How to be part of Little Giants

HOW THE BOOK RENTAL WORKS
You could rent a book for 2 weeks for as low as RM3, and that means less than 25 cents a day! If you wish to extend the rental period for another fortnight, just give us a ring/message.


PREVIEWS & BOOKS COLLECTION/DELIVERY
Kind of like the book image and description you saw online but feel like seeing/feeling more of it? Feel free to contact us at 019 882 6252 or littlegiants123@gmail.com for a meet up (as long as you are residing in Kota Kinabalu), so that you could take a closer look at the desired books and make better informed decision.

Residing out of Kota Kinabalu? We could always make use the parcel delivery service of our National Postal Services.
Parcels are charged at RM7.00 for the first 2 kg and subsequently RM1.50 for every 1 kg thereafter up to 30 kg. For further details on delivery rates, please refer http://www.pos.com.my/pos/personal/general_mail/parcel.aspx



REFUNDABLE DEPOSITS
We love new books. Everybody does. The feel of touching brand new pages and book edges is simply astonishing and encouraging. At LITTLE GIANTS, we try to make books look stunning and good-looking for as long as possible by adopting the following policy, so that the next borrower will always feel the 'brand new book' excitement as much as their predecessor fellow book borrowers do.

Here's how it works:
Upon book borrowing, we appreciate you kind remittance of a refundable deposit.
For example, book rental = RM3. Refundable deposit to be remitted upon borrowing is, say RM15. After 2 weeks rental period, presuming the book is returned to us in a good state, we will be honoured to refund RM12 (i.e. deposit of RM15 minus book rental of RM3). Simple isn't it? (Well I presume you guys would know how things will work in the unlikely event that the returned books are in an 'unrecognizable' state)


MEMBERSHIP
Do sign up as a friend of LITTLE GIANTS and reap the benefits by becoming our member!

As a friend of LITTLE GIANTS, you will enjoy 20% discount off the initial rental fee for every subsequent renewal of the same book. This will come handy for our friends who wish to renew the rental of books until they have completely enjoyed the books.

Here's how it works:
i) initial rental fee - RM4;
ii) rental fee upon first rental renewal of the same book - RM3.20;
iii) rental fee upon second rental renewal of the same book - RM3.20;

Annual membership fee is RM15, but good news folks! Come sign up as a member within our membership launching introductory period which is currently running and you will enjoy 100% waiver of membership fee!



OUR FABULOUS BOOK COLLECTION
Facebook search Little Giants Reading and you will find our full list of books.
Alternatively, click http://www.facebook.com/pages/Little-Giants-for-the-Little-Ones-with-gigantic-reading-appetite/117676574968911?v=photos&ref=ts



FEEDBACK/QUESTIONS
This is a newly start-up platform to promote book reading. We truly welcome your comments and questions to help us improve our service to you.

Little Giants- our service concept

We differ from conventional bookstores and libraries in the following ways:

1. We rent children publications. As long as you or your little ones are done with the current title and are ready to move onto the next one, just return the book to us. With this and as time passes by, there will be no “old-time-favourite” publications piling up and consuming the space of your home.

2. Our book borrower groups are not expected to be as massive and diverse as those of public libraries. So the books will most likely be in a newer condition.

3. We believe that we have a much better collection than that of the local libraries (feel free to visit the local libraries to find out)

4. Good books do not come cheap, especially when buying imported books with our humble Ringgit Malaysia (do hang around local bookstores to check out the price). Hence it will be worthwhile to rent than to buy.

5. We offer Reading Clinic (if required) to help your kids pick the right book. Kids are invited to pick from various books for us to discover their interests. Their reading level is assessed and appropriate books are recommended. You will see how they improve as they continue reading.

6. Save trees by returning the books to be enjoyed by another kid.

7. Some books are worth collecting, we understand. We buy and keep books too. Our rental collection started off with our private collection. Do let us know if you and your kids are in love with certain books, we could order them for you with our next bulk purchase.

Magical Matilda

Yes, it's Roald Dahl again!

