GREETING

Assalamualaikum and a very good morning I bid to the honourable judges, teachers and
friends. My name is Muhammad Danish Irfan bin Shaiful Rizal. I am 12 years old this year
and I am studying in SK Sri Rengit(JBB 0022)
INTRODUCTION
The book that I am going to introduce today is a fiction book written by Alisha Zakaria
entitled “Life Anew”.It was published by Penerbitan Harapan. The book has 48 pages.
CONTENT
Life Anew is a story of Thomas Grabalott, a millionaire who lived alone in his ghost
house had life anew after he bumped into a boy named Mitch Harrison, a softball player.
One day, Daniel Smith, Mitch’s softball teammates, hit the softball so hard that it landed in
a ghost house. Retrieving the ball was Mitch’s job. Taking a deep breath, Mitch slowly
pushed open the door and stepped inside. The room was dark and the air had an old,
dusty smell inside. He couldn’t see how high the ceiling was, but through the gloom he
saw dozens of paintings on the wall. Suddenly, Mitch heard something behind him. Then,
a cold, bony hand seized Mitch’s shoulder. Suddenly, he heard the old, rasping voice said
“What are doing in my house?You break my window and you have to pay for that”. Mitch
was stammered in terror. “I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to do it” said Mitch.

Mitch saw an old man that was hunched over with age. His face was dark and
wrinkled, and his eyes were half-hidden under terrifying, bushy eyebrows. Mitch in a
quivering voice said that the softball team will pay for his broken window. The old man
didn’t want his money and he is a millionaire. His name is Thomas Grabalott. He noticed
him looking at his valuable art collection so he can work on them to repay him for his
broken window. He also said to Mitch that the frames need to be polished until the gold
gleams again. Then, Mr. Grabalott disappeared into the small room and emerged with an
old rag and a bottle of polish. Mitch was fascinated by the paintings. They all look
expensive. The paint on some of them was cracked with age, and others seemed as
bright as the day they were painted. But of all the paintings, Mitch was most curious about
the back to front painting. Mr. Grabalott said the paintings are worth hundreds and
thousands of dollars. Mitch finally finished polishing the frame on the last painting.

Mitch suggested to Mr. Grabalott that he should open up his house to let people see
the paintings. He said to Mitch on why would he want to allow people into his house.
Mitch replied that he might enjoy showing off his paintings. He scowled at Mitch he
doubted that all the people want to do is take his money and break his windows. Mitch
also suggested that he could charge each person a dollar to see the paintings. Mr.
Grabalott thought for a moment. “It such a good idea,” said Mr Grabalott. The day of the
exhibition arrived quickly. Mr. Grabalott only said one thing to the visitors that it will be a
dollar to see the paintings. But soon, the people started asking him questions about his
paintings. Mr. Grabalott would tell them how little he had paid for them, and how much
more the paintings were worth now. He said that the longer he kept them, the more
valuable the paintings become. Mitch was amazed to hear him from Mr. Grabalott that he
welcomed to his home and asked them for the dollar to the visitors. He seemed to stand
taller and straighter by the middle of the afternoon. His face appeared less wrinkled, and
his eyebrows looked less terrifying. He smiled at the people who were admiring his art
collection and shook hands with them as they left. He also greeted new visitors with a
wink and a smile. Sometimes, he even forgot to ask for the dollar, but not very often. Mr.
Grabalott whispered to Mitch that he is quite enjoying himself and forgotten how nice it
was to have people around.

The art exhibition was a great success. All of the visitors smiled at Mr. Grabalott and
thanked him for letting them into his home. He smiled back, and waved goodbye. He even
looked a little sad as the last person left. Mr Grabalott thanks Mitch for reminding him that
all the paintings are really worth nothing, if no-one can enjoy them.
CONCLUSION
I enjoy reading this book and learn money is not everything in our life. Sharing with
others will make us feel good, grateful, increases trust, and make life real. Sharing also
means that you are not alone and it creates more joy, gratitude, trust and community.
Above all, I learn to be good and the good will come to me. The is so much positivity in
this story making “Life Anew”a must read. Thank you.