ASK!

Kids ASK! about Pets & Animals

Shark’s fin… With the coming of Chinese New Year, some families will choose to have their reunion dinners banquet style—10 course dinners and such. That also means that many poor sharks would have sacrificed their lives to be on these dinner tables.

The move to protect sharks is only something of recent years. Sharks are killed for their fins, which are considered delicacies. Due to its popularity as a dish at wedding banquets and formal Chinese dinners, shark populations are diminishing faster than they can reproduce. As a result, shark populations have plummeted so much that it prompted an international call to action.

Sharks have 5 different kinds of fins:

1) Paired pectoral fins that lift the shark as it swims.
2) Paired pelvic fins that help to stabilize the shark.
3) One or two dorsal fins that stabilize the shark.
4) An anal fin – not all sharks have this but it provides stability for those that do.
5) The caudal or tail fin that moves the shark forward.

Depending on the species, a shark can produce up to 10 fins and all of them can be eaten though they may vary in price depending on what fin it is and the species of the shark. The tail fin of a shark is usually the most expensive, for example, the tail fin of the Basking shark can cost about US$10 000.

This part surprised me. I was under the assumption that only one or two fins from the shark can be eaten but a search through the net proved otherwise. What we are really eating is the cartilage—the shark’s fin is cooked for a long time until the fin breaks up into noodle-like strands and that would be the cartilage of the fin. It is believed that shark’s fin has medicinal properties but there are also others who say that shark’s fin can be harmful if consumed consistently over a long period of time due to high levels of mercury.

However, the strongest case against shark fishing is the practice of finning. Finning is the practice of cutting of the shark’s fins and then throwing the shark’s body back to the sea. Sometimes these sharks are still alive when thrown back and end up either drowning or getting eaten by other fishes. Finning has been made illegal in U.S. fishing waters since the year 2000 but is not necessarily effective due to the high demand for shark’s fin, which encourages fishermen to continue such an act because it saves them money.

Shark’s fin is still very popular is Singapore.

Sources:

Title: Nature’s predators: sharks by Kris Hirschmann
Call No.: J 597.3 HIR

Ocean Of Know, Fins. Retrieved January 8, 2008, from Ocean Of Know Web site: http://oceanofk.org/sharks/fin.html

Pellissier, H. (2003, Jan 20). Shark Fin Soup: An Eco-Catastrophe?. Retrieved January 8, 2008, from SFGate.com Web site: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/g/archive/2003/01/20/urbananimal.DTL

Hui, S. (2005, Jun 13). Sellers shrug off shark fin brouhaha as just business. Retrieved January 8, 2008, from The Standard Web site: http://www.thestandard.com.hk/stdn/
std/Metro/GF13Ak07.html

Sample, I. (2006, Aug 31). Sharks pay high price as demand for fins soars. Retrieved January 8, 2008, from The Guardian Web site: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/
2006/aug/31/fish.frontpagenews
2006/aug/31/fish.frontpagenews

If you want to find out more information on sharks

For Children:

What do sharks eat for dinner?: questions and answers about sharks by Melvin and Gilda Berger
Publisher : New York : Scholastic, c2000
Call No. : J 597.3 BER

Nature’s predators: sharks by Kris Hirschmann
Publisher : San Diego, Calif. : KidHaven Press, c2002
Call No. : J 597.3 HIR

100 facts on sharks by Steve Parker
Publisher : Great Bardfield, Essex : Bardfield Press, 2007
Call No. : J 597.3 PAR

All websites are last accessed on 9 January 2008. Please refer to the terms and conditions on the homepages for use.
All images used are extracted from http://www.amazon.com and http://www.bn.com.
For the availability of the above book titles, please check the library catalogue.

Originally answered by Stephanie Tan, Librarian, Children’s Services

 Contributed by Felicia Chan, Librarian, Children’s Services

 Found this question interesting? What do you think? Post your comments.

If you have a different question, please email to mailto:ask@nlb.gov.sg?subject=ASK_blog- instead of sending a comment.

[ASK! Editor speaks]

Ahhh, the month of January always brings back warm memories of waking up early, rushing for the school bus, meeting new friends and starting a brand new academic year. Sure, there’s always the first day jitters; nervous that you won’t have anyone to sit next to in class or worried that your form teacher has it out for you, even when you’ve done nothing wrong. But, mostly, my school-going years were a blast, learning something new everyday and interacting with like-minded friends.

So, grab this opportunity to absorb as much knowledge as you can as a student and remember to surround yourself with friends who offer the truest of friendships. For it’s often said, these will be the best years of your life.

