Revisiting Harry Potter, Enid Blyton & Other Books That Made Malaysians’ Childhood Super Awesome!

Every Malaysian had a favourite book growing up. Some enjoyed adventure stories such as Enid Blyton’s Famous Five series while others immersed themselves in the magical world of Harry Potter.

There are also those of us courageous enough to read horror stories such as Goosebumps and True Singapore Ghost Stories. No matter which of these books you’ve read, one thing is for certain; they made our childhood super awesome!

To pay homage to these books, we’ve decided to revisit them by asking our readers which stories were their favourites growing up and why they enjoyed them so much.

1. Enid Blyton’s Famous Five series

Source: Shpock

“The Famous Five series were the first books I ever read and they made me into the bookworm I am today. I read and loved ALL 22 books in this series!

Enid Blyton is such an amazing writer! She captures our imagination beautifully and kept us hooked on the story – so much so that we begin to associate ourselves with all the colourful characters!

I love the adventures, the rage, the characters and of course the people the Famous Five meet along the way. I grew up with Julian, Dick, Anne, Timmy and George and even now, whenever I feel down, I read them again; they’re just that awesome!”

• Steven, 28, Cheras.

Source: Gladestone observer

2. The Harry Potter Series

Source: Plaintarts

“Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was my 10th birthday present from my brother and I looked at it with sceptical eyes. I hadn’t had much interest in books back then, especially those as thick as the Harry Potter series!

I didn’t think I could finish it but after the first few pages, I was captivated! I was diving head first into a world so enchanting that the magic still enthralls me today

I had my parents buy me all the Harry Potter books as soon as they came out; I was super invested in the story.  For 10-year-old me, Harry Potter was not fiction. I grew up with Harry, Ron and Hermione and they became my childhood friends. Growing up with Harry Potter, the magic was real and will always remain so.”

• Anas, 26, Muar.

Source: The Hive

3. True Singapore Ghost Stories

Source: Carousell

“Well, I guess I was more adventurous than my friends back then and loved books that offered something different, and True Singapore Ghost Stories was just that! Fictional stories with happy endings were just too boring for me and didn’t really bring out as many emotions from me as Russell Lee’s books.

Well, I say that now but the stories really scared me back then (and still do!). The best part about them is they’re super relatable as the settings are places near us weh! Well, it didn’t traumatize me or anything but one thing it definitely did was start my love for reading. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that I’m a writer today because of this series.”

• Chloe Foo, 25, Petaling Jaya

Source: The Smart Local

4. Dr Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat

Source: Worldmarket

“Seriously, who doesn’t love Dr. Seuss books growing up? My favourite has got to be The Cat in the Hat, which is full of charm and exuberant expressions!

One of the best parts of The Cat in the Hat and what made it different from others was the iconic illustrations that really complement the rhythmic story-telling of the book.

I remember spending all day captivated by the illustrations from the book. Pair that with the wonderful rhymes and bouncing text, reading them aloud was one of my favourite memories from childhood”

• Ridzuan, 25, Alor Setar

Source: Youtube

OMG these books really bring back so many nostalgic memories! Nowadays however, it seems that the magic of books has been lost among our nation’s children. They seem to be more fixated with gadget screens than books, and that could cause them to lose out on some of the most important developmental benefits of reading.

Source: Healthline

That’s why we need to do something to create excitement and enjoyment with books and reading to inculcate good and lifelong reading habits from an early age.

Well, in conjunction with World Book Day, MPH is doing just that by having an awesome monster hunt activity all across their stores. The nationwide event, called MPH World Book Day Monster Hunt will have children and adults alike scouring their bookstores in search for hidden treasures in the form of colourful monster stickers!

These stickers can then be used to enjoy up to 30% off on any children’s books titles at MPH. Woah!

Here’s what you need to do to participate:

1. Hunt for children’s books with monster stickers inside of MPH bookstores
2. Peel off the stickers and paste it on any children’s book you want
3. Just bring the book to the counter and enjoy the discount!

Simple as that! Is there a more awesome way to introduce our kids to the joy of reading? This year, there will be four new monster stickers (which give you a differing amount of discounts) to search for, which are:

1. Misstachio

2. SpikeyDash

3. FurBarry

4. KatieCup

Besides that, MPH is also having a storewide discount on their online platform, MPHOnline.com in conjunction with World Book Day. Just use the promo code ‘WBD20‘ when checking out from now until 30 April 2019 and you’ll get an amazing flat discount of 20% off on all titles! Nice!

Enjoy discounts up to 30% off with the MPH World Book Day Monster Hunt at all MPH outlets nationwide (except MPH Factory Outlet @ Sunway Geo) from 18 to 30 April 2019.

So, what are you waiting for? Visit your nearest MPH bookstores today and start hunting down some monsters! For more information on Malaysia’s favourite’s bookstore, and their awesome World Book Day Monster Hunt, click here.