Picture Book Review: Watercress

 

While driving in the car, a young girl's family spies Watercress. Immediately, they stop to pick some. The young girl is embarrassed and desperately hopes that no one she knows will see them picking this plant. Afterwards, she almost refuses to eat it. But a story from her parents change her mind.

A heart wrenching story about being embarrassed by your family but also coming to understand the past. The past starts to shape the present and before you know it, new memories are being made. I loved the gorgeous watercolor illustrations. 

Library Recommendation: A must have book for your school and public libraries.

Guest Post: Middle School Memories

 

I would never want to go back to middle school - it was so hard in terms of friendships and finding yourself. And for me, I'm so glad it was over way before social media. No one needs to see those awkward pictures.

Enjoy this guest post from the Class of 2K21 Books!

Kidlit Authors Share Our Favorite Middle School Memories By Louisa Onomé

 Middle school can be a difficult time for many reasons. You may have been the new kid and had to learn how to adapt to a different setting. You could’ve been exploring new interests and trying to find out where you fit in with old friends. Or, you might have experienced something so life-changing that it still affects you to this day.

 However, I think we can all agree that middle school gets a bad rep sometimes! It isn’t always difficult; sometimes, middle school can also be such a transformative time filled with friendship, fun, and the best memories. That’s why the 2021 kidlit debut class, featuring authors Graci Kim, Megan E. Freeman, and Andrea Wang, wanted to share exactly what their favorite part of middle school was.

 Graci Kim, author of The Last Fallen Star

“I distinctly remember a boy in intermediate school (what we call middle school in New Zealand!) who bullied me. He used to ride around on his bike, circling me like a hawk after school, calling me Ching Chong Chinaman, and telling me to go back to my own country. I remember being so upset by his actions that I’d want to skip school and spend the day watching tellie under the covers. Then one day, my dad told me a story about a boy who had to save his village from an evil villain. He had tried every weapon known to humankind to vanquish this monster, but in the end, the greatest weapon had been love. My appa was adamant that real life was no different, and that there was no stronger force than kindness to destroy evil. Not long after that, it was my birthday and I wanted to throw a party. Every instinct told me not to invite the bully--he should know how it feels to be left out! But thinking of my appa’s story, I decided to be like the boy in his story. Even as my heart trembled in fear, I personally handed my bully an invite with a smile on my face. And what do you know--he came! Against all odds, we became friends. And when a different boy teased me about my lunch one day, guess who rode over on his bike and defended me? You guessed it :) Guess my appa was right, after all. Kindness conquers all.”

 Megan E. Freeman, author of Alone

“When I was a middle school teacher, my principal told me she thought 7th grade was a time when many children test the limits of their own moral compasses, experimenting with what it feels like to be unkind or cruel. I have a distinct memory of myself at that age writing a horrible thing in my friend’s yearbook at the end of the school year and then watching her read it from across the room. I distinctly remember her looking up at me after she read what I’d written and how it felt to watch my words find purchase in her awareness. I felt guilty for years. Many, many years later when we were both adults, I asked my friend if she remembered and if she’d forgiven me, and she didn’t even remember the incident. But it seared itself in my psyche as an example of what I was capable of, and I didn’t like it at all. (Okay so that’s not a favorite memory, but it’s a distinct one!)”

 Andrea Wang, author of The Many Meanings of Meilan

“I remember sitting on the floor of a classroom during some free time, chatting with my friends, when one of them told us that there was a fairy living in her earring. She had gold hoop earrings that were small but wide, and she insisted that the fairy lived in the curve of her right earring. We were eleven, and by this point I had given up on the existence of magic and magical creatures and was shocked that my friend truly believed in fairies. But I treasure this memory because my friend made me wonder about the world again, and to see the possibility of magic everywhere. That change in my perception of the world has definitely influenced my writing. In The Many Meanings of Meilan, Meilan believes a tree spirit lives in the giant tree in her neighbor’s backyard, and she sees signs and other spirits in her new town. Her magical thinking is how she copes with the losses and injustices in her life.”

 Check out the Class of 2k21’s kidlit projects here for more middle grade titles that deal with the nostalgia and realness of middle school.

I love hearing about authors when they were in school! This is the last of the 2K21 Guest Posts, we hope you enjoyed this series!

Guest Post: Show Your Work

 

For the next few months, I'll be hosting a series of guest posts from the Class of 2K21 Books!  Enjoy!

Show Your Work!: Researching with MG author, Andrea Wang

By Louisa Onomé

 
If there’s one thing we remember from being in middle school and working on a lengthy paper, it’s the constant reminder from teachers and librarians to “show our work”. As a kid, I heard that phrase so many times that I began to self-regulate. Every time I found a new source or a new piece of information, it was like a reflex: I immediately had to show where it was from and what made it special enough to include in my paper.

 I’m sure my elementary school librarians would be happy to know that writing a book is no different!

 Debut middle grade author of The Many Meanings of Meilan, Andrea Wang, would agree that research is a never-ending process. “Actually,” she tells us. “I haven’t stopped [researching] yet, even though the book is finished.”

 For her debut, Andrea Wang had to do a lot of research to ensure the Chinese and Chinese-American representation was as authentic as she could make it. She’s no beginner when it comes to attention to detail.

 “I started by researching Chinese names, since that’s at the heart of the story -- I wanted to find a name that meant something to me personally and had multiple homophones in Chinese, but could also be seen by non-Asians as unfamiliar enough to warrant changing to a more Americanized version.”

 In The Many Meanings of Meilan, Meilan Hua’s world is turned upside down when her Nainai passes and she and her family set out for a new home in a new town. It was important to Wang that certain cultural concepts were examined with legitimacy and care.

 “I also knew I wanted to talk about filial piety and how it affects Chinese American kids, so I found old books from my father’s stash (he was an Asian history professor) about Chinese traditions,” says Wang. “As my characters developed, I read and researched Chinese folktales and mythology, Chinese and Taiwanese history, and Chinese idioms. As themes of loss and internalized racism appeared in the book, I read articles about coping with grief and guilt, as well as colorism.”

 These research phases came in stages for Wang. She built Meilan’s world from the ground up, ensuring that authenticity was key, by starting with smaller details before ironing out the larger framework in which her story lives.

 Just like we were tasked with showing our work in projects, writing kidlit is no different. Now more than ever, accurate and respectful representation is necessary to ensure all kids can see themselves reflected in an authentic light. Wang’s method of research, starting from micro and moving to macro, is our preferred way to build the foundation of a story. What’s yours?

 For more on Andrea Wang and our debut class of YA/MG 2021 authors, visit Class of 2k Books.

Fun! As a librarian, I always love hearing about research. We have more guest posts coming up. Stay tuned for next month's edition.