on the PBS NewsHour again!

Yes, even though my last opinion didn't go over so well, I dared to do it again! I was on the PBS Newshour last night, talking about why "Why Our Culture is a Seed, Not a Treasure."

Of course, some people are already misinterpreting it, saying I want immigrants to assimilate by forgetting their culture--which, hopefully, long-time readers of my work know is not true. Like the stories in my books and myself, I believe we need flexibility--that we need to use our past to grow from, not as something to cling to.

But you are, of course, welcome to your own humble opinion!


Transcript:

Many of my books integrate Chinese traditions and adapted folk tales, so Asian parents with American-born children often ask me, how can I make my child be Chinese?

And I have to tell them, your child will never be Chinese. By being born here and living here, your child will always be Chinese-American. And that is hard for those who are afraid of losing their culture.

And I completely sympathize, because I feel the same way. It’s why I write the books that I do. Our culture, our heritage is a part of who we are. We use it to claim our identity, so we can find true belonging in a group.

It’s why I let my child believe that Santa might be wearing red because it’s a Chinese lucky color.

But if we treat our cultural heritage as something that can’t change, if we feel threatened when time and other cultures rub against it, we make our lives smaller.

An Italian-American friend of mine once told me how her relatives ostracized her when she divorced, because they believed Italians don’t get divorced, oblivious to the fact that, back in Italy, divorce was acceptable.

We cling to a culture that is part of our past, freezing it in our minds, instead of the real flexible culture of our time. This is dangerous, for us as individuals and for our society.

At its most extreme, it leads to clashes, like the violence inflicted on women who resist arranged marriages, or riots over the removal of Confederate statues.

So, let’s stop thinking of our culture as treasure we need to cling to. Instead, let’s think of it as a seed, as something to nurture and cultivate. We should respect and honor it, but we should also let it adapt to its time and surroundings.

When we do that, we allow for unique creations, like black Storm Troopers in “Star Wars” movies, and fortune cookies, which, by the way, do not exist in China. It’s a completely Asian-American invention.

Because the truth is, time and change will always win. And when we cling to our culture to keep it from change, we are, in fact, strangling it to death.

We can’t live forever, but, if it is nurtured, our culture can.

A Big Mooncake for Little Star Tour

Going on tour for the new book (you can still pre-order for the moon calendar!) Hope to see you on the road:

community bookshops in Wayland, MA!

I know I have neglected this poor blog, but something so lovely happened this last month that I know I needed to share!  Remember the Community Bookshop project I did at Rain Dragon's preschool? The little-free-library-but-with-a diversity-angle bookshelves I helped to create with her school's Diversity Committee?  That project that was SO important to me because I feel like we need to be able to talk about race with our kids? Well, after I posted and shared the idea online, I was invited to come to Wayland, MA where I helped to open:

ONE,

TWO,

THREE more Community Bookstops!

Aren't they beautiful? Apparently, Wayland's awesome  reading specialist Debra Pellerin heard the project and helped spearhead community bookstops for her district (she's the one in the blue and white striped dress in the photos, everyone give her a round of applause)!

Isn't that great? For me, it just warms my heart so much to see the idea of the community bookstop spreading. I hope it inspires other places and schools! It seems like a small thing, but I truly believe that sharing these books are one of the seeds to creating a more welcoming, connected and strong community.

Yay for the community of Wayland!

Pre-order "A Big Mooncake for Little Star" and get...

an exclusive and only-from-me MOON CALENDAR!

I'm printing up a limited edition of special 2019 Moon Calendars, featuring the art from A Big Mooncake for Little Star! They are going to be beautiful, even if I do say so myself! And one can be yours! All you have to do is pre-order my book from Porter Square Books and you'll receive it along with your personally signed book (make sure you say in the order form to whom you wish the book to be signed to!).

These Moon Calendars are only available from me as part of this pre-order campaign and only while supplies last, so order NOW! Offer ends August 25th.

Save the Date!

