Teaching Cats to Jump Hoops
You Jin
Singapore: Epigram Books, 2012
ISBN: 9789810736576

A chain-smoking student with a violent past. A girl with a penchant for rare turtles. A boy who sees a raging fire every time he opens his exam booklet. These are some of the students that Madam Tham encounters in her classes. While other teachers refuse to give them a chance, Madam Tham is determined to reach out to them. Funny and heartwarming, this collection of short stories by Cultural Medallion Award winner You Jin explores issues like failed relationships, delinquency and the pressure of school and society. You Jin's insightful portrayals are based on her real life experience as a teacher of twenty-nine years.

Under the pen name You Jin, Tham Yew Chin has published 157 books to date in Singapore, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Malaysia. Her collection of work includes novels, short stories, travelogues and essays. The first recipient of both the inaugural Singapore Chinese Literary Award and the Montblanc-NUS Centre for the Arts Literary Award, You Jin was an educator in the Singaporean school system for twenty-nine years. She was awarded Singapore’s Cultural Medallionin 2009.