Asia in the Heart, World on the Mind

* Check out the website of the Philippine chapter of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators! * Then check out the latest issue of Cha: An Asian Literary Journal. The essays section features children's book authors Margaret Hui Lian Lim , Emily Lim , Adeline Foo , and Sarah Brennan . LOVE. :o) Love, love, love, love, love!

* New blog alert! Filipino children's book author/illustrator May Tobias-Papa has a new blog, Little Wishing Star . May is charming, her work is charming, and her new blog is charming. Ch-ch-check it out! * The Philippine Board on Books for Young People (promoters of literacy, the love of reading, and children's books in the Philippines) also has a new blog . Be sure to watch that space! * Korean American children's and young adult author Paula Yoo is a guest blogger over at angry asian man . She gathered several librarians for a roundtable discussion on Asian American children's and young adult literature. EPIC. * During the Manila International Book Fair last week, I gave a presentation on blogging about children's and young adult literature. =D * ETA: And ooohhh, check out this site . It "contains reviews, articles, interviews, recommendations and blog posts related to: books and multimedia (in the English Language) for Muslim children and young adults (Isl...

Hi, everyone! I have another special guest today: Tutu Dutta-Yean. She's at Asia in the Heart, World on the Mind to share a bit about herself and her work in children's literature. Welcome, Tutu! About the Author Tutu Dutta-Yean was born in India, but she grew up in Malaysia. She has traveled and lived in Japan and France as a student and later in Singapore, Nigeria, New York and Cuba as the wife of a diplomat. She has a bachelor’s degree in environmental science from University Putra Malaysia and also devoted a few years researching this subject for a master’s degree in the University of Malaya before embarking on a career in public relations. Her lifelong interest in culture, folklore and children’s literature inspired her to research and write her first book, Timeless Tales of Malaysia . Since then she has published two more books: Eight Fortunes of the Qilin and Eight Jewels of the Phoenix . She has a teenaged daughter, Shona, who was born in Singapore. At present, Tutu i...

Let's continue getting to know the winners of the first Philippine National Children's Book Awards ! =D In my last post , I interviewed Gidget Roceles-Jimenez, the author of the excellent Can We Live on Mars?: A Book about Space ( Adarna House , 2009). Today, I have the privilege of interviewing Bru, the book's illustrator. Bru has brought along some illustrations from the book to share with us. Hi, Bru! And welcome! It's great to host you on my blog. What did you like most or find the most interesting about Can We Live on Mars?: A Book about Space ? The whole thing was fun. There was no one thing that stood out. It was a challenge actually, but I really enjoyed illustrating this book (except for the mechanical drawings of spaceships. It's like drawing cars. I am so not a gearhead). [Click on the image above to see a spread from the book. This image is courtesy of Adarna House. All rights reserved.] How would you describe your illustration style for Can We Live on...

Gidget Roceles-Jimenez is the author of the excellent Can We? science book series from Adarna House . The series includes Can We Live on Mars?: A Book about Space , which won a Philippine National Children's Book Award this year. Can We Live on Mars? makes astronomy interesting, accessible, and relevant to Filipino children. Today, I have the great pleasure of sharing an interview with the book's author! Gidget, welcome to Asia in the Heart, World on the Mind! Why do you write nonfiction for young readers? What is it about nonfiction that you find so appealing? In the 10 years I have been writing, I have been fortunate to have been given the opportunity to write poetry, creative non-fiction and non-fiction for young readers. I started off writing poetry because I used to love reading funny poems to my children at night. Our favorite poet was Shel Silverstein. Other times my kids would prefer we make up stories instead of read them. Since my husband loved adopting all sorts...