ASK!

ASK! about Fiction: The Devil wears Prada readalikes

Read the book or watched the movie? Or maybe you’re still waiting for your copy at the libraries. This readalikes (ie. similar books) listing provides information on authors and titles that may appeal to you if you’ve read (or are waiting to read) The Devil Wears Prada.

According to the Straits Times Bestseller List (as of 10 Sep), DWP is the bestselling fiction title in Singapore, the movie is also tops at our box office (as of 3 Sep). And according to this USA Today article, this genre (chick lit) is here to stay! In fact, check out this Library Journal article which even describes the various chick lit subgenres (bride lit, mystery chick lit).

For those who are not sure what constitutes chick lit:
“What puts the chick in chick lit?
The heroine is either looking for Mr. Right or getting over Mr. Wrong.
She’s in a dead-end job or is looking to climb the corporate ladder.
She often works in public relations, advertising or for a women’s magazine.
The tone is often light and funny.
The story usually is told in the first person.
By novel’s end, the heroine usually has worked out all her problems and has learned important lessons about life.”
Source: USA Today

Read on for the list of suggested readalikes!

Read more »

Kids ASK! about Science & Technology

Caterpillars do have opposable toothed mandibles to chew their food. It can be seen using a magnifying glass.

Pythons have only one neck vertebra out of a total of over 300 vertebrae. All the rest have attached ribs and form an unusual trunk one long, skinny rib cage. Thus, it depends on what kind of snakes you are referring to.

Sources:
Introduction CVA
Why Do All Mammals Have Seven Cervical Vertebrae?
USATODAY.com – Neck bones, break-neck speed & speedy urban sprawl
All websites are last accessed on 8th September, 2006.

Some recommended books relating to the subject:

From caterpillar to butterfly / Sally Morgan.
London : Belitha Press, 2002.
Call No.: JP English 595.78 MOR
Click here for item availability.

Caterpillars / Claire Llewellyn, Barrie Watts.
London : Watts, 2000.
Call No.: J English 595.78 LLE
Click here for item availability.

Bug bites : insects hunting insects … and more / Diane Swanson
North Vancouver, B.C. : Whitecap Books, c1997.
Call No.: J English 595.7 SWA
Click here for item availability.

Snakes! / by the editors of TIME for kids with Lisa Jo Rudy.
New York : HarperCollins Publishers, 2005.
Call No.: J English 597.96 SNA
Click here for item availability.

Slithering snakes / Lynn Huggins-Cooper.
London : Franklin Watts, 2005.
Call No.: J English 597.96 HUG
Click here for item availability.

The life cycle of a snake / John Crossingham & Bobbie Kalman.
New York, NY : Crabtree Pub. Co., c2003.
Call No.: J English 597.96 CRO
Click here for item availability.

Answered by Ms Noriahni Binte Ismail, Librarian, Children’s Services

Found this question interesting? What do you think?
Post your comments, or send further questions about this or any other topic to ask@nlb.gov.sg

Kids ASK! about Singapore

The colour red of the flag represents universal brotherhood and equality of man and white represents everlasting virtue and purity. The crescent moon represents a developing young nation. The five stars represent the nation’s ideals: democracy, peace, progress, justice and equality.

Source:The National Symbols
Website last accessed 5th September, 2006.

Some recommended books relating to the subject:

Flags / written by Steve Pattrick ; illustrated by Kelvin Hawley.
Mexico : McGraw-Hill Interamericana Editores, c2001.
Call No.: JP English 929.9 PAT
Click here for item availability.

National flags / by Dwayne E. Pickels.
[Broomall, Pa.] : Chelsea House, c1998.
Call No.: J English 929.9 PIC
Click here for item availability.

Flags / by Leone Hendry.
Port Melbourne, Vic. : Rigby, 1996.
Call No.: J English 929.9 HEN
Click here for item availability.

Answered by Ms Siti Nadiah Sahul Hameed, Librarian, Children’s Services

Found this question interesting? What do you think?
Post your comments, or send further questions about this or any other topic to ask@nlb.gov.sg

ASK! about Family & Parenting

Children resemble either their mother of father because they inherit their parents’ genes. Heredity is the passing of genes from one generation to the next. Your son inherits your genes, therefore he resembles you and has your “voice”. Therefore, as they get older, they look more and more like you.

The essence of heredity is the reproduction of the carriers of genetic information, the genes. As a result, biological organisms, including human beings, reproduce organisms resembling themselves; human children are always recognizably human and have phenotypes similar to those of their parents.

Your son has most likely passed the puberty stage (which usually occurs between 13-15 years old) and thus his voice has change to a more permanent “adult male” deeper tone.

Sources:

Nemours Foundation, The basics of genes and genetic disorder

“heredity.” Encyclopædia Britannica. 2006. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.

Medline Plus, Medical Encyclopedia

All websites last accessed 4th September, 2006.

Some recommended books relating to the subject:

How do we know about genetics and heredity / Jeri Freedman.
New York : Rosen Pub. Group, 2005.
Call No.: Y English 576.5 FRE
Click here for item availability.

Genetics / by Robert Taylor.
San Diego, Calif. : Lucent Books, c2004.
Call No.: Y English 576.5 TAY
Click here for item availability.

The complete idiot’s guide to decoding your genes / by Linda Tagliaferro and Mark V. Bloom.
New York : Hemel Hempstead : Alpha ; Prentice Hall, c1999.
Call No.: English 576.5 TAG
Click here for item availability.

Answered by Ms Ng Hui Hong, Librarian, Adult and Young People’s Services

Found this question interesting? What do you think?
Post your comments, or send further questions about this or any other topic to ask@nlb.gov.sg

ASK! about Computers & IT

According to eBay.com:

What is eBay?
eBay is the world’s online marketplace; a place for buyers and sellers to come together and trade almost anything!

Here’s how eBay works: