This is a children’s book written by Grace P. Garnier and illustrated by Nora Hamerton. It is also an introduction to Malay culture through fiction. The story centers around a character called Hussain and his family, and is set in a kampung (village) in Kedah. Garnier often draws parallels between Hussain’s life and activities and those of a child in England – for example, she compares Hussain’s cockleshell game with English children’s knucklestones game. This helps to de-exoticise Hussain’s character and create empathy through a simple story.