I know summer seems a long time away, but I really want you save the date for my book launch! Yes, A Big Mooncake for Little Star will finally be coming out and I want to have a grand celebration for it.

Sunday, August 26th at 3pm
Porter Square Books
25 White St, Cambridge MA
617-491-2220

If you pre-order from Porter Square, there will to be a special pre-order gift...stay tuned to find out what!

So, SAVE THE DATE! Hope to see you in August!

the wrong question

A couple of months ago, I decided that I would take my five-year old daughter with me to the local Women’s March. Since my explanations were not as clear as I wanted, I searched for children’s book to help me explain the Women’s March to her. Unfortunately, the only one I found was a shallow story of a girl with a pink hat that removed almost all of political aspects of the March. And it was written by a man.

Now, I’m sure the author is probably a nice guy. I have no idea but I’m imagining that maybe he marched with his wife and daughter and was so moved by what he experienced that he felt there should be a book about it and thought, “I’m a writer! I can write the book about this.”  And, so he did.

But, while he might have had good intentions, his actions have a jarring impact. The purpose of the Women’s March was to have women’s voices be heard, to amplify women’s viewpoints. Having a man publish the first (and currently only) children’s book about it not only means that he is speaking for women but has also eliminated that possibility for a woman writer. Now, no woman writer will have the opportunity to publish first book about the Women’s March and reap the marketing, publicity benefits and possible publishing power that doing so entails.  His action of creating this book is the antithesis of his subject matter.

And this ties into the issues of diversity as well. I am constantly asked by white writers if they can write outside their race. “Imagining other viewpoints is why I am an author,” they tell me, “Why can’t I write about someone that doesn’t look like me?”

And at this, I have to tell them they are asking the wrong question. Because, of course, a writer can write about whomever he or she wishes. When it comes to writing outside ones’ race the question has never been, “Can I write this?” No, the real question is “Should I write this?”

Because, sure, a man can write about the Women’s March. He’s already done it, obviously. But should he have? If a man sincerely believes in all that the Women’s March was and what it is trying to accomplish, he would be truer to those beliefs by allowing a woman to write the book about it.

Likewise, if writers believe in racial equity in our writers community, they would be truer to those beliefs by realizing that there are some stories that are better for others to tell.  

I know, some will say, “You snooze, you lose!” with the idea that if one comes up with a great idea, one has privilege to write it.  Because, yes, since this man came up with the idea to write about the Women’s March and had the immediate power to bring it fruition, technically it was within his rights to do so.  But, if we are authors who believe in the importance of children’s literature--if we are the one nodding at conferences when someone proclaims “Our books save lives!” or cheering when a librarian states “Books can change the world,” then I think we should hold ourselves to higher standard.

Recently, looking for the Asian equivalent of The SnowyDay, I remembered the work of Taro Yashima, the creator of the children’s book classic Umbrella.  “There should be a book on him,” I thought. Because of the privilege of my past publishing record and relationships, I felt fairly confident that if I were to write a book about Taro Yashima well enough, I could probably get it published.

But, should I write it? I might be Asian, but my ethnicity is Taiwanese and Taro Yashima is Japanese. Of all people, I should know there is a difference--in fact, I inwardly bristle when others are unaware of the differences.  So with that realization, I decided not to try to write it myself. Instead, I posted the idea on facebook and brought it to the attention of some Japanese authors and illustrators that I knew. And then I let it go.

Because I have to believe that we can let some ideas go. We can offer them to others and move on. Or if can't move on, we can try to co-write with or mentor someone less privileged. None of us can be so lacking in ideas that we can’t share or let some of them go. We don’t have to be the one that writes every good idea that comes to us.  

At the Women’s March, I was struck by all the signs everyone carried. Some were witty, some heartbreaking and some angry, but all seemed deeply felt. If the sincerity is genuine, we need to bring it past the marches and decorative pins, and into all aspects of our lives—especially when we choose what to write and what not to write.