Year 7&8 Author Incursion

Year 7 and 8 students were visited by author Rebecca Lim recently. Rebecca Lim is an author from a different background who writes about a different culture and has exposed our students to new ideas and experiences. 

One of her books, Tiger Daughter, is a Year 8 set novel this year. Students had a chance to connect with the creative writing process, gaining an understanding and appreciation for literature in the Victorian Curriculum for English in Levels 7 and 8. 

Thank you, Rebecca Lim for visiting Christway College Kingston. We greatly appreciate your valuable insight.

Grace Ang (Year 7) wrote her incursion experience:

On the 2nd of August, Christway College hosted an author visit featuring Rebecca Lim, a renowned author of a wide collection of books, spanning from picture books, contemporary for teens, memoir pieces, and many more genres. Rebecca’s recently published book, Tiger Daughter was a largely discussed topic that introduced keen students to the fascinating world of writing. Rebecca also encouraged students to take the next step and get their stories with potential even to be published.

Rebecca Lim is a Singaporean but migrated to Warwick in Queensland at an early age. Reading classic children’s stories such as Lord of the Rings, Anne of Green Gables and C.S Lewis, she spent much time reading during her childhood. Such children’s classics have been in Rebecca Lim’s high school booklists but were also in her daughter’s. Infuriated by the lack of diversity in such booklists, as well as wishing to discourage myths about migrants and refugees, as one herself, she decided to write Tiger Daughter.

As a result of the limited options, Rebecca Lim published Tiger Daughter on the 1st of February 2021 for her daughter and their friends to read. Tiger Daughter is a book that calls for greater empathy for those who are facing unconscious bias, racism, and domestic violence. There was also an aspect of a ‘public’ sphere and a ‘private’ sphere, which posed an issue regarding many children worldwide who face family issues. As a result, they resort to hiding their true self to anyone who does not witness the child at home. This was one of the reasons why Rebecca chose to write this book.

Another element Rebecca Lim presents is the ‘Writer's Toolkit,’ a valuable tool for composing narrative texts. This toolkit provided a clear understanding for writing a composition for aspiring writers. In her presentation, Rebecca highlighted crucial elements for constructing a narrative, providing a structured approach to successfully build a story's foundation. The components she stated included a genre, a theme, a world, a character development, a point of view, and a plot structure. The ‘Writer’s Toolkit’ helped many students improve the quality of their writing as well as their confidence.

Rebecca Lim’s visit allowed students to have a deep insight into the world around them and an approach to some current situations that migrant children may be facing. Her visit also helped students to greatly enhance their writing and was thoroughly enjoyed.

Rebecca Lim has played her part in inspiring the next generation of writers.

Dayna Chu

English Teacher