It’s not often that you come across a picture book that’s adventurous, cultural, and tells a true story, especially one that you haven’t heard of. I was intrigued when I picked up award-winning author Christopher Cheng’s Powerful Like a Dragon. This Roaring Brook Press picture book, illustrated by Jaqueline Tam, tells what happened to the author’s relatives after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. This was fascinating to me as someone who is born and raised on Oahu, but never learned about how the Japanese attacked Hong Kong following the December 7th’s infamous attack. A true tale Once you read it, you will…
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I just picked up a Katherine Tegen Book by author Michelle Sterling and illustrator Aaron Asis, When Lola Visits, and fell in love with the whimsical illustrations and equally as whimsical text. This picture book gives us a common theme of summer, but through the lens of Filipino culture. The way Sterling captures the essence of summer through the senses is palpable. We feel summer in its bounty of ripe fruit and the main character’s baby brother who the author describes is, “like trouble brewing on a day of absolutely nothing to do…” Even if many of us did not…
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My family and I have been at home sweltering in the summer heat so I haven’t been posting lately. But I recently read a new nonfiction picture book that blew me away. I needed to write about it. Dreams to Ashes: The 1871 Los Angeles Chinatown Massacre is written by Livia Blackburne, illustrated by Nicole Xu and published by Carol Rhoda Books. The illustrations are bold, breathtaking and ferocious. Worthy of this beautiful picture book’s words that inform, educate but also illicit power in its fiery text. It begins with questions: “What sparks a fire in a young California city? What…
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I love books that defy traditional forms of story. This is what you get when you read Caldecott Medalist Allen Say’s Tonbo, published by Clarion Books. It is a Benjamin Button in picture book form. It is the type of picture book you will read more than once to understand the different layers, to understand its meaning and magic behind the book, which is described as “semi-autobiographical,” of the main characters journey from his current self to his younger self and back again. The illustrations are a work of art. Each page depicts a scene in the character’s adventure with texture and…
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When I went to Gael’s book signing, I picked up a few other picture books. I have been watching Joanna Ho’s posts on We Who Produce Pearls, for awhile. The cover and illustrations by Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya are gorgeous. Illustrations that you want to frame on your kid’s walls. It’s the type of book that gives you chills. It’s THAT good. There is so much depth in the words that are written for children, but that also speaks to adults. It’s written as a poetic anthem so while no specific events are detailed in the main part of the book (the back matter…
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As a Japanese American girl born and raised on the island of Oahu, I didn’t get to read many picture books about my culture. Even as a mother, finding books for my kids that reflected our lives were far and in between. This is slowly changing and I’m excited to share new picture books about both growing up in Hawaii and being Japanese American. I first saw Sharon Fujimoto-Johnson‘s picture book The Mochi Makers, right about the time when I was writing my own picture book about mochi. I was amazed that she was both the author and illustrator. Her book…
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The House on the Canal by Thomas Harding, illustrated by Britta Teckentrup and published by Candlewick Studio reminds you why picture books are so important. The gorgeous illustrations are like framed pieces of art. It is wonderful in its ability to educate readers about the famous home where Anne Frank hid, and also deep in its meaning. It is the kind of book that teaches you as much about the present as it does the past and is as much for children as it is for adults. It is the kind of book that elevates your experience as a reader and…
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Happy 2025! As I mentioned in The Inspiring Bee, if January is any indicator of the rest of this year, it will be a challenging one for all of us. As a picture book creator, it’s hard to not venture into the world of politics when books are being banned to erase history. It’s been happening for a long time. Many generations have been raised without awareness of slavery, colonialism and annihilation of indigenous people and loss of their land. But continuing to share picture books about diverse cultures and perspectives is one way to stand up against it, which…
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I met Kamalani Hurley online years ago when I sold my first picture book and she was just beginning to submit hers. Fast forward a handful of years and Hurley who is a kanaka maoli (native Hawaiian) writer and professor emeritus, is publishing inspiring children’s literature that we all need to read. Her debut picture book Kaho’olawe: The True Story of an Island and Her People illustrated by Harinani Orme, was a Junior Library Guild Selection before it officially came out. It also won a starred review from the School Library Journal. I knew early on that it would be…
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My Climatebase fellowship has taught me so much. I’ve learned, for example, about companies that intentionally dumped toxins in the Amazon forest, killing indigenous people and the land. It’s happened multiple times throughout history so much so that there have been movies about it. Yet, it still happens. I also learned that most of us are nutrition deficient because our soil is depleted. An orange eaten generations ago has the same nutritional value as four oranges today. There were a lot of statistics, facts and tables that all end up with a pretty dire near future for us and the…