Publisher's synopsis
From best-selling author Alice Pung and renowned illustrator Sher Rill Ng comes an extraordinarily powerful and moving book about how the past can shape the future.
Xiao Xin believes he is a red fire warrior but his family are always telling him to be careful. They believe the world is a dangerous place. Too dangerous for a little boy on his own.
They don’t understand what I can do!
They don’t understand what I can be!
Renowned storytellers Alice Pung and Sher Rill Ng bring to life a beautiful and tender story about learning to conquer your own fears – as a child, and as an adult.
Awards
- Notable – CBCA Picture Book 2023
- Winner – Educational Publishing Awards Australia 2023 (Educational Picture Book)
- Winner – IBBY Ena Noel Award 2024 (Sher Rill Ng as Illustrator)
- Longlist – The Danz Children’s Book Award 2024 (Picture Book)
Complementary content
STORY BOX LIBRARY
Alice Pung is the current Artist in Residence at Janet Clarke Hall, the University of Melbourne, and Adjunct Professor at RMIT University’s School of Media and Communication. She is the bestselling author of the memoirs Unpolished Gem and Her Father’s Daughter, and the essay collection Close to Home, as well as the editor of the anthologies Growing Up Asian in Australia and My First Lesson. Her debut novel Laurinda won the Ethel Turner Prize at the 2016 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards. Her second novel, One Hundred Days, was shortlisted for the 2022 Miles Franklin Award, and has been optioned for a film. She is the author of children’s books including Millie Mak the Maker and Be Careful, Xiao Xin! (ill. Sher Rill Ng), When Granny Came to Stay (ill. Sally Soweol Han) and the Meet Marly books (ill. Lucia Masciullo). Alice was awarded an Order of Australia Medal for services to literature in 2022.
Photo by Courtney Brown, courtesy of HarperCollins Publishers Australia
Sher Rill Ng is a Woi Wurrung/Melbourne-based illustrator. She designed and illustrated for SaaS companies before releasing her first author-illustrated picture book Our Little Inventor in 2019. In 2022, Our Little Inventor was adapted into a children’s opera, composed by Emma Jayakumar and presented by the West Australian Opera. Her work includes middle grade book covers for The Twelve by Cindy Lin, The Rogues by Lian Tanner and Winnie Zeng Unleashes a Legend by Katie Zhao. Most recently Sher Rill has illustrated Be Careful, Xiao Xin! written by Alice Pung.
Photo courtesy of HarperCollins Publishers Australia
