Introduction to Malaysian History

Being a homeschooling family, we rely heavily on materials mostly from US and thus, there isn't any support when it comes to learning about our own country. To find suitable material to teach Reese about our country's history which is not bias is definitely not easy. First of all, most history books are crap and it is in Bahasa Malaysia. I needed one that is in English and not too deep for a young child to understand.

Sometime back, I found History of Malaysia - A Children's Encyclopedia book by Tunku Halim. It is written in brief but comprehensive fashion. Just a nice introduction for children to our history. The book has lots of pictures and illustration. The book retailed at about RM65. The author has another book which is somewhat like a novel entitled A Children's History of Malaysia. I have not read that book yet but will do so soon.

I for see the only way to teach Reese Malaysian history is through books written by different independent authors and the internet. I cannot rely on school history text books which do not truly reflect the truth! 

With out recent visit to Melaka, Reese is beginning to learn more about our country. It's about time to teach him our country's history and be proud of it! Honestly, I have forgotten most of what I had learned in school. So it's going to be fun learning together with Reese and I have plans to visit every state in Malaysia as we learn about the past!

I also found Where Monsoons Meet (Not for young children) a very interesting book on Malaysian History in a different perspective. It is out of print but I found a forum that shares the book through scanned pages. Worth a read. :) I am trying to get my hands on this book!

Oh, I also found this little bookshop at Lot G35, The Summit USJ. Yes I know, it is a terrible shopping mall but I found this bookstore by accident and I like it. It is Bookalicious! The interesting thing about this bookstore is that they sell a lot of books on Malaysia. Their books are somewhat between the prices of Bookxcess and regular bookstore chains. Go check it out.