Eleven-year-old Ying Xiong’s name means ‘hero’. And that’s what he wants to be. But what’s the best way to be a hero?

Ying Xiong finds it hard to navigate through his troubled growing-up years in 1950s Singapore. He has an absent father who left him for his home village in China. His mother has little time for him as she slogs hard all day to support their family. At first, he looks up to his Silat Road neighbour Dave, a mild police inspector who likes to harp on about the value of exercising patience and self-control. Then, an impressive senior officer John Wei turns up in his rough neighbourhood and shows him what it’s like to take action and get things done. When Xiong runs into a series of difficulties, he is bewildered about who he wishes to emulate and the kind of person he wants to become. As he stumbles through his choices and the paths to take, 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.

About the Author

Emily Lim-Leh’s foray in chapter book writing started in 2024 with her historical fiction book Little Hero, which ranked #1 Amazon Singapore Children’s Books bestseller and #1 Straits Times Children’s Books bestseller. Little Hero and Little Hero’s Wish are inspired by her family’s lived experiences in 1940s and 1950s post-war Singapore.

The backstory of Emily’s writing journey began in 1998 when she lost her voice to a rare voice affliction, Spasmodic Dysphonia. In her search for her lost voice, Emily found a new God-given voice in writing. In 2007, she was a winner of Singapore Book Council’s First Time Writers Initiative with her debut book Prince Bear & Pauper Bear, a story about a teddy bear without a mouth who could not speak. Today, she is a multi-award-winning author of over 50 children’s books. Her awards include:
• 3-time winner of the IPPY Awards, the world’s largest book awards,
• 4-time winner of U.S.-based Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards,
• Mediacorp’s Singapore Woman Award Honoree, for inspiring readers through her books,
• Public Service Medal (Covid-19) from the Prime Minister’s Office, Singapore, for her voluntary book projects for the community.