The House on Silat Road

Playful Sing and her lovable family of thirteen return in this sequel to The House on Palmer Road. Barely have they moved into their big new house on a hill which Father built, that World War II arrives at Singapore’s doorstep and their idyllic life is turned upside down.

The House on Silat Road tells the adventures and escapades of nine-year-old Sing and her family during the Japanese Occupation of Singapore from when the first bombs fell in December 1941 to the Japanese surrender in 1945. Through her eyes, witness some of the most important events in Singapore’s war history, and the family’s constant struggle to survive, as they outwit and escape the Japanese, plan secret English lessons and watch the seaborne return of the Allied Fleet. All this time, Father has a secret, hidden in the amazing house he built.

All the illustrations are closely based on archival photos of the house and can be considered a source of public history. Based on real events and backed by historical research, and contains eye-witness accounts of little known events in the war. Sensitively written, there are no graphic details of horror of war.