by A. J. Low
Horchata—A Mexican sweet drink made from rice, sugar and cinnamon, and sometimes vanilla.
Jalisco—A state in the central west part of Mexico. Many things typically associated with Mexico originated in Jalisco, including mariachis, dresses with wide skirts decorated with ribbons, the wide brimmed sombrero hat, the Mexican Hat Dance, tequila and rodeos called charreadas and jaripeos.
Junior High School—Many international schools in Singapore use the US-style junior high school system, which consists of Grades 7 and 8. This is the same as Secondary years 1 and 2 in local Singapore schools.
Kaypoh—Nosy or meddling. A busybody.
Law of Conservation of Energy—This law states that energy can be neither created nor destroyed, and therefore the sum of all the energies in a system is constant.
Mariachi—Folk music from Mexico. The term mariachi can refer to the music itself and the musicians and bands that play it. A traditional mariachi band has at least two violins, two trumpets, and one or more guitars, with members taking turns to sing.
Pinto Beans—The most common bean in Mexico and the US, and a staple of Mexican cuisine. Very rarely do Mexican dishes not contain pinto beans either whole or mashed and refried.
Prata—A fried, Indian flat bread made of flour found all over Singapore. It can be ordered plain, or filled with savoury fillings (cheese, onion, egg etc.) or sweet fillings (banana, cream, chocolate etc.). It usually comes with a side of curry.
R2-D2—The famous blue-and-white astromech droid from the Star Wars films and cartoons. He speaks in chirps and beeps, and can record holographic videos.
Rhyming Couplet—In poetry, these are two lines of the same length that rhyme and complete one thought. There is no limit to the length of the lines. This poetical device has been used by such renowned poets as William Shakespeare, Alexander Pope, John Dryden, Geoffrey Chaucer, and many others.
Supper Club—This is either a dining establishment that is also a social club, where people socialise while eating, or an underground restaurant that only shows up one night in a secret location known only to a few people. Officer Siva likely gave Sherlock Sam and his friends this name because he knows they like to eat and hang out while solving mysteries.
Tacos—A traditional Mexican food that predates European conquest. All tacos have a tortilla as their base, which are usually rolled or folded around pinto beans, a meat, and many vegetables and sauces, including cabbage, tomato, bell peppers, onions, sour cream, chilli and guacamole.
Tortillas—A Mexican flat bread made from cornmeal or flour. It can be made in many sizes and is used in numerous dishes, including tacos, burritos, flautas, fajitas, chimichangas, and many more.
Yong Tau Foo—A Chinese dish with Hakka origins, comprising fishballs, and other items stuffed with minced meat or fish paste, including bittergourd, eggplant, ladies fingers, chillies and tofu. This dish can be eaten with or without soup.
ABOUT THE CHARACTERS
SAMUEL TAN CHER LOCK a.k.a. SHERLOCK SAM
Ten-year-old Sherlock Sam’s heroes are Sherlock Holmes, Batman and his dad. Extremely smart and observant, Sherlock loves solving any and all mysteries—big or small. He loves comics and superheroes!
WATSON
Built by Sherlock to be his trusty, cheery sidekick, Watson is, instead, a grumpy ‘old man’ who is reluctantly drawn into Sherlock’s adventures; or as Watson perceives them, his misadventures. Watson is environmentally friendly.
WENDY
Sherlock’s older sister. A year older than him, Wendy is a very talented artist but she is terrible at Chinese. Sherlock would like to be taller than her soon. She doesn’t like wearing dresses or skirts.
JIMMY
Sherlock’s classmate. Jimmy is the only boy in a Peranakan family with four sisters. Seemingly much younger than his actual age, everything is exciting and magical to Jimmy. He has terrible handwriting.
DAD
An engineer, Sherlock’s dad is a scientific genius, but is rather forgetful and bumbling in real life. He has never stopped reading superhero comics—a love he’s passed on to his son.
MOM
A homemaker, Sherlock’s mom is half-Peranakan and is constantly experimenting in the kitchen. Sherlock often wonders why she tempts him with food, then does not allow him to eat his fill.
NAZHAR
Usually shy and quiet, Nazhar will stand up for his friends when they are threatened. Sherlock admires him for his knowledge of history which Nazhar learned from his dad. Nazhar believes in the supernatural much to the dismay of Sherlock.
ELIZA
One of the prettiest and most popular girls in school, Eliza often bullies kids she sees as weird or geeky, for example, Sherlock Sam and his friends. Eliza spends a lot of time in front of the bathroom mirror, making sure her hair is neat.
OFFICER SIVA
A Deputy Superintendent in the Singapore Police Force, Officer Siva is an experienced policeman who is extremely impressed by the intelligence he sees in Sherlock Sam. He loves kaya toast and coffee from Chin Mee Chin, a bakery in Katong.
LUIS ALVARADO
Luis is 10 years old and in the Fourth Grade at Enterprise International School. An expert in Four Square, Luis loves sports and the beach. Originally from California, Luis has grown to love Singaporean culture and food, especially Milo.
FIDEL ALVARADO
Fidel worked as a copywriter in the US before moving to Singapore. He started writing children’s books because he wanted to encourage his son to read more. Fidel loves wearing hats and kopi c peng (local iced coffee with evaporated milk).
MARIA OLGA ALVARADO
Maria Olga works long hours and is happy that Fidel is able to write from home and spend time with Luis. When she’s free, she’ll make delicious Mexican food for her family. She collects tiny bottles from around the world.
I can’t believe that Samuel Tan Cher Lock and his friends don’t know how to play Four Square. It’s so simple. I’m Eliza, by the way, if you haven’t already figured it out.
