The Good Gang: Stories from Tak Takut Kids Club

Lin Shiyun, Carolyn Oei, Marc Nair
Paperback, 128 pages
9789819443956

The Good Gang is a new book from 3Pumpkins that offers a rare, ground-level view of childhood in Singapore’s heartlands. It tells the stories of 10 children who grew up with Tak Takut Kids Club (TTKC), a safe and happy neighbourhood community space for children. Their lived experiences are interwoven with insights into systems of support—from education to social services and community relations—offering a nuanced view of Singapore’s social mobility landscape, its gaps, and its possibilities for change.

The stories are organised into three sections. “Stories Children Carry” offers a trauma-informed look at the adversities children face in their daily lives — often unnoticed and unheard. “Keeping Them Whole” shares the experiences of children living with mental health struggles and sheds light on what helps them to keep going. “The Value of a Child” presents thought-provoking stories of children with different abilities, inviting readers to rethink how we invest resources to support them.

“Even when we act in the best interests of children, we may still not fully understand how they feel, think and move through the world. We wish to remind adults to listen more closely to children and imagine systems tat truly meet them where they are.  — Lin Shiyun, co-author and founder of TTKC

Written by Lin Shiyun, Carolyn Oei and Marc Nair, with illustrations by Nicole Soh and forewords by Minister Desmond Lee and Mr. Xie Yao Quan (CEO, Quantedge Foundation), The Good Gang invites readers to see childhood with greater empathy and to imagine how we can all work together to create better opportunities for children when we truly listen to them.