Once Upon A Singapore: Traders (book review)

Once Upon A Singapore - Traders is a comic book on the history of Singapore traders from the 1900s. The story follows a young boy Aloysius and his grandpa as they were transported back in time to see how life was like in the past.

Many, if not, all of the trades featured in the book have already been phased out in modern Singapore. So it's quite nostalgic to read about them in this book. Only people from the early 1900s would be able to remember these professions and trades. As for the rest of us, we can only learn what it's like back then.

This is an interesting book to me because the Singapore back then is so different from what we see nowadays. Back then people had to go to community centres in order to watch TV. There are stories of how the street names came about, how clogs were made, what people do to entertain themselves in the past, what do shops sell and other interesting tales.

The book is written by Tina Sim and drawn by Alan Bay. They have done a good job showing the history of Singapore. This book should be fascinate those who have never experienced the olden Singapore. I may even say this is a must read for anyone in Singapore.

This book is published by Asiapac and you can find it at local bookstores in Singapore. The ISBN number is 9789812297327. 153 pages. S$15.90.