There is something about writing books for children that fulfills the soul and Madam Lok Lee Jiun knows this feeling all too well. She is, after all, the founder and creator of the baba baa series of children’s books. Having grown up in Penang, Madam Lee Jiun was trained as a lawyer, practicing in Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong. Her life took a whole different turn once she became a mother. Following the birth of her son, Hugo, Madam Lee Jiun decided to become a full time mom.
“After Hugo was born, we received song books in many languages including Chinese, English and Japanese. However, I could not find any children’s books on Malaysian folk songs,” she shared with BabyTalk. Catching the entrepreneur bug, Madam Lee Jiun decided to make one to fill the market need, and that’s when the Rasa Sayang Sing-and-Record series was born!
“The first six years of life signifies one of the most important phases in terms of a child’s development. During this period, a child’s brain develops more than at any other time in life, in terms of language and other higher cognitive functions. Having good quality early education tools provide important opportunities for them to learn and develop,” Madam Lee Jiun shared.
Madam Lee Jiun is also adamant that it is extremely important for parents to spend time with their children because there are many proven benefits to this. Parents who spend time with their children are helping in many areas of their child’s development, including promoting their social-emotional, cognitive, language skills etc. In this regard, good quality early education tools offer a great activity option.
Rasa Sayang Sing-and-Record Fun book was the first book launched under the baba baa brand. It is a product to be reckoned with, merging culture and fun into one enjoyable book Children will get to familiarise themselves with popular local folk songs such as Burung Kakak Tua and Rasa Sayang, among others. “When we first launched the book, we started writing to influencers for book reviews, and received an overwhelming response from them! The users of the Rasa Sayang Sing-and-Record Fun book include Scha Alyahya, Harith Iskandar, Vivy Yusoff and Ramona Zamzam,” Madam Lee Jiun revealed.
Influencer Hana Fedora Aziz spoke of the Rasa Sayang Sing-and-Record Fun Book as a ‘Class A’, stating that she has never seen her kids more interested in any other book since they had it. Another user described the Press-And-Learn English Malay Chinese Words Book as an excellent introduction to three central languages spoken in Malaysia and also makes a lovely little gift for young learners, adding that she too has miraculously picked up a couple of new Mandarin words herself!
“This Award is definitely a recognition of our hard work and encouragement to move on producing more quality products. We are working on producing more high quality books and at the same time, looking to bring in interesting and educational activity sets for the kids. We will continue to do our best to create great products!” said Madam Lee Jiun.
She advised parents to start reading to their child as early as possible. “Invest a little more time in the early age to encourage the love for reading. It’s the best gift, and it’s a gift for life,” she concluded.