Four Square originated in US Elementary school playgrounds, and is played on a square court that has to be divided into four smaller, equal squares. All you need is a ball the size of a basketball (it has to be able to bounce) and chalk, to draw the four squares and number them 1, 2, 3 and 4 in a clockwise fashion (not randomly the way Jimmy does it). Choose any player to be in Square 1 in any way you like. I normally play Scissors, Paper, Stone and win every time because I’m good at that game too.
The basic rules:
1. Bounce the ball into an opponent’s square such that it bounces out without he or she being able to catch it.
2. The ball cannot bounce in a player’s square twice. If that happens, that player is out. REMEMBER THIS!
3. When someone is out, everyone else (usually me because I’m really good at this game) moves up a square and a new player will enter the game. Still don’t understand? It’s super simple! If a player in Square 3 is out, the player in Square 4 will move up a square to Square 3, leaving Square 4 empty. The players in Square 1 and 2 stay put. The new player will enter in Square 4. Remember, always move up a square, not down!
Next, we have optional rules. Any player who breaks these rules is automatically out. Also, only the player in Square 1 is allowed to add in rules before serving the ball.
Examples of optional rules:
1. Whirlpool: The ball must be passed clockwise or counter-clockwise until the player in Square 1 or Square 2 says, “End whirlpool!”
2. No Returns: Players are not allowed to bounce the ball into the square of the person who just passed it to them.
3. No Holding: Players are not allowed to catch and hold the ball, but must instead quickly bounce it to another square.
Remember, these are just a few examples. There are many more optional rules and you can make up your own rules as you learn the game. I like to make up my own rules all the time.
Simple, right? Anyone can join or leave the game whenever th
ey feel like. For example, Sherlock leaves often to get himself a chicken wing. If you need more help, you can go to sherlocksam.wordpress.com and click on “FUN!” for more details.
What are you waiting for?
Go and play Four Square now!
Hello, everybody! Sherlock Sam here! I learned how to make horchata from Uncle Fidel and Auntie Maria Olga recently, and I have decided to share the recipe with you! It’s a very cooling summer drink, and the ingredients can be found pretty much all over the world! You won’t have to go to any specialty shops or anything!
This recipe makes enough for six people to drink, but if you want to scale up or down, just use Maths! If you would like to make enough for twelve people, then double your ingredients. If you would like to make enough for only three people, then halve your ingredients. I might show up at your house while solving a mystery one day, so you should definitely have enough for me, just in case!
You will need the following ingredients:
185g uncooked white long-grain rice
1185ml water
120ml milk
8ml vanilla extract
3g ground cinnamon
135g white sugar
First, you will need to pour all the rice and water into a blender. A coffee grinder can work as well. Blend only until the rice begins to break up, which should be about a minute with most blenders. Once that’s done, let the rice water mixture stand at room temperature for at least three hours. Go do some homework, solve a mystery or eat lunch. If you’re like me, you’ll be able to do all three!
Once the three hours have passed, strain the rice water into a container of your choice, and discard the rice. It’s okay if some of the rice gets through. Uncle Fidel and Auntie Maria Olga say some people leave all the rice in. Stir the milk, vanilla, cinnamon and sugar into the container with the rice water, and then put this in your refrigerator overnight. Yes, you have to wait overnight. It won’t taste as good if you try to drink immediately, so go put your pyjamas on and read some Batman or Sherlock Holmes. Or one of my adventures!
The next morning, you will need to stir your horchata immediately before serving so that the cinnamon is evenly distributed. It tends to settle after a while. Uncle Fidel and Auntie Maria Olga say horchata is best when there are ice cubes in your cup, so remember to keep it cool!
And that’s it! You’ve made your very own horchata! Remember to always keep some handy, in case I come over!
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
The writers behind the pseudonym A. J. Low are the husband-and-wife team, Adan Jimenez and Felicia Low-Jimenez. Born in California to Mexican immigrant parents, Adan became an immigrant himself when he moved to Singapore after graduating from New York University with an English Literature degree. He previously co-wrote a children’s book, Twisted Journeys #22: Hero City. He loves comics, LEGO®, books, movies, games (analog and video), Doctor Who and sandwiches, and one day hopes to own a store that sells all these things. Felicia was born and raised in Singapore. She spent most of her childhood with her head in the clouds and her nose buried in a book, and now daydreams of owning her own bookstore. She has a graduate degree in Literary Theory, and the Sherlock Sam series is Felicia’s debut writing effort, after accumulating years of experience buying, selling and marketing books.
You can contact the authors at [email protected] or by visiting sherlocksam.wordpress.com and facebook.com/SherlockSamSeries.
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
drewscape is Andrew Tan, a freelance illustrator from Singapore. His work consists of drawing storyboards and illustrating for advertising agencies as well as magazines. He enjoys creating comics just for the fun of it. He loves experimenting with various styles and mediums, hunting for new art tools, and discovering new graphic novels with fresh and interesting drawing styles. His inspirations come from daily life, manga, European comics and science fiction. drewscape published his first graphic novel, Monsters, Miracles & Mayonnaise, in 2012.
Look out for Sherlock Sam and the Alien Encounter in Pulau Ubin as the adventures of Sherlock Sam continue!
When weird things happen during a camping trip in Pulau Ubin, Sherlock Sam is convinced aliens are the culprits! Eager to investigate, Sherlock Sam and his not-so-eager sidekick robot Watson journey into the wilderness of Pulau Ubin and discover a mystery with out-of-this-world implications. Will these strange encounters get the better of Singapore’s Greatest Kid Detective, or will he crack the case?