Grandpa, mummy and Maxi have been reading Roald Dahl's books for the past two weeks. Dahl is a great story teller. His use of language is rich, imaginative and humorous. Three of us, from age 6 to 70+, are glued to his books. Daddy saw us reading, picked up Matilda and is reading it now.

Matilda is an exceptionally talented and sensitive girl, who lives with her family that fails to comprehend her. She goes to school and meets loving Miss Honey and cruel Miss Trunchbull.

The story is funny and interesting. It appeals to younger kids with its mischievous humour. Older children and adults would grasp its moral ideas.

I love it.

Beautiful Oops

Oops, how I wish I discovered this book earlier! What a beautiful book! Well done, Barney Saltzberg!

Saltzberg, "When you think you have made a mistake (and what kid or grown-up hasn't?), think of it as an opportunity to make something BEAUTIFUL!"

This is indeed the best gift to give anyone, any age, anywhere, anytime. I can't say enough great things about Beautiful Oops. I will leave it to you to discover its greatness.

Project X for Boys (and for girls too)

Children learn to read at very different speeds and ages- just like when they learned to walk and talk. Parents often find boys learn to read later than girls and it is harder get them to sit down to read.

Project X, from Oxford Reading Tree, is designed to appeal to boys through action adventures in an amazing micro-world and 3-D artwork. Oxford Reading Tree, is a reading scheme used in 80% of UK primary schools.


There are 12 storybooks in Project X that offer step-by-step progression across 4 levels. There is a Parents' Handbook with practical tips for parents.

Kids are amazed how Max, Tiger and Ant (the Project X characters) turn into inch-tall people by pressing their buttons. Girls love the stories too. Maxi, a super feminine girl, brought me the book of 'The Birthday Cake' and said,"Mom, you have to read this! What a funny surprise!".


A few boys-specific reading tips that the handbook offer:-
- Make sure your boy sees Dad (or another male role model) reading. Show them that reading is 'cool'.
- Tap into boys' interests. Find stories and information books about dinosaurs, space, trains, football, etc. Boys often enjoy books in a series, with exciting adventures, cliffhanger endings and recurring characters.
- Do not dismiss the value of comics and collector cards.

I have no difficulty getting Maxi 'jie jie' to read. Mini 'di di' is starting to enjoy reading. I hope Mini would continue to read and not miss out all the fun of reading. As LG mom, I know how much reading fun Maxi is having.

Read at Home (Oxford Reading Tree)

"Read at Home" is the most popular home reading series in UK. It is based on the Oxford Reading Tree, which is used in 80% of UK primary schools. It features the familiar Oxford Reading Tree characters (e.g. Kipper, Floppy, as well as their family and friends) in exciting short stories.

The stories are graded across five levels (from 'Getting Ready to Read' to 'Reading with Confidence') for readers of different levels. As a rough guide, they are probably more suitable for early English learners of 9 years old and below. There are fun activities at the end of each story to encourage kids to look for details. There is a 'useful common words' panel to highlight high frequency words used in the story.

As a mom, I find the 'Tips for Reading Together' at the beginning of each book very helpful. It teaches and reminds me how to make reading together fun. Maxi finds the lower levels of books "not challenging", but she still whizzed through the entire series. Mini adores Floppy, the dog, and enjoys all the stories. Mini is yet to learn his alphabets. It would be interesting to see how he climbs the Oxford Reading Tree.

Charlie & Lola vs Maxi & Mini

Charlie and Lola are characters created by Lauren Child in a series of books. They are then made into TV series.

Charlie is a patient and kind older brother; Lola is a loving, imaginative little sister. Lola irritates Charlie at times like all little siblings do. But, Charlie loves his little mischievous sister and is always there to help Lola learn.

The stories are humorous and fun. They focus on brother-sister relationship. Anyone with siblings, no matter you are age 2 or 99, could relate to the stories. Maxi and Mini simply adore Charlie and Lola. I am sure they see a lot of similarities in the stories.

LG Mom came home yesterday and found flu-struck LG Dad lying on bed, too weak to do anything. Maxi was reading a book of Charlie & Lola to Mini. Oh, bless their hearts........