Asia in the Heart, World on the Mind

Happy Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month! How are you all celebrating? As part of my celebration, I'm sharing my chat with author Mae Respicio . Her middle grade novel The House That Lou Built (Wendy Lamb Books, 2018) is about Lou Bulosan-Nelson and her dream to build a tiny house (only 100 square feet!) all on her own and on land that she inherited from her father. This Filipino American coming-of-age story is the recipient of the Asian Pacific American Library Association (APALA) 2019 Honor Award in Children’s Literature . Keep reading to discover more about Mae and the book! Congratulations, Mae! What inspired you to write The House That Lou Built ? There were many things that inspired this book such as my love of building, my desire to write a strong girl at the center of a coming-of-age adventure, and wanting to write a book set in the Bay Area! Although above any of these things what kept me inspired throughout the (sometimes grueling!) writin...

I still haven't gotten over See You in the Cosmos by Jack Cheng   (Dial Books for Young Readers, 2017). So after I reviewed the book  here and cooked up some classroom and book club activities for it, I just had to grill Jack about his influences and creative process. Read our interview below!  Jack with his dog Matisse Hi, Jack! What motivates and inspires you to write for young readers? Getting to meet kids (both in school and through my books) who are at a time in their life when they're really starting to form their values. It's a time when they're really starting to ask the big questions about life and the people around them—the same big questions that we keep asking, I think, even when we grow into adults. I was excited when I saw that the main character of See You in the Cosmos , Alex Petroski, was Filipino American. Is there a particular reason you made Alex Filipino American? To be honest, I thought about making Alex Chinese American but I...

I am very happy to share an interview with  Erin Entrada Kelly , Filipino American author of the excellent middle grade novels  Blackbird Fly ( Greenwillow Books, 2015),  The Land of Forgotten Girls (Greenwillow Books, 2016) - one of the best middle grade novels I've ever read,  Hello, Universe (Greenwillow Books, 2017), and the forthcoming You Go First (Greenwillow Books, 2018). Hello, Erin! To start, can you please tell us about your Filipino background? I am mestiza. My father is from the US. My mother is from Sogod, Southern Leyte, and lives in Cebu. What are the five books that turned you into a writer? It’s hard to pinpoint five books. I’ve always been a big reader. When I was about seven or eight, I realized that books were just pen and paper, which meant that I could write my own stories. That’s when I started writing. I’ve been writing for so long that I don’t remember a time in my life when I wasn’t working on something. So I guess I ...

On July 6, join Kuwentista ng mga Tsikiting (KUTING) , the organization for children's book writers in the Philippines!

Press Release: The Ken Spillman and NBDCS AFCC Subsidy Once a year, participants come to the Asian Festival of Children’s Content (AFCC) in Singapore to meet and mingle with writers, illustrators, publishers, editors, and producers of excellent children ’s content. To assist Filipino children's book creators to access regional opportunities, Australian children’s author Ken Spillman has made available a grant of ten thousand pesos (P10,000.00) to help defray the expenses of attending the AFCC held annually in Singapore. To qualify, applicants must have published at least one full-length work for children or young adults. Evidence of the published work may take the form of a PDF file attached to the application or a link to the site where the work is sold. Applicants are also asked to submit a resumé and a maximum of 500 words explaining how attendance at the AFCC might be expected to contribute to the applicant’s development and profile as a writer. A state...

I am in love. With these board books: You Are My Cupcake by Joyce Wan (Cartwheel Books, 2011) A quote from the book: "You are my. . . Chubby little pumpkin" Detail shots of the interior: We Belong Together by Joyce Wan (Cartwheel Books, 2011) A quote from the book: "We belong together. . . Like bacon and eggs every day" Detail shots of the interior: Can you see how my eyes are sparkling from reading these board books? They are good enough to eat! I shared them with my family and students and everyone just melted. Awww. Author/illustrator Joyce Wan is here today to share about the books and Wanart, her greeting card and gift company. She's also going to give us a little tour of her studio! Tarie: What is a typical day like at Wanart? Joyce: There is no typical day at Wanart. I could be working on new card designs to working on new book ideas. It's different every day, and every hour even, but that's the way I like it! I always have coffee in the morn...

Singaporean Emily Lim is the award-winning author of the picture books Prince Bear & Pauper Bear , The Tale of Rusty Horse , Just Teddy , Bunny Finds the Right Stuff , and Baby Panda Finds His Way - all stories that give readers the warm fuzzies! Here I chat with Emily about her work and children's literature in Singapore. Why do you write children's literature? Can you please tell us about your path to publication? What keeps you inspired and motivated as a children's book writer? I started out with children's books as that was the genre under the First Time Writers and Illustrators Publishing Initiative, organized by our Book Council and the Media Development Authority [MDA] of Singapore. Under that Initiative, winners were given a grant to get their book published. I was in between jobs at that time. So I decided to research on the publishing process and publish my own book. I borrowed "how to" books from the National Library and attended a few book c...