epigram

🎁 Recommended for ages 9 and above

In Secrets of Singapore: Chinatown, join best buddies Moo and Cluck on a nostalgic trip back in time as they retrace the footsteps of Singapore’s early Chinese immigrants!

The animated animal duo learn that not everyone celebrates Chinese New Year the same way, and that Samsui women were not the only ones who wore the trademark headgear! Things become a lil’ spooky when they discover a street of death (Gasp!) in Chinatown, unearth a tomb (not literally) and realise why the front row of seats is always empty at getai performances during the hungry ghost month. #shudder

That’s not all! Moo and Cluck also discover that the Chinese are not the only ones living in Chinatown, sugarcane has a festive significance, and some people used to make a living by writing letters to strangers!

Time to beef up your knowledge about this historic district. Don’t you make egg-scuses and chicken out!

Winner of POPULAR Readers' Choice Awards 2023 - English (Children)

Did you know that over 90 per cent of Singapore’s food is imported? You butter believe it!

In Secrets of Singapore: Fabulous Food, Spy Guy and the extraterrestrial Quiiqueg uncover this and lots more about Singapore’s makan paradise!

Discover the classic dishes that are uniquely Singaporean (there are laksa them)—and those that aren’t (Singapore fried rice?). Explore the newest food fads (unicorn poop, anyone?) and revisit the oldies but goodies (ice kacang is the OG!).

Hungry for more?

Peek behind the scenes and discover where all our food comes from, and how they’re stored so they stay fresh, clean and yummy for longer (ever heard of a food safe?). Then find out how we deal with any leftover food (there’s too much) to minimise waste!

Tag along with Spy Guy and Quiiqueg on a souped-up tour of fabulous food. You’ll be one smart cookie by the end!

Spy Guy and Quiiqueg are back at it again, this time navigating the bustling waters of Singapore.

In this ninth edition of the much-loved Secrets of Singapore, dive into Singapore's maritime culture and history and learn about seaborne trade, bustling ports and the remarkable individuals who contribute to our maritime industry. All this and much more in this best-selling series.

🎁Recommended for ages 9 and above

Winner of Best Book Cover at the Popular Reader's Choice Awards 2017 - English (Children) Book Category 
2nd Prize at the Popular Readers' Choice Awards 2017 - English (Children) Books Category

In Secrets of Singapore: National Museum, Danger Dan and Gadget Girl take a peek behind the pillars of the National Museum to see what secrets it guards. And what a treasure trove! From way back to the time of Sang Nila Utama right up to modern day Singapore, the superhero duo unearth curious artefacts such as a headless horseman figurine from the 1300s, and banana money (not made from actual bananas) from the Japanese Occupation.

In exploring the museum, Danger Dan and Gadget Girl discover that the museum itself hides a curious past. It was once located in a school (Raffles Institution, no less!), and some of the more unusual gifts it received included an elephant and a tiger. Luckily, they were dead. Otherwise, there would have been chaos at the museum.

Join Danger Dan and Gadget Girl on an adventure through the National Museum and watch history come to life right before your eyes! 

Winner for the 2024 Singapore Book Awards (Best Young Person's, Non-Fiction Title)

On your marks. Get set. Go! Read all there is to know about sports in Singapore.

In this eighth edition of the much-loved Secrets of Singapore, learn about the history of sports, the kinds of games we play, the places we play them, the competitions we host and all the local personalities that do us proud. All this and much more in this best-selling series.

🎁Recommended for ages 9 and above

When their usual travel plans fall though, Lee Su Lin and her little brother, Su Yang, reluctantly spend their school holidays on Pulau Ubin instead. Along with their new friends, the sensible and smart Zizi, and the perpetually hungry Bus, they form the Sengkang Snoopers and discover a mysterious hut at the top of a quarry hill, where a hermit is rumoured to live. When they hear strange sounds coming from the hut, they just can't keep away, but what will they find there?

Singapore's favourite sleuthing quartet returns in this third instalment of the series, set in the offshore Sisters' Islands. Su Lin, Su Yang, Bus, Zizi and their faithful parrot, Kuning, are camping on Big Sister's Island, one half of the Sisters' Islands, and they waste no time exploring, climbing lush trees and diving into shimmering lagoons. When they spot a strange boat circling the off-limits Little Sister's Island, where a hatchery for rare turtle eggs is housed, they smell a mystery they just cannot resist. Joined by a new friend, the Sengkang Snoopers brave raging rivers and winds to thwart the plot. But can they save the turtles before danger finds them?

🎁Recommended for ages 9 and above

The Sengkang Snoopers are vacationing on the island of Sentosa, but a holiday involving this gang of sleuths really isn’t complete unless there’s a big mystery to decode. This time, Su Lin, Su Yang, Bus, Zizi and their loyal parrot sidekick, Kuning, pick up a curious piece of paper containing some very interesting information, including a drawing that appears to lead to hidden treasure from the Japanese Occupation. But their quest to solve a mystery lands them in mortal danger. Can the Snoopers escape from peril in time to save the day?

A novella shortlisted for the 2022 Singapore Literature Prize (Fiction in English)
Recipient of the 2022 Singapore Literature Prize Readers’ Favourite English Book

Snow falls over Singapore for exactly four minutes and twenty-six seconds, quietly interrupting the lives of a dozen individuals, lonely and adrift: an art student and a former fling, chancing upon one another at Punggol MRT station; two men awake at 4am, watching YouTube videos of hail falling over the island nation; a sugar baby trawling through Google Maps, exploring the homes and neighbourhoods of her former clients...

Witness the near-miraculous ways passers-by can transform the trajectories of one another’s lives.

Shantih Shantih Shantih is a heady mix of desire and dauntlessness that revels in its interconnections, pulling close a community that is at once together and apart.

Join Shelby the snail and Mona, an emerging butterfly, as their friendship reaches new heights.

Shelby excitedly observes Mona’s transformation from a chrysalis to a butterfly while fondly sharing memories of their friendship. When Mona takes flight, Shelby longs to be with her. Thanks to a caring gardener, Shelby reunites with his best friend.

A wonderfully illustrated book about remarkable transformations and enduring companionship.

🎁Recommended for ages 9 and above

Shortlisted for Popular Readers' Choice Award 2014 - English (Children) Books Category

When weird things happen while camping on Pulau Ubin, Sherlock Sam is convinced that aliens are to blame! Eager to investigate, Sherlock Sam and his not-so-eager sidekick robot Watson journey into the wilderness and discover a mystery that’s out of this world. Will these close encounters get the better of Singapore’s Greatest Kid Detective, or will he prove to be of a higher life form?

🎁Recommended for ages 9 and above

In this latest instalment, Sherlock Sam and his Supper Club must hunt down the true culprits to prove Nazhar’s dad’s innocence!

A rare manuscript is stolen, and Nazhar’s dad is the main suspect! Officer Siva tells the Supper Club they can’t investigate, but that’s never stopped Sherlock and his friends before. 

Will they prove Nazhar’s dad’s innocence and catch the true culprits? Or will they be perplexed by the puzzling pilferers? Find out in Sherlock Sam’s next exciting adventure!

🎁Recommended for ages 9 and above

In the sixth book of this series, Sherlock Sam encounters his most important mystery yet! His classmate has gone missing at MacRitchie Reservoir, and no one can find him. Fearing the worst, Officer Siva refuses to let the Supper Club help, but there’s never been a mystery Sherlock, Watson and their friends could ignore!

This book is also the first of The Fiendish Mastermind Trilogy! An exciting trilogy that will keep you at the edge of your seat. 

🎁Recommended for ages 9 and above

The Supper Club is attending the San Diego Comic-con when some experimental technology is stolen by a real-life superhero turned real-life supervillain! Will Sherlock Sam, Watson and the rest of the gang be able to rush across the country to rescue the priceless technology from the clutches of this evil-doer? Or is this the end of the world as we know it?

🎁Recommended for ages 9 and above

Shortlisted for Singapore Book Awards 2018, Best Middle Grade/Young Adult Title

In a sudden turn of events, the Fiendish Mastermind calls the Supper Club to London to solve the mystery of a new criminal genius who is even more fiendish than he ever was! Sherlock Sam, Watson and the Supper Club have to race against the clock to discover the brains behind the crimes that have left the London police baffled. The thrills and restaurants of London will have to take a backseat as Sherlock Sam and gang come head-to-head with their most devious adversary yet!

🎁Recommended for ages 9 and above

Shortlisted, Popular Readers' Choice Awards 2015, English (Children) Books Category

Watson has been kidnapped by Sherlock Sam’s arch-nemesis! Will Sherlock and the Supper Club be able to decipher the baffling riddles that the fiend has set before them…before it’s too late? Or will Sherlock’s trusty teammate be lost forever? Discover what happens in the exciting conclusion of The Fiendish Mastermind Trilogy!

🎁Recommended for ages 9 and above

Second Runner-Up, Popular Readers’ Choice Awards 2013, English Children’s Books Category
Recommended by the National Library Board, Singapore

The adventures of Sherlock Sam continue! Together with his loyal sidekick robot Watson, Sherlock Sam is fast becoming Singapore’s Greatest Kid Detective!

In Sherlock Sam and the Ghostly Moans in Fort Canning, mysterious sounds fill the air at one of Singapore’s most-loved historical attractions. Ghosts don’t exist, or do they? Will this mystery prove too difficult for Sherlock Sam to solve?

🎁Recommended for ages 9 and above

Winner of Red Dot Book Awards 2013-2014, Younger Readers’ Category
Selected for National Library Board’s READ! Singapore 2014

Meet Sherlock Sam, Singapore’s greatest kid detective. With his trusty robot Watson, Sherlock Sam will stop at nothing to solve the case, no matter how big or small!

In Sherlock Sam and the Missing Heirloom in Katong, Auntie Kim Lian’s precious Peranakan cookbook disappears, and Sherlock Sam cannot eat her delicious ayam buah keluak anymore! Will Sherlock Sam be able to use his super detective powers to find this lost treasure?

🎁Recommended for ages 9 and above

1st Prize winner, Popular Readers' Choice Awards 2017 – English (Children)  Category 
Shortlisted for the Singapore Book Awards 2017 (Best Middle Grade/Young Adult Title)

The Supper Club encounter strange and impossible phenomena near Dad’s workplace, and Sherlock Sam suspects that the weirdness is caused by alternate realities bleeding into his own. Together with Watson and the rest of the Supper Club, Sherlock Sam works to stop universes from colliding, lest they face a crisis of infinite number of Watsons spouting sarcasm everywhere they turn!

🎁Recommended for ages 9 and above

Get ready for Sherlock Sam’s latest adventure, this time, in an international school in Singapore!

In Sherlock Sam and the Sinister Letters in Bras Basah, Sherlock Sam is all set to discover what an international school in Singapore is really like, but one of the students is receiving strange letters that are causing grave concern. Can Singapore’s Greatest Kid Detective use his super intelligence to help his new friend?

🎁Recommended for ages 9 and above

After getting in trouble with his parents over the mayhem in MacRitchie, Sherlock Sam was forced to disband the Supper Club. However, his arch-nemesis continues to taunt him.

This time, the top-secret final script of Singapore’s most popular television series is stolen! Can Sherlock Sam, Watson and their friends resolve the dastardly plot twists in their way? Stay tuned to find out! 

🎁Recommended for ages 9 and above

Shortlisted for Singapore Book Awards 2018, Best Middle Grade/Young Adult Title

Sherlock Sam and the Supper Club are off to Penang for a holiday! Of course, Sherlock Sam can’t go anywhere without bumping into a mystery. An antique tin robot vanishes from a toy museum without a trace! Did it walk off on its own? Was it teleported away? Will Singapore’s Greatest Kid Detective be able to resist all the local delicacies and focus on his most dangerous case yet? 

🎁Recommended for ages 9 and above

This special collection of short stories gives a glimpse into the alternative realities introduced in Sherlock Sam and the Quantum Pair in Queenstown, where different versions of the gang throughout time and space exist, from Ōnāy-359 and an Ancient Land That Was Not China to the town of Tumbleweed and a Place That Is Not on Any Map. It’s Nazhar, Moran, Wendy, Mom and Dad, Officer Siva and Inspector Lestrade, Jimmy, Eliza, Watson, and Sherlock Sam as you’ve never seen them before! 

Literary greats have long visited Singapore, fascinated by its culture and history. Explore the experiences of writers like Anton Chekhov, Rabindranath Tagore, Noël Coward, Isabella Bird, Pablo Neruda and Joseph Conrad, among others, and discover how Singapore remained a lasting part of their creative imagination.

🎁Recommended for ages 3 and above

Adrian Pang and Cultural Medallion winner Milenko Prvacki team up to write Hansel and Girl Girl, the tale of two siblings sent on an errand by their unloving stepmother who hopes they get lost and never return. Along the way they chance upon a candy store run by a curious looking Peranakan lady sporting huge beehive hair and ruby red lips...what will happen to them?

Epigram Books is proud to present their own brand of traditional fairytales told Singapore style! Three local celebrities—Adrian Pang, Glen Goei and KF Seetoh—present Singaporean versions of traditional fairy tales to benefit the Society for the Promotion of ADHD Research and Knowledge (SPARK).

The Sisters Islands and Pulau Senang: two satellite islands off the coast of Singapore, small but rich in story. This volume brings together two remarkable plays by Jean Tay, Sisters and Senang, which explore these two islands through turbulent events in the 1960s.

Sisters: The Untold Stories of the Sisters Islands blends a real-life murder with creation myth. The play alternates between two stories: one of Mina and Lina, the two sisters upon which the myth of the Sisters Islands is supposedly based; and the other of the shocking case in 1965 of Jenny Cheok, killed by her boyfriend Sunny Ang, which also involved her half-sister Irene.

Senang covers the prison riots on Pulau Senang in 1963. The island was used for a bold experiment, led by Superintendent Daniel Dutton, an Irishman who believed he could reform the inmates through labour, and abolished the use of arms to police them. This is one man’s attempt to create a utopian penal colony, which tragically led to his violent end.

Join Sly the Fly on a mischievous adventure as he spreads the flu all over town. From buzzing bees to singing bears, no one is safe from his whirlwind of sneezes.

A playful, rhyming tale about germs and good manners.

Shortlisted for 2019 Singapore Books Awards Best Middle Grade/Young Adult Title
Finalist for the 2017 Epigram Books Fiction Prize

Sofia is an ordinary schoolgirl living in a future Singapore where the population is divided into three social strata. When she inadvertently unlocks the gateway to a new world, she realises she must escape the government’s radar. She ventures into the lowest rung of society, the Voids, and meets with the eccentric Uncle Kirk and the resourceful Father Lang. While on the run, she learns why her father disappeared seven years ago and why the new world exists in the first place.

Probing and thrilling, this novel explores worlds within worlds and reinvents the creation myth.