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The Rock and the Bird


Publisher: Epigram Books
S$16.90
  • Description
  • Praise
  • About the Author & Illustrator
  • Winner of Best Young Adult Title for Singapore Book Awards 2016
    Winner of the Hedwig Anuar Children’s Book Award 2015
    Winner, Royal Commonwealth Society Essay Competition 2009, First Prize, Class A

    Look inside the book   |   Get the E-book

    There once was a rock which stood old and alone amidst a stretch of sand. For a long time it knew nothing except the lapping waves of the sea. Then one day a noisy bird came to rest on the rock—and began to annoy the rock with its endless chatter. Despite their hostile beginnings, the two began a friendship that evolved and changed over many years. Then one day when the bird did not return to the rock, the rock knew that his friend had died. And his world would return to what it once was, though now it was also filled with memories of his dearest friend.

  • “[We were] looking for something high quality, a truly wonderful read that would touch the hearts and minds of the readers... You can read [The Rock and the Bird] at different points in time and it speaks to you in different ways. The book is simple, yet profound.”
    —Edmund Lim, one of the judges of the Hedwig Anuar Children's Book Award 2015

    “An astonishing and stunning story: a timeless fable which would appeal to readers of all ages. The deceptively simple use of language allows a profoundly affecting story about mortality and friendship to unfold with an effortless ease. The characterisations of the rock and the bird are skillfully drawn. This is an entry which is unexpected, original and enthralling from start to finish!”
    —Chief Examiner, Royal Commonwealth Society 

  • Chew Chia Shao Wei was fourteen years old and in Secondary Three at Raffles Girls’ School when she wrote this story for the Commonwealth Essay Writing Competition in 2009. It won First Prize, Class A. She went on to study at Raffles Institution and in 2012 earned the Rotary Club of Singapore’s Good Samaritan Award “in recognition of her spirit of true volunteerism above and beyond the call of duty”. She began her freshman year at Harvard University in 2013. She has an older sister and a younger brother.

    Anngee Neo is a Singaporean illustrator who works predominantly in the digital medium to create illustrations with an emphasis on storytelling and characterisation that have been described as quirky, surreal and whimsical.

    Her clients include HP, SJ50 Matsuri, The National Art Gallery Singapore, Singapore Cable Car and GAP. She is also the illustrator of several books, including The Phantom of Oxley CastleThe Crane and the Crab and The Rock and the Bird, which won the Hedwig Anuar Children’s Book Award and a Singapore Book Award.

ISBN: 9789814984911
Cover Type: Paperback
Page Count: 48
Year Published: 2013
Size: 170mm x 220mm