The Kan Cheong Spider (Book 2, Ang Ku Kueh Girl & Friends)
Synopsis: Meet Ang Ku Kueh Girl and her friends Png Kueh Girl, Kueh Lapis Girl, Curry Puff Boy and Roti Prata Boy in this charming new series for early readers, inspired by some of Singapore’s most beloved foods.
In The Kan Cheong Spider, Ang Ku Kueh Girl, Ang Ku Kueh Boy and Red Egg are in for a surprise at the Dragon Playground. They travel somewhere delicious and unexpected. But when something awful happens to Ang Ku Kueh Boy, how will Ang Ku Kueh Girl and Red Egg get him out of trouble?
“Where’s my red toothbrush?” cried Ang Ku Kueh Girl as she searched high and low. It wasn’t in her dental mug where it was supposed to be. It wasn’t on the basin top. And luckily, it wasn’t in the toilet bowl either.
Her little brother, Ang Ku Kueh Boy, was already leaving the house. Always neat and tidy, he was never in a rush. He was the complete opposite of his sister. Sometimes he nicknamed her Kan Cheong Girl because she was so easily flustered.
The Kan Cheong Spider by Wang Shija is published by Epigram Books, and is Book 2 of the Ang Ku Kueh Girl & Friends series.
I stumbled upon this series by accident when I was browsing for new books to borrow on the National Library Board (NLB) website. The Blur Sotong was the first book I read although it’s the third book in the series. I then borrowed the other two books to follow Ang Ku Kueh Girl’s adventures. Borrow The Kan Cheong Spider from the NLB here.
Just like the first book (and third), the story is full of local flavors. Here Ang Ku Kueh Girl has siew mai for breakfast. Siew mai is shrimp and pork steamed dumpling and is a beloved Chinese dim sum dish.
Fast-forward a little bit… this is the beginning of the wake of the Warrior Dragon and the siblings together with Red Egg’s first meeting with the magical creature. He introduces himself as the Dragon of the East of the Little Rad Dot Island and explains how a spell on him was broken. It was all thanks to Ang Ku Kueh Girl and Red Egg in the first book.
The story continues with him sending them off to Candy Spider who needs their help. Off they go tumbling into the magical land where the Candy Spider lives.
What help does the Candy Spider aka Kan Cheong Spider need? It is a challenging task for them all to accomplish! On top of that, something bad happens to Ang Ku Kueh Boy when he does something he is not supposed to, so they have to fix that problem too.
Here, Ang Ku Kueh Boy comes up with a brilliant idea. They set to work and in the course of that Ang Ku Kueh Boy and Girl learn their lessons and Kan Cheong Spider can toss his nickname out the window!
As always—at the end of the book—there is an explanation awaiting readers. Now you know what to call someone you know who is easily flustered and always in a rush. Kan cheong!
Catch the whole series. They’re lovely.
