Have you ever dreamed of building your own fishpond? Today on Newsgram we dive into Sue’s Splashy Surprise by Mamimo Chan. This episode explores the heartwarming tale of family teamwork, childhood adventures, and the traditions that turn simple moments into lifelong memories. From the small victory of starting a lawnmower to the excitement of building a fishpond with her siblings; experience the thrill of watching the water flow, the joy of seeing pet fish play, and the suspense of an unexpected challenge. Can Sue save the day? Tune in and find out!

Subscribe with your favorite podcast player

Welcome to this edition of Newsgram!

Today’s episode is dedicated to anyone who has ever taken on the challenge of finding fun and engaging activities for children. Anyone can turn on the T.V. I’m talking about parents, grandparents and even babysitters brave enough to get the children in their care involved in baking or building a volcano or some other science experiment, taking a trip to the museum or even building a birdhouse. These kinds of activities are not just fun but they activate a Childs natural curiosity. Something Mamimo Chan says is very important and one of the key things she sees when interacting with children.

Mamimo Chan – When I interact with children, I see in them a lot of curiosity, a lot of wanting to know more and explore the world. And that’s what I always incorporate in my teaching during my education year. And at the same time, I make sure that the children enjoy the process. So that is something that I weave into the book to kind of give the children the curiosity of what’s happening at the same time to have the courage to explore the world.

Mamimo Chan is a mother of four, a grandmother and an educator with over thirty years of experience. She’s also author of Sue’s Splashy Surprise: A Pond-ering Adventure — where Pondering is a double entendre.

Mamimo Chan – The title speaks a lot about what’s happening in the book as well. A pondering adventure. It requires the making of a pond in the book. It teaches about the capillary action, of how we are actually taking care of the fish in the pond. But it’s also a pondering adventure for Sue because she realized that at times she made mistakes along the way and with that mistake, how is she going to actually save the day? So it is pondering in the sense to Sue because she has curiosity, she wants to explore. By the same time, she probably understands now that she needs to have certain steps, instructions taken well and at the same time to make sure that the fish are safe. So she saves the day with the adventure.

The wordplay in Pond-ering reflects the book’s blend of curiosity, learning, and family teamwork. As Sue and her siblings build their fishpond, they learn life lessons along the way—all while introducing young readers to science in a fun and accessible way.

Mamimo Chan – I feel that really, you know, in this very fast-paced society that we’re in now, brought about with technology, we mustn’t forget about the basics of our being. Our being came from a family. And to us, family is really very critical in how we grow up. And the polarity of growing up together in a family, but at the same time, giving the independence to the young children when they’re growing up so that they make decisions and they actually will explore the world. They can have different experiences and they may make mistakes along the way. But that is part of their learning journey.

Mamimo’s ideas about family trace back to her roots in Singapore. The book’s illustrations are inspired by her childhood home in 1970s Singapore.

Mamimo Chan – The Illustration is my original home, my first home. And I had a photograph of that captured in the year of 1970s in Singapore. We don’t quite see such homes around us anymore because we have developed very quickly over the past 50 years. And as a result, I wanted to be captured and put in a book. I have a granddaughter now, and I would love that this book becomes something that is a legacy for the family so my granddaughter will know that, oh, that’s how it has been during my grandparents’ time. How we live, what is our home like, what does it look like around us? Yeah, so that’s the illustration in the book.

In the drawings you can see Sue and her family working on the fishpond. The illustrations combined with the elements of childhood curiosity, family teamwork and the kinds of traditions that turn simple moments into lifelong memories are what I believe earned this book an honorable mention in the 2025 Reader Ready Awards and a winner in the 2024 American Writing Awards. 

Mamimo Chan – It was a very pleasant surprise for me, and I think it kind of encouraged me to continue writing and to try to bring delight to children as well as parents and grandparents. 

I think Curiosity is the real essence of learning and whatever we can do to light that fire in our kids is time well spent. You may not be able to build a fish pond in your yard but you read a book about it and who knows where that will take you. You might be surprised. 

Mamimo Chan – I think for the children who are listening to the story, I hope that they can recognize that children are capable of validating their own feelings, they are able to make decisions, and most importantly, they have the courage to try new things, the resilience to learn from mistakes and to share the love and tradition in a family. For the parents and grandparents, I really hope that we can validate the children who are growing up at different stages of their lives and allow the space for them to learn independence and decision-making, giving them the space to even learn from mistakes.

That’s a lot to get out of a story but it’s all in there. I told you it was an award winning book. I want to leave you with a quote from the author. She says “Life’s lessons are the homework for the heart.” And doesn’t that ring true for all of us, no matter how old we are or what stage of life we are in. So whether you’re reading it with a child or using it as inspiration to build something together, remember—every small adventure has the power to spark curiosity and create lasting memories. 

Sue’s Splashy Surprise: A Pond-ering Adventure by Mamimo Chan. Grab your copy today and start exploring! It’s available now online at all the places where you like to buy books. I would suggest having a look at her website: adventuresbymamimo.com. And that will do it for this edition of Newsgram from Webtalkradio.com 

Mamimo Chan was recently featured on the Books on Air Podcast with Suzanne Harris

The post Sue’s Splashy Surprise appeared first on WebTalkRadio.net.