SINGAPORE – National swimmer Joseph Schooling will be back in Singapore later this month to sign two books to help raise funds for The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund (STSPMF).
The session on Nov 21 will take place at Singapore Press Holdings’ (SPH) News Centre in Toa Payoh from 1pm to 3pm.
From Kid to King
Did you know Schooling imagined sharks chasing him to motivate himself to swim faster?
His success story from kid to swim king is illustrated in a 40-page book for children aged three to eight.
Penned by The Straits Times News Editor Marc Lim and illustrated by freelance artist Darel Seow, From Kid to King depicts Schooling’s early love affair with the water, how he handled failure, and his eventual victory in Rio.
“Joseph’s Olympic journey is relatable to so many of us because it all started with a dream. At some point in our lives, we all dreamt of what we’d want to be when we grow up. I hope this book will help set kids, including my son, on that path of self-discovery to realise their dreams, as Joseph did,” said Mr Lim, who was formerly the paper’s Sports Editor and has a two-year-old son.
There are activity pages at the end of the book on which kids can sketch out their own dreams.
The book is available in bookshops now for $16.
At the Nov 21 event, Schooling will sign for buyers of the book and read from it to a group of STSPMF beneficiaries. 20 per cent of all the sale proceeds will go to STSPMF.
The New Paper
Schooling Joseph
The second book, Schooling Joseph, is for adult fan collectors and was written by veteran sports journalists Rohit Brijnath and Chan U-Gene, who drew from over a decade of sports coverage by SPH of the Olympic champ.
Readers will get a glimpse of intimate family photos that are released to the public for the first time through the book, and also of notes that Schooling’s mother, May, penned to motivate her son before major competitions.
“I really wanted to share my story because, more than anything, I want people to know that anyone can achieve great things as long as they set their minds on it and give it their absolute best. Because I’m just like everyone else – a Singaporean boy with a big dream. I hope my story can inspire readers. This is also my way of saying thanks to everyone who has stood by me all these years,” Schooling said in a statement today (Nov 11).
This book will be available in bookshops from Nov 12 at $27.82.
At the signing session, Schooling will sign 20 limited edition, hardcover copies of the book. All 20 copies were pre-sold, raising $26,000 for STSPMF.
AsiaOne
