Ryan, the oldest son of parents Nicholas Lee, CEO of an innovation consulting company, and Tan Li-Cheng, a kindergarten principal, blends maturity with humour in ‘The Zoo’. With support from his parents, am adoring 9 year old sister and grandparents who save newspaper cartoon strips for him, this boy wonder enjoys doing what he does, embraced in an abundance of love and support. Brilliant quips and adorable sketches fill ‘The Zoo’ and make it extremely hard to put down till you’re done with all 125 pages!Ryan Lee. The name may not mean much to you. Yet.Ryan, like any school going boy, loves his daily comic dose of Calvin & Hobbs, Mutts, Peanuts and more. But what separates this soon to be 12 year old from other boys his age is that the love of comics does not just end with reading them. This Singaporean child has a published comic book to his name entitled, ‘The Zoo’.
Ryan has been drawing cartoons since he was seven (2004) but he started ‘The Zoo’ around early 2008. It’s hard to believe but every single page is drawn by him and the humour is all his, without any help from anyone. But how did this begin and where does young Ryan draw inspiration from? TheAsianparent sat down for an interview with Ryan’s biggest fan and supporter – his father, Nicholas Lee.
TheAsianparent (TAP) : How did Ryan get started?
Many parents today send their children for extra classes, from piano to ballet to art. If the intent of sending them to these extra classes is to expose them to the different creative art forms, then it is probably the right thing to do. In exposing them to it, there is the potential for discovery and in that discovery is the hope of finding a passion. But if the intent is to fill up their resumes so that they can show their next prospective school or employer all the things they have accomplished, then I think the parents need to reflect on what they are doing to their children.
Eager to get your hands on ‘The Zoo’? Drop Nicholas an email at r3n2lee@singnet.com.sg and you’ll be mailed a copy. The book retails at $30*. (* Nett proceeds go towards helping the less fortunate).