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 saw my picture book, “I am a Bon Dancer,” listed on Amazon and various websites, and I thought I’d share it. My aunty used to call me, “turtle” as a kid because I was so slow, which is ironic. After all, I feel it’s taking me longer than most people to publish my first book. I heard one author say it took her three years to publish her first book. Here’s how long it’s been for me. I wrote the initial manuscript in third person for this book when my oldest son was less than a year old.…
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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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I’ve been doing a lot of research for a picture book idea I’ve held for a while. Research was my job for many years. I worked for various organizations researching diabetes in youth, healthy aging and the criminal justice system for different parts of my life. But I find the most joy from history, particularly understanding my past. Belonging I was born and raised on Oahu. I’m Japanese American, so I never felt like I belonged in Japan, but I’m not from this land either. It’s a weird place to be especially in the times we’re living now. Listening to…
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I started out the New Year with symptoms of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or Long Covid (whichever one you believe in). At the same time, my picture book was finally announced in Publisher’s Weekly. 2024 has birth forth my greatest accomplishment and my lowest point health-wise. It’s a tenuous year-a back and forth switchboard of what’s going to happen next. I am also living in the place I’ve been dreaming of for a decade. So while my biggest unimaginable dreams have come to fruition, a few unexpected life changing setbacks as well. 2020s have really thrown me for a loop! I…
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It’s been too long since I posted here. And hopefully I will have good news to share soon. I have a lot of plans for 2024. Do you? I’m going to redo this website, continue to write for kids and the environment. Personally, I’m also focusing on my health in 2024. You know how you always say that, but health is kind of the last thing on your resolutions list? After being hit with a lot of viruses these last few Covid years and then getting what appears to be Long-Covid, which I’m still recovering from, I’m not just saying…
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I just listened to a webinar about how there are a lot of picture books about trees lately. This doesn’t bode well for my own picture book which I’ve been working on for the last few years. But it’s better for the kids and hopefully the planet, so this makes me happy. This is another thing that makes me happy. The Tree and the River by Aaron Becker is a wordless picture book that takes children (and adults) on a journey from a fantastical past to the illusions of a future beyond our imagination. It’s cinematic in its illustrations and…
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I started out my writing career trying to be invisible. I wrote as neutral as I could so that my words would come through. To be honest, so that my color could not been seen. This is the way it was supposed to be. It’s the way my culture survived WWII and the bombing of Pearl Harbor. It’s the way we were raised – to be good enough. Not so good that you stood out. But you didn’t want to shame your family either. For years, it went this way until I realized my writing was stunted by neutral, bland…
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I so admire my very talented writer friend Kamalani Hurley for her tenaciousness at posting and creating relevant content about Native Hawaiian and local artists. As for me, my time is mostly spent taking online courses to beef up my knowledge of coaching and working on revising my picture book on Hawaii sugar plantations. As a writer for more than 15 years, I still feel like a beginner. Every day it’s about showing up when the laundry needs to be done and my kids need me for everything. To be honest, I nearly lost my writing mojo last month and…
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Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong place. Not that Hawaii isn’t a magical place to be raised. But when I first traveled to Europe for the first time, I felt more at home than I did when I went to Japan. Maybe this is why I find myself drooling over Enchanting Paris: The Hedonist’s Guide. The multitude of cathedrals, the cultural symbolism, and history dripping within its architecture fills me with enviable joy. It reminds me that I am a writer who lives for romantic places and whimsy. Even if real life is too harsh and practical, writing…