“All night long, all night. All night long, all night.”
For weeks, my six-year-old was singing Lionel Richie’s famous song, albeit in the wrong tune.
She hadn’t actually heard the song before, but came across these two lines of lyrics in the book “The Ollie Comics: Diary of a first time dad” by Eisner-nominated author Andrew Tan, better known as Drewscape.
The Parenting Diary In Comics
The book is about Andrew and his wife, Yvonne’s experiences in their first two years as parents. Named after their daughter, Olivia, it is a delightful compilation of real-life scenarios masterfully drawn as comics.
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I had bought this book mainly for myself. Though I thought my daughter might be interested in the drawings and read a few of the stories, I hadn’t expected her to practically hog the book the moment she got her hands on it! She went through the whole book, then reread her favourite stories over and over again.
One of her favourite stories is “All night long”, in which Andrew writes about Ollie’s new-found ability to pull herself up from a sitting position and decided to practise the skill through the night. Little wonder the parents found it apt to sing along to Lionel Richie’s music video the next morning!
It is stories like this that give the book its charm. As parents, we do have to be able to see the humour in our forever-disrupted lives to keep our sanity. And Andrew has captured that tenacity beautifully in his comics.
His light-hearted anecdotes are filled with warmth, the wonder of discovery, and wisdom – acquired through trial, knowledge passed down from elders, and from the Internet! (There’s a story on Andrew and Yvonne learning how to decipher Ollie’s cries from a recommended YouTube video.)
The Ollie Comics
The Ollie Comics is a very good read that brings back fond memories for parents who have been there, done that; provides tips for new parents; and engages kids in a different way from their usual books.
It is one of few books that can truly be shared with, and enjoyed by, everyone in the family.
The Ollie Comics: Diary of a first time dad can be purchased at Little Day Out Shop (S$24, free shipping within Singapore), Woods in the Books, Books Kinokuniya, Tango Mango Books & Gifts, Basheer Graphic Books, and drewscape.net.
