Emma Press Children's Fiction Books – serie

Na Willa is a bright, adventurous girl living in Surabaya's suburbs, her home in the middle of an alley surrounded by cypress trees. She spends her days running after trains, going down to the market, and thinking about how people can sing through radios. Indonesian author Reda Gaudiamo has created a collection of stories of curious adventures and musings of a multicultural girl growing up in Indonesia with an East Indonesian mother and a Chinese-Indonesian father. Set in a time when children spent the day outside, listening to Lilis Suryani's songs on the radio, and when race and gender would still go undiscussed, this is Na Willa's story as she grows up unafraid to ask the big questions.

Meet Lela – a clever little girl who is also very stubborn. Despite her mum and dad encouraging her to learn a new language, Lela refuses, arguing that dogs don’t try to neigh. This leaves her in a bit of a pickle at an important international party where she can’t understand anything the grown-ups are saying and feels utterly miserable. Lela vows from this moment on to learn all of the languages of the world, one word at a time… Join Lela on her journey, learning words in Latvian, French, Finnish, German, Spanish, Italian, Estonian, Swedish, Slovenian, Dutch, Maltese and Russian. Filled with humour, adventure and learning, this delightful book will leave you wanting to learn more and more languages.

Na Willa's days are spent happily in her little house in the alley, until, one day, Pak brings some news that will change her life forever...Na Willa is a little girl who likes to ask questions. Why can’t she go home from school right now? Why can’t she play with Farida when she has chickenpox? And, most importantly, why can’t her nose be long and pointy like the people in magazines?Na Willa’s mother, Mak, does her best to explain why each time, and Na Willa’s world keeps expanding. Also, Pak, her father, is back from sea! Now Na Willa couldn’t be happier: playing with her friends, reading new books, and singing along to records. But then one day Pak brings some news that will change her life forever...Based on Reda Gaudiamo’s childhood in the 1960s, Na Willa and the House in the Alley is a collection of stories about a bright, open-hearted girl growing up in the city of Subaraya, in multicultural Indonesia. This is the sequel to The Adventures of Na Willa.

One summer, when both his parents are away for work, Oskar is sent to the countryside to live with his grandma. A dreary prospect turns into disaster when Oskar realises he left his mobile phone back at home. What will he do all summer now?Lonely and bored, Oskar crafts a phone out of a block of wood he finds in the shed and uses it to pretend to call things. To his surprise, the things reply! He speaks to a tough-talking iron, a poetising bin, a bloodthirsty wardrobe, a red balloon that gets tangled in the crown of a birch tree, and many more. Oskar finds himself in high demand, helping the things solve their problems and achieve their dreams. Oskar and the Things is a charming book about the power of the imagination and friendship, by Estonia's leading children's writer, Andrus Kivirähk. With a lively translation by Adam Cullen, and the original illustrations by Anne Pikkov, it is the perfect gift for an introverted child with a rich inner life.

In the north of Europe, on the top left-hand tip of a country shaped like a butterfly, lies the Livonian coast: a quiet place with wide sandy beaches, wild forests and not very many people at all.If you decide to go there yourself and sit on the edge of a forest, you might see some little creatures moving around, smaller than the elks but bigger than the wild boar and badgers…Can you spot prickly Spendthrift, desperately trying to impress her friends? Over by that little house is Hare, preparing buttercup tea and crisp golden waffles for his sailor friend (and prisoner) Wolf, who just wants to be back at sea. And that worried-looking fellow hurrying up the hill is Squishbod – he really does have a skeleton in his cupboard…Across nine deeply atmospheric and compelling fairytales, Lilija Berzinska follows the desires and anxieties of a community of mysterious creatures in the north of Latvia, gently exploring their preoccupations and suggesting solutions with resonant empathy and wisdom.A Skeleton in the Cupboard won the prestigious Latvian Literary Award of the Year (Children's Category) in 2019, with judges noting: 'Lilija Berzinska's tales ooze warmth and sweetness.'