Skip to content
  • Our Work
    • Our Work
    • Climate
    • Forests
    • Freshwater
    • Oceans
    • Wildlife
    • Sustainable Finance
    • Sustainable Business
  • About Us
    • About us
    • Chairman & CEO’s Note
    • Board of Directors
    • Senior Management
    • Whistleblowing Policy
    • Volunteering
    • Careers
  • Resources
    • Resources
    • Annual reports
    • News & Events
    • Blog
  • Partnerships
    • Partnerships
    • Corporate Partnerships
Menu
  • Our Work
    • Our Work
    • Climate
    • Forests
    • Freshwater
    • Oceans
    • Wildlife
    • Sustainable Finance
    • Sustainable Business
  • About Us
    • About us
    • Chairman & CEO’s Note
    • Board of Directors
    • Senior Management
    • Whistleblowing Policy
    • Volunteering
    • Careers
  • Resources
    • Resources
    • Annual reports
    • News & Events
    • Blog
  • Partnerships
    • Partnerships
    • Corporate Partnerships
Menu
  • Support WWF
    • Donate
    • Adopt
    • Shop
Menu
  • Support WWF
    • Donate
    • Adopt
    • Shop
  • Our Work
    • Our Work
    • Climate
    • Forests
    • Freshwater
    • Oceans
    • Wildlife
    • Sustainable Finance
    • Sustainable Business
  • About Us
    • About us
    • Chairman & CEO’s Note
    • Board of Directors
    • Senior Management
    • Whistleblowing Policy
    • Volunteering
    • Careers
  • Resources
    • Resources
    • Annual reports
    • News & Events
    • Blog
  • Partnerships
    • Partnerships
    • Corporate Partnerships
DONATE
ADOPT
SHOP

Building a future in which people live in harmony with nature

Facebook Instagram Youtube Linkedin Twitter

It’s In Black and White

It’s In Black and White

July 21, 2006
Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on linkedin

By: KRISTINA TOM

IN 1961, Chi-Chi the panda became the poster child – er, poster panda – of international environmental conservation group WWF (then known as the World Wildlife Fund). Since then, the cuddly panda has been adopted as the logo of WWF, luring the international community into caring about endangered species, biodiversity and all things green. Now a new, albeit fictional, panda named Xi Hua hopes to repeat her predecessor’s success in Singapore.

She is the protagonist of Malaysian writer Shamini Flint’s new children’s book Panda Packs Her Bags, which is launched today. “We should focus on the planet for the next generation, and reach out to children as that next generation,” says Flint, 36, who is based in Singapore and has two young children of her own.

The book tells the story of a panda searching for a new home and is vibrantly illustrated in acrylic by Singapore-based Swedish illustrator Mariann Johansen-Ellis. Part of the proceeds go to WWF. The Singapore branch of WWF, which opened in March, is helping to launch the book at an event today at Bookaburra bookstore, featuring a talk on panda conservation by a WWF representative, face painting and lucky draws.

The book is the second in Flint’s “endangered animal series”, which started in 2005 with Jungle Blues, about a tiger named Hari. Like Panda Packs Her Bags, all her other books are printed on recycled paper, with proceeds going to relevant charities. She is also the author of the Singapore murder mystery Partners In Crime, which kick-started the new Singapore Book Club this month; and the Sasha In Singapore and Sasha In Asia series, children’s books featuring her real-life four-year-old daughter Sasha.

The former corporate lawyer, who is married to foreign exchange strategist Simon Flint, also 36, says she started writing when she could not find high quality children’s books with a local context for her daughter. Says Flint: “I’m terrified of her not knowing her roots or this part of the world.”

So she started Sunbear Publishing in 2004 to fill that niche in the South-east Asian literary market. As if promoting cultural awareness and environmental conservation were not enough, she also encourages ethical consumerism with her fair-trade tea and coffee import business Spencer Holdings, named after her two-year-old son Spencer. The fair-trade label means that coffee farmers and tea plantation workers receive better profits and education about their industry.

Asked why readers should care about pandas, or endangered animals, for that matter, Flint recounts the time her daughter Sasha burst into tears on a visit to the Jurong BirdPark last year. Looking at the snowy owls, which Flint had adopted with proceeds from her Sasha In Singapore series, the sobbing girl said she never wanted to see the owls again. The bemused mother asked her why, and she replied: “I don’t want to see the last snowy owl.”

Neither should she have to see the last panda.

Panda Packs Her Bags is available at bookstores for $18 without GST.

Content: The Straits Times LIFE! © Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Permission required for reproduction.

PrevBack to Previous Page
NextNext

RELATED PUBLICATIONS

RELATED LINKS

SHARE THIS

Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on linkedin

RELATED ARTICLES

WWF-Singapore’s new report finds that clean cooling solutions are critical for Singapore to achieve climate targets

June 30, 2022

WWF-Singapore and Temasek Foundation open admissions to youths to join Class of 2022 for Youth Sustainability Incubator Programme – We Got This

April 12, 2022

WWF-Singapore launches pilot aimed at reducing e-commerce packaging waste

April 5, 2022
Subscribe to the WWF newsletter and stay up-to-date with the latest news on WWF’s work.
Facebook Instagram Youtube Linkedin Twitter

Building a future in which people live in harmony with nature

Contact Us
354 Tanglin Road #02-11, Tanglin Block Tanglin International Centre Singapore 247672

+65 6730 8100

info@wwf.sg

Our Work
  • Climate
  • Forests
  • Freshwater
  • Oceans
  • Wildlife
  • Sustainable Finance
  • Sustainable Business
Menu
  • Climate
  • Forests
  • Freshwater
  • Oceans
  • Wildlife
  • Sustainable Finance
  • Sustainable Business
About Us
  • Work With Us
  • About WWF
  • Chairman & CEO Note
  • Board and Leadership
  • Senior Management
  • Whistleblowing Policy
  • Personal Data Protection Policy
Menu
  • Work With Us
  • About WWF
  • Chairman & CEO Note
  • Board and Leadership
  • Senior Management
  • Whistleblowing Policy
  • Personal Data Protection Policy
Resources
  • Blog
  • News & Events
Menu
  • Blog
  • News & Events
Partnerships
  • Corporate Partnerships
  • Sustainable Business
  • Sustainable Finance
Menu
  • Corporate Partnerships
  • Sustainable Business
  • Sustainable Finance
Be A Part of WWF
  • Adopt A Species
  • Be A Volunteer
  • Create Your Own Fundraiser
  • Online Shop
Menu
  • Adopt A Species
  • Be A Volunteer
  • Create Your Own Fundraiser
  • Online Shop

©️ 2021 WWF – World Wide Fund for Nature (Singapore) Limited (UEN 200602275E) |
©️ 1986 Panda Symbol WWF – World Wide Fund For Nature (formerly World Wildlife Fund) | ®️ “WWF” is a WWF Registered Trademark