungLok Group President Andrew Tjioe; chef Willin Low; Enshu Sado School’s Grand Master Kobori Sojitsu; World Toilet Organization founder Jack Sim; Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) Singapore Office’s Executive Director Shiraishi Takuya; Gardens by the Bay Chief Executive Felix Loh; Japan Creative Centre Director Kawabe Akiko; Singapore Film Society Chairman Kenneth Tan; Artistic Director of the Singapore Biennale 2006 and 2008, Nanjo Fumio; National Gallery Singapore’s Assistant Chief Executive Aun Koh; Cultural Medallion winners Iskandar Jalil, Dick Lee, and Eric Khoo; YouTuber Ghib Ojisan; and journalists Walter Sim and Michiyo Ishida. Singapore’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan and Japan’s former Minister for Digital Transformation Kono Taro penned the forewords.

Men In White is the inside story of one of the world’s most successful political parties. Narrated in three parts, it is oral history spun in a journalistic mode and spiced unapologetically with anecdotes, quotes and human interest to breathe life into past events.

Three writers from The Straits Times backed by four researchers conducted some 300 interviews in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong and China. The result is a dramatic account of the PAP – warts, blemishes and all – and of the pivotal moments in its history which changed the course of Singapore forever.

PART ONE tells how a Cambridge-educated lawyer and his anglicised associates collaborated with radical Chinese-speaking trade unionists to drive out the British colonialists and how they fought each other to the bitter end.

PART TWO captures the agonies of leadership renewal and charts the ascent of Goh Chok Tong who succeeded Lee as the second prime minister. It ends with Lee Hsien Loong taking over from Goh in 2004 and leading the party to victory in the 2006 polls.

PART THREE wraps up the PAP story by delving into the key principles that characterise Singapore governance and concludes with the intriguing poser: Will PAP outlive LKY?

This book tells the story of the man who transformed an improbable country into the thriving metropolis it is now. Selected from over 35,000 photographs from a wide range of sources, including Lee’s personal albums, it also captures private and loving moments between Lee and his wife and life-long partner Kwa Geok Choo, and the family they raised together. This pictorial is both a visual record and a celebration of his remarkable story.

Proudly Singaporean is Alain Vandenborre's powerful and thought-provoking review of the many challenges facing Singapore today, and a moving account of why he chose to become a Singapore citizen. An entrepreneur and the Executive Director and Vice-Chairman of the Singapore Venture Capital and Private Equity Association, Vandenborre has over 20 years of business and senior management experience, and he brings insight, hope and warmth to his stirring vision for the country.

　　冠病疫情把全世界攪得天翻地覆，讓各國一時窮以應付。在這一代人面對的嚴峻危機中，新加坡採取了怎樣的決策之道，管控、甚至與疫情共存？本書記錄了新加坡抗疫的全過程，由《聯合早報》採訪團隊專訪新加坡哈莉瑪總統、李顯龍總理和多位部長，剖析新加坡如何在艱難中作出抉擇、動用國家儲備設立「應對冠病堅韌配套」，在海內外協助國人抒困等。各領域及前線工作的抗疫勇士也接受訪問，暢談他們如何在瞬間變化的疫情下突圍。

In This Together: Singapore’s Covid-19 Story is a dramatic insider account of the first two years of the pandemic.

It is a story of suffering and resilience, of miscalculation and foresight, and of grumbling yet cooperation.

The book is written by journalists of The Straits Times who have been in the thick of covering the ongoing crisis.

More than 300 people were interviewed, including the President of Singapore, the Prime Minister, business owners and survivors of the disease.

Through their recollections, the book chronicles how the country came together to fight the virus, even as everyone has had to stay resolutely apart while doing so.

Filled with evocative archival photographs and vivid snapshots of the modern city, Singapore Trails: Singapore River Walk & Jubilee Walk uncovers the island’s rich past and vibrant present via two specially curated walking trails.

This handy guidebook brings together two trails in the heart of the city: the Singapore River Walk, which traces Singapore’s path from a bustling 19th-century port to a modern city, and the Jubilee Walk, created to mark key milestones in Singapore’s nation-building as it celebrated its 50th anniversary of independence in 2015.

These storied paths take readers on a journey not simply through Singapore’s civic district, but through her rich and multifaceted past.

With this guide in hand, tourists, foreign residents, and locals alike will enjoy finding out more about Singapore on foot.

Every time we use a Singapore bank note, we see his face – the face of Yusof Ishak, the first President of Singapore.

But did you know that he had to overcome challenges in his life and was also a champion in sports such as weightlifting and boxing?

And not many people know that when he got married, in 1949, he and his wife lived in a kampung house with no electricity – the couple used kerosene lamps for light.

This book, which is targeted at upper primary and lower secondary pupils, will make this icon of Singapore come alive. It is suitable for anyone who wants an overview of the life and background of the first President of Singapore.

Readers will also enjoy the many photographs of Yusof Ishak, at formal occasions and in less formal moments.

C.V. Devan Nair, the son of a rubber plantation clerk, rose from humble beginnings to become an outstanding union leader, a Member of Parliament, and eventually President of Singapore.

This book, which is targeted at upper primary and lower secondary pupils, describes Nair’s childhood and his years growing up in an anti-colonial household.

It also describes in detail how, during the tumultuous post-war years, Nair came to the attention of the British authorities, who were cracking down on anti-colonial activities, and ended up spending a total of about five years in detention.

It gives an excellent overview of the exciting early years of Nair’s life in the 1950s and 60s as a teacher, a unionist and an MP, and highlights his dedication and contributions to the NTUC.

He was a well-known doctor and professor, and was one of the leading names in obstetrics and gynaecology in Singapore for decades.

And when he was 63 years old, he was asked to be the second President of Singapore, after the first President Yusof Ishak died in 1970.

What was Benjamin Sheares like as a President? Did he continue practising as a doctor after he became President? And who described him as “a perfect gentleman?”

The answers to these questions and more can be found in this easy-to-read book, which is targeted at upper primary and lower secondary pupils.

It has many photographs of Benjamin Sheares and readers will enjoy seeing him in his early years, when he was a professor, and also in more relaxed, unguarded moments.