To start reading about school life, here are some book recommendations.

Information on schools:

School days around the world by Catherine Chambers
Publisher : London ; New York : DK, 2007
Summary: Explains what school is like for different children around the world.
Call No. : J P 371.8 CHA

Schools by Lisa Easterling
Publisher : Oxford : Heinemann Library, 2007
Summary: Through stunning photographs and simple text, books in this series introduce children to elements of our global community. In this title, children learn about schools around the world, including how they are alike, how they are different, special types of schools, and why schools are important.
Call No. : J P 372 EAS

A day in the life of a teacher by Heather Adamson
Publisher: Mankato, Minn. : Capstone Press, c2004
Summary: Spend the day with Mrs. Chan. Go along with her as she teaches her class, corrects homework, and helps her students.
Call No.: J P 372.11 ADA

The Nickelodeon guide to your best-ever school year by Susan Ring
Publisher: San Francisco, Calif. : Chronicle Books, c2007
Summary: This guide will help kids get the best and make the best out of their school experience. With the tips and ideas in this book, kids will learn how to approach the tough stuff with the can-do spirit of SpongeBob, the cleverness of Timmy Turner, and the resourcefulness of Jimmy Neutron!
Call No.: J 371.8 RIN

Stories about school life:

Miss Malarkey leaves no reader behind by Judy Finchler & Kevin O’Malley
Publisher: New York : Walker & Company, 2006
Summary: Miss Malarkey vows to find each of her students a book to love by the end of the school year, but one video-game loving boy proves to be a challenge.
Call No.: J P FIN

Ham and Pickles : first day of school by Nicole Rubel
Publisher: Orlando, Fla. : Harcourt, c2006
Summary: Pickles is nervous about her first day of school, but taking advice from her big brother Ham may not be a good idea.
Call No.: J P RUB

Mrs. Kormel is not normal! by Dan Gutman
Publisher: New York, NY : HarperTrophy, 2006
Summary: As if Mondays aren’t bad enough, A.J.’s bus gets a flat tire and his bus driver Mrs. Kormel gets everyone lost in the middle of nowhere.
Call No.: J S GUT

Back to school is cool by Jim Jinkins
Publisher: New York : Random House, c2005
Summary: When her little brother Tyler is nervous about his first day of school, Pinky Dinky Doo tells him a story about the time she and her friends had really bad hair days when school pictures were scheduled.
Call No.: J S JIN

Amelia’s 5th-grade notebook by Marissa Moss
Publisher: New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2006
Summary: Amelia uses her diary to record the great events in her life during the year which she spent in the fifth grade.
Call No.: J MOS

You may also visit this online blog created by the Ministry of Education, http://schoolbag.sg, for more information about education and school news.

1) http://schoolbag.sg – “The latest education news, info for parents, and features from schools and teachers!”

Source: (2007). Schoolbag. Retrieved January 5, 2008, from Schoolbag Web site: http://schoolbag.sg

All websites were last accessed on 5 January 2008. Please check the websites’ homepages for the terms and conditions of use.
All book summaries were taken from book descriptions, www.amazon.com and www.bn.com.
All images were extracted from www.amazon.com and www.bn.com.

For the availability of the above book titles, please check the library catalogue.

 Posted by Ms Elizabeth Lee, Librarian,
 Children’s Services

 Found this post interesting? What do you think? Post your comments.
 If you have a different question, please email to ask@nlb.gov.sg instead of sending a comment.

ASK! about Health & Fitness

Do you take note of what you eat? If you are concerned about eating healthy foods, here are some websites offering nutrition advice and basic nutrition information to keep you updated:

Food & Nutrition
As many of us are aware, with changing social habits, like increasingly sendatry livestyles, and preferance for taking outside food, health problems like obesity and heart disease are on the rise. If you are concerned about whether what you eat is healthy, her are some nutrition websites you may like to refer ot for more information:

Health Promotion Board
Singapore’s HPB website contains updates and information about nutrition, mental health, exercise and smoking.

Ministry of Health
You can find latest general health updates here. Health statistics of Singapore are compiled by the Ministry of Health (MOH) and can be accessed here.

Nutrition.gov
This website offers links to US government websites that contain health and nutrition related information.

MedlinePlus
The MedlinePlus website brings together information from the National Library of Medicine (NLM, US), the National Institutes of Health (NIH, US) and other government agencies and health bodies. Apart of nutrition information, the directory of drug and supplement information is user-friendly and helpful. The Medical Encyclopaedia also simplifies cchecking up on medical facts and jargon. The website also contains charts and images for you to better understand the biology of the issues described.

British Nutrition Foundation
The BNF is “charitable organisation which raises funds from the food industry, government and a variety of other sources”. It works with the academic insititues, food industry and the government, and strives to provide scienticially sound nutrition information and advice.

National Health Services
The National Health Service (NHS) is the health agency of UK. While the website offers information and recommendations of typical health problems. While there is no nutrition category, the website is categorised by demograph and common health issues. Nutrition information can be derived from there.

World Health Organisation
The WHO website contains the information on the international statistics, research and government health initiatives, statements and guidelines released by WHO agencies.

To read about food and nutrition, look for books with call numbers 613.2 and 641.1, in the health and Young People (YP) sections of the libraries. Some books you may find are:

Basic nutrition by Lori A. Smolin, Mary B. Grosvenor
Call No.: Y q613.2 SMO

Encyclopedia of foods : a guide to healthy nutrition prepared by medical and nutrition experts from Mayo Clinic
Call No.: q613.2 ENC -[HEA]

American Dietetic Association complete food and nutrition guide by Roberta Larson Duyff
Call No.: 613.2 DUY -[HEA]

Fats, sugars, and empty calories : the fast food habit / by Autumn Libal
Call No.: Y 616.398 LIB

Posted by Ms Ang Mei Jun

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ASK! about Anything & Everything

Where can you find food reviews? Many many places, such as internet, newspapers, and even books, not to forget TV programmes.

Local Food Blogs:
Sparklette.net
The ‘princess’ of the blog is Veron, or Wanting (Chinese Pinyin). She is a working executive and web designer, but her busy schedule does not keep her away from sharing her food experiences with others. Her posts are personal and the vivid photos are themselves enough to leave your mouth watering. She even rates the food (with cute food icons to indicate the points) and list the address so that you can try it yourself. Her blog is also updated regularly so you can be sure of ‘fresh ingredients’ every week!

Veron dosen’t just eat, she reads too. She was spotted by HighBrowse for her thoughts on Mitch Albom’s ‘ For one more day’.

She bakes and she cooks
Dose’nt Doesn’t (ed: sorry for the typo) the name of the blog remind you vaguely of Ricky Martin’s music? Somehow it did for me. Another blog by a pretty young lady, Cheryl’s has put her love for writing into food. She’s certainly not your average air-headed girl, for she appreciates the many different food cultures and stories that she got to hear, and writes them out in detail for you. Cheryl is a baker herself, (Read ‘The day I baked 800 cookies’), and her blog contains useful links to her very own baking recipes.

If you like baking or enjoy baked foods, read her blog.

ieat-ishoot-ipost
Yes, the author here, Leslie Tay, eats his food, shoots them on his lens, and posts the pictures on his blog. He is (believe it!) actually a family doctor in Singapore. He puts his recommendations online so that you wouldn’t need to ‘waste your calories on yucky food’. Tay also has a rating out of 5 for the food he’s tried.

Local TV Food Programmes
Check out what food programmes MediaCorp offers on its websites:
- Suria (Malay)
- Channel 8 (Chinese)
- Channel U (Chinese)
- Channel 5 (English)

Food Guidebooks
There are travel guides, and there are food guides as well! What’s so good about reading? The guides are often handy to carry and concise. Rather than surf the website blindly, these little ‘encyclopedias’ could possibly be a faster source of information. If you are worried that they are not updated, most of them print regular publications. Also, some contain a brief history of the food they introduce. Here’s some local food guides you may be interested at the library:

Life!eats : a guide to Singapore’s best food places (Call No.: SING 647.955957 LIF)
A compilation of food and rrestaurant recommendations by the writers of the Life section of Straits Times Singapore.

Makansutra : eating lessons : the five star guide to no frills hawker food in Singapore (Call No.: SING English 647.955957 MEL)
A guide to the best eats in ISngapore, recommended by Makanmatrans, people who from all walks of life who wrote to Makansutra with their recommendations.

Eat out! : the guide to great food in central Singapore (Call No.: SING 647.955957 EAT)
Not just a good food guide, this book contains a brief description of the origins of the dish, and each recommendation comes is accompanied by the contact, payment and cost of the food. The layout is also user-friendly.

Wine & dine : Singapore`s top restaurants (Call No.: SING 647.955957 WD)
A guide for fine dining.

Enough of eating, the increasing rates of health problems like heart disease and obesity are making it important to check what we eat. Find out more about food and health.

Posted by Ms Ang Mei Jun

Found this question interesting? What do you think? Post your comments.
If you have a different question, please email to mailto:ask@nlb.gov.sginstead of sending a comment.