Asia in the Heart, World on the Mind

Starry River of the Sky by Grace Lin (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2 Oct. 2012) I cannot even begin to express all my fangirl feelings right now.

Congratulations to illustrator Zhu Cheng Liang and author Yu Li Qiong! Their picture book A New Year’s Reunion (Candlewick Press) made it on the New York Times list of the 10 Best Illustrated Children’s Books of 2011 !

This was originally posted at Into the Wardrobe on September 5, 2009. "Every student watched Chenxi and the foreigner and every one of them had something to say about it." It is April 1989 and eighteen-year-old San Francisco native Anna White is visiting her father in Shanghai. While in Shanghai, Anna, who is an artist, will learn traditional Chinese painting. One of Anna's classmates at the Shanghai College of Fine Arts, Chenxi, has been assigned as her translator and tour guide. Anna falls head over heels in love with the handsome, mysterious, and talented Chenxi. There are student protests in China while Anna is there, and Chenxi is one of the students protesting the Chinese regime. When Anna is forced to return to the United States, the protests culminate in what the Chinese government calls the June Fourth Incident, but the Western world calls the Tiananmen Square Massacre . Chenxi and the Foreigner , by Australian children's/YA author and illustrator Sally Ripp...

This was originally posted at Into the Wardrobe on June 28, 2009. In the heart of Mendocino County, California, there is a gorgeous stand of rare old-growth redwood trees known as Big Tree Grove. One of the redwoods has an amazing tree house. The front side of the tree house is a deck with long benches, the back is a little cabin with a pointed roof. There's a pulley seat to go up and down the redwood. The tree house is fortified with sleeping bags, walnuts, apples, water, peanut butter, bread, cheese, cereal, crackers, powdered milk, jam, and chocolate-chip cookies. Julian Carter-Li, Robin Elder, Danny Lopez, and Ariel Glasser - all ages 11-12 - are camped out in that tree house and they are NOT coming down until San Francisco-based IPX Investment Corp. agrees not to log in Big Tree Grove. How did Julian, Robin, Danny, and Ariel meet and become friends? How did they find out about IPX's plans for Big Tree Grove? Why do they want to save the grove and how did they get their...

This was originally posted at Into the Wardrobe on May 30, 2009. Each page in Shanghai Messenger (Lee & Low Books, 2005) has red Chinese screens framing poetry by Andrea Cheng and art by Ed Young . This beautiful picture book for children in the third to sixth grades tells the story of Chinese American Xiao Mei's first trip to China to visit her relatives. I see my face in the rice water, two braids hanging down, fuzzy curls all around, half Chinese half not. In China will people stare at my eyes with green flecks like Dad's? Will they ask why didn't Grandmother teach me Chinese? Cheng's stirring free verse poems evoke Xiao Mei's fear about traveling to China all by herself, and her doubts from being surrounded by a language, people, and lifestyle that are strange to her. We also see Xiao Mei's love for her life in Shanghai really grow. When she returns to Ohio, Xiao Mei misses all of her relatives and longs for her family in America and her family in Chi...

This was originally posted at Into the Wardrobe on May 18, 2009. Let us welcome to Into the Wardrobe Lisa Yee , . . . author of the middle grade novels . . . and of the young adult novel . . . Lisa, thank you very much for stopping by to join the celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month! Can you please tell us a bit about your Asian American heritage? I am Chinese American. My mother was born in Los Angeles, and my father was born in Seattle, Washington. However, both sets of {my} grandparents came to America from Canton, China. (Lisa's parents, before Lisa was born) What inspires and motivates you to write books for children and young adults? I just can't help myself. It was something I have always wanted to do and I am drawn to books for kids. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with the fact that I peaked when I was about 12 years old. What was your path to publication as a children's and young adult book writer? I had been every other sort of writer there wa...

This was originally posted at Into the Wardrobe on May 18, 2009.   On the day of her first betrothal meeting--and rejection--Ai Ling discovers a power welling deep within her. She can reach into other people’s spirits, hear their thoughts, see their dreams. And that’s just the beginning. Ai Ling has been marked by the immortals. Her destiny lies in the emperor’s palace, where a terrible evil has lived, stealing souls, for centuries. She must conquer this enemy and rescue her captive father, while mythical demons track her every step. And then she meets Chen Yong, a young man with a quest of his own, whose fate is intertwined with hers. Here is a heart-stopping, breathtaking tale for fans of action, fantasy, and romance--of anything with the making of legend. Hello! Today we continue our celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month with an interview of Cindy Pon , author of a new Asian fantasy for young adults, Silver Phoenix: Beyond the Kingdom of Xia (Greenwillow Books/H...

This was originally posted at Into the Wardrobe on May 1, 2009. "Sixteen-year-old Emily Wu is a good daughter, good student, good artist, and good friend. She works hard at school and in the Chinese restaurant she helps her parents run. But her life, which once seemed as sweet as the bao zi dumplings she and her mother make together, now feels stifling. Just as her paintings transform a canvas, Emily wants to create a new self. Then Nick, a sexy transfer student, asks her out. His kisses and the other girls' envious glances give Emily a thrilling, disconcerting new vision of herself, so different from the one she sees in the eyes of her parents and friends. Which Emily is the real Emily?" Happy Asian Pacific American Heritage Month! This month, Into the Wardrobe's reviews and interviews will be celebrating Asian and Asian American children's and young adult books and their authors and illustrators. So I hope you'll stop by often to join the conversation on As...