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COLLABORATORS: Amy Cheng with her husband R. Chandran and son Joshua. -- PHOTO: COURTESY OF AMY CHENG
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MOST would remember her roles as Dr Winnie Leong in the medical drama First Touch and Gary's wife Karen in the long-running family serial Growing Up.
Actress Amy Cheng, who is in her 30s, is also the host of Channel 5's My Perfect Child, which airs on Mondays at 7.30pm. The weekly info-entertainment programme tackles various parenting issues such as parent-child bonding and how to maximise children's potential with various exercises.
When not working, the mother of one, who is expecting her second baby in August, conducts the occasional drama workshop for mostly children, at Fly Academy under Fly Entertainment as well as the Salvation Army and Act 3 Theatrics, of which her husband R. Chandran is the founder-director.
The busy working mum has now added author, illustrator and narrator to her resume with her debut children's book, which is curiously titled Silly Snigger Stripe Riper.
Based on a play by her husband, the story explains how a tiger got its zany name. The tale follows the animal's adventures in the jungle with two bumbling hunters - the tall beanpole U-u-u-a-a-o-o-o and the tubbier U-gug - who mistake it for a leopard.
Who was your first reader?
I used my son Joshua, 11, to test the story. I knew I'd get a frank response because that's the way he is.
When I was inspired by the little mouse Remy in the Pixar animation flick Ratatouille to make the peasant dish, I hyped it up to him by saying how long it took and how difficult it was for Mummy to prepare it. He took one mouthful, then looked at me and said: 'This needs improvement.'
So to my relief, I managed to tease out a few laughs from him while reading it, and he told me he liked the book and the drawings, which I did with colour pencils to keep it simple.
What's with the names? Silly Snigger Stripe Riper, U-gug?
My husband always had a thing for words. (laughs) I guess it's his ingenuity in picking names that are memorable and tongue-twisting for the children.
Which ages of children can the book reach out to?
The two- or three- year-olds may not get the story in its entirety, but they'll get the gist at least.
But we sometimes tend to underestimate children. When reading a story, the way you intonate and give the characters different voices and moods makes a huge difference, especially for younger kids.
When I finished the book, my publisher at Pagesetters suggested: 'Why don't we animate the story with reading cues to make it more fun?'
So we roped in two animators who helped come up with the CD-ROM version with subtitles and a cute little ball that bounces on each word as it is read.
This book could teach kids a thing or two about camouflage: what makes a tiger a tiger, and how it is different from a leopard. But by introducing the facts through a fun story, it steers away from being too heavy or scientific or deliberately educational.
Silly Snigger Stripe Riper ($12.84 with GST) is available at major bookstores.
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