Emma Shevah
Emma Shevah is half-Thai and half-Irish, but was born and raised in London. This diverse heritage influences her writing, which is typically about identity and what makes us who we are. She writes funny, deep books that she hopes will make readers think.
Dream on Amber is about fatherless, half-Japanese Amber Miyamoto, who invents an imaginary dad to help her with her escalating problems. Dara Palmer’s Major Drama is about an adopted Cambodian girl who wants the lead role in a play and has to take matters into her own hands to achieve it. And What Lexie Did follows a Greek Cypriot girl who tells a huge lie that splits her family apart and separates her from her cousin and best friend, Eleni. Hello Baby Mo!, for early readers, follows school boy Adam dealing with an exasperating new sibling, and was published in 2019. Emma lives in Brighton.
Books
Dara Palmer's Major Drama
Author: Emma Shevah
Publisher: Chicken House
Interest age: 10+
Reading age: 10+
Fresh, funny, fizzy and indomitable, Dara learns through acting to face challenging home truths about what she calls the 'insidey bits' of herself, friends and family.
Dream On, Amber
Author: Emma Shevah
Publisher: Chicken House
Interest age: 8+
Reading age: 9+
Dream On, Amber is fast and funny with wonderful little illustrations. Emma Shevah has created a wonderfully modern voice that manages to perfectly balance a sensitive subject with light and laughter.
How to Save the World with a Chicken and an Egg
Author: Emma Shevah
Publisher: Chicken House
Interest age: 9-13
Reading age: 10+
Ivy can talk to animals – really – but no one will believe her. This is incredibly frustrating, especially as she is so passionate about the environment and helping wildlife.
Nathaniel has grown up with his gran, but this summer is visiting his mum for the first time. In her will, his gran left him a letter, which said there is something at his mum’s for him…
What Lexie Did
Author: Emma Shevah Illustrator: Helen Crawford-White
Publisher: Chicken House
Interest age: 9-11
Reading age: 8+
When Lexie is caught between telling the truth and lying, her decision splits her family apart - can she figure out how to bring them back together? A complex, sophisticated exploration of honesty that's also brilliantly funny and compelling.