Little Hero's Wish
  • Published: 21 October 2025
  • ISBN: 9789815351019
  • Imprint: PRH SEA
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 168
  • RRP: $16.99

Little Hero's Wish

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A boy’s tale of lostness, courage and growing up in post-war 1950s Singapore

Eleven-year-old Ying Xiong’s name means ‘hero’. But what is the right way to be a hero?

Ying Xiong has trouble coping with his turbulent growing-up years in 1950s Singapore. His absent father left him for his home village in China, and his mother slogs hard all day to support their family. At first, he looks up to his Silat Road neighbour, a mild police inspector who likes to harp about the value of forbearance. Then, an impressive senior officer turns up in his rough neighbourhood and shows him what it’s like to take charge. When Xiong runs into a series of difficulties, he must decide who he wishes to emulate and the kind of person he wants to become. As he navigates both paths, Xiong discovers what it means to be a real hero.

Little Hero’s Wish is a work of fiction inspired by real events from the childhood years of the author’s father in 1950s Singapore. It follows from Xiong’s journey in the award-winning and bestselling Little Hero, inspired by the author’s family’s lived experiences in post-war 1940s Singapore.
  • Published: 21 October 2025
  • ISBN: 9789815351019
  • Imprint: PRH SEA
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 168
  • RRP: $16.99
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About the author

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 new God-given voice in writing when she emerged a winner in Singapore Book Council’s first-time writers’ competition in 2007. She wrote her debut picture book Prince Bear & Pauper Bear, followed by Three more Toy titles.

Her Toys series has since been translated into four languages and published in six countries.

Emily is now an award-winning author of over forty children’s picture books. She is the first outside North America to win three IPPY Awards for children’s books. She is also a three-time winner of the Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards 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’s 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. This story was inspired by her interviews with her father on his colourful childhood when they both stayed at home through the months when Covid-19 was raging. She’s delighted that her family’s story is taking form as a children’s book.

Emily blogs about books and parenting her son (and her muse) at her blog https://mummumstheword.wordpress.com/

Also by Emily Lim-Leh

Little Hero
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