Thank you to Ariel Gordon Bernstein for the heads up that Sumo Joe was included in Bank Street College’s The Best Children’s Books of the Year!
I never would have thought to check. I have recently been submitting manuscripts to literary agents and am in recovery from rejection. Ditto for editors whom I have submitted picture book manuscripts. This recognition felt like sunshine after a week of gloomy skies.
For educators who want to use Sumo Joe in the classroom, I have resources:
I am heartened by Mitali Perkins who came to my house many years ago for a book club for my daughter. This is when she still lived in my town. I found her through a Massachusetts-suggested summer reading list and, upon reading her bio on the back, discovered that we were (sort of) neighbors. At least we lived in the same town. I sent her an email asking her if she would come to my daughter’s book club, and she said yes!!!
This book was Rickshaw Girl, a chapter book. She said, during the book club at my house, that when her first book, Rickshaw Girl, got accepted by a publisher (Charlesbridge) she figured that she could now pursue her dream career of being an author but it took 14 years until her next book was published. But she persevered.
And now Rickshaw Girl is a movie. Her young adult novel, You Bring The Distant Near. was long-listed for a National Book Award. She has published more than ten novels for kids so far, plus has a new picture book out, Between Us and Abuela.
Fourteen years is also the hurdle that Debbi Michiko Florence overcame in her publishing journey despite having two agents! Debbi now has a pile of books coming out in 2020 and beyond!
I’m a huge fan of her Jasmine Toguchi series which might have led to her My Furry Foster Friends chapter book series.
She has a new middle grade novel out, Keep It Together Keiko Carter, and a picture book biography on chef Niki Nakayama! And that’s all in just a few years!
Niki Nakayama: A Chef’s Tale in 13 Bites
A biography spanning the Japanese American chef’s rise to fame – from overcoming gender bias in Japanese haute cuisine to opening her Michelin-starred Los Angeles restaurant.
Remembering Mitali and Debbi’s author journey is comforting and a reminder that each of us has a unique path that will reveal itself in time. Perhaps 14 years is the magic number!
Sumo Joe is in the TODAY category in such good company:
Thank you to Bank Street College of Education for this honor! It is much appreciated and gives me hope!
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p.s. Related posts:
SUMO JOE reviewed in BookList & Other Updates
Sumo Joe Reviewed in Publishers Weekly!
Wow! SUMO JOE got a Great Review from Kirkus!
SUMO JOE Illustrator Nat Iwata
Meeting My Editor for SUMO JOE
My First Picture Book Submission: Sumo Joe! #AmWriting
Taking a Children’s Book