NINE LITTLE PEOPLE WHO LIVED IN A CHEST
By Wee Su May
Publisher: MPH Group Publishing

Whenever Sylvia asks her mother why dad doesn’t ever come to visit, Marjorie simply says, “I don’t think the universe wants him to.”

Marjorie is a single mother who works in a costume shop and Sylvia is her only daughter. The only time Sylvia’s father is mentioned in this book is at the very beginning where it explains that Marjorie has been divorced since Sylvia was only three years old.

As the story goes, Marjorie finds a wooden chest at a dump site and decides to give it to her daughter. In the beginning, Sylvia is a bit apprehensive about getting the box. She explains that there is no more space in her room, and secretly thinks to herself that the box is really ugly. Marjorie insists and Sylvia takes the box anyway.

I would say it’s a good thing she listened to her mother. One night, Sylvia hears a strange noise in her room. Upon investigation, she finds that the carvings of little people on the box have come alive.

Tuktu, his wife and three young children have been living as carvings on the box for many years. They have been passed on from one person to another and Sylvia is set to be the new guardian of the five little people who live in the chest.

As the new guardian of the chest, Sylvia holds the responsibility of caring for the little people. She has to learn how to cook and make clothes for the little people. Despite being a child herself, I am pleasantly surprised that Sylvia seems to have no qualms looking after a little family. She takes her role as a guardian seriously and she constantly finds new ways to keep the family occupied.

Of course, she has to keep the little family a secret from her mother. Eventually, Sylvia goes on an adventure to track down another chest in which four little people are living. Sylvia has to do it in order to save Tuktu and his family from a condition which only the family in the other chest has the antidote for.

Judging from the lovely cover illustration, I thought this was going to be a very innocent children’s book. However, author Wee Su May talks about dark themes like divorce, abandonment and there’s even a mention of a lonely ageing father who never gets to see his daughter anymore after she elopes with her boyfriend.

I find these themes to be a bit unsettling for a children’s book.

Despite the dark themes, Wee’s first book is easy to follow. There are many heartwarming moments between Sylvia and the little family.

Although, Marjorie sounds like a very dysfunctional mother and I wonder if her somewhat nonchalant attitude towards parenting would affect Sylvia’s upbringing.

I guess this book teaches the importance of family and that no matter what happens, your family will always be there for you. Sylvia is my heroine in this book. Even though she mentions that her mother is never really there for her, it does not stop her from being a great “mother” to five little people.

I think this is also a very important lesson to learn for children growing up in a dysfunctional family. Single parents should be able to tell their children what's going on and that they will not be like them when they grow up; that despite all odds, they will grow up to be able to function well in relationships and, of course, life.