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Little Hero

Emily Lim-Leh
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Seven-year-old Ying Xiong looks forward to a better life in post-war Singapore after the Japanese troops’ surrender in September 1945.

However, a new war erupts at home when Xiong’s father decides to return to his homeland in China. This tears the family apart when he takes Xiong’s two elder brothers back with him, whilst Xiong and his mother remain in Singapore.

Xiong navigates his childhood years alone in a poor neighbourhood as his mother ekes out a livelihood for them. He makes a friend in Kampung Silat, follows a fearsome teenage gangster in Silat Road and gets to know a brave police inspector who becomes his neighbour. Through all this, Xiong comes to realise what it takes to be a hero, which is also the meaning of his name Ying Xiong.

Little Hero is a touching work of fiction inspired by real-life events from the childhood years of the author’s father in post-war 1940s Singapore and beyond.

Published: Apr/2024

ISBN: 9789815162073

Length: 98 Pages

Little Hero

Emily Lim-Leh

Seven-year-old Ying Xiong looks forward to a better life in post-war Singapore after the Japanese troops’ surrender in September 1945.

However, a new war erupts at home when Xiong’s father decides to return to his homeland in China. This tears the family apart when he takes Xiong’s two elder brothers back with him, whilst Xiong and his mother remain in Singapore.

Xiong navigates his childhood years alone in a poor neighbourhood as his mother ekes out a livelihood for them. He makes a friend in Kampung Silat, follows a fearsome teenage gangster in Silat Road and gets to know a brave police inspector who becomes his neighbour. Through all this, Xiong comes to realise what it takes to be a hero, which is also the meaning of his name Ying Xiong.

Little Hero is a touching work of fiction inspired by real-life events from the childhood years of the author’s father in post-war 1940s Singapore and beyond.

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Emily Lim-Leh

Emily Lim-Leh lost her voice to a rare voice affliction Spasmodic Dysphonia in 1998. In her journey to recover her lost voice, she found a God-given voice in writing when she was a winner in Singapore Book Council's Publishing Initiative in 2007 for her debut picture book, Prince Bear & Pauper Bear. She followed this with three more Toy titles, and her Toys series has since been translated into four languages and published in six countries.
Emily has authored over forty children’s picture books. She is the first person outside North America to win three IPPY Awards in children’s books, and the first in Southeast Asia to win the Moonbeam Children’s Book Award.
Emily was named Mediacorp’s Singapore Woman Award Honoree for inspiring readers through her books. She is also a recipient of the Covid-19 Public Service Medal (from the Prime Minister’s Office in Singapore) for her voluntary collaboration with private and public healthcare professionals to produce informational e-books for the community during Singapore’s Covid fight.
Little Hero is Emily’s first adventure in writing a children’s chapter book, as inspired by her family’s stories.
Emily blogs about books and parenting her son (and her muse) at her blog https://mummumstheword.wordpress.com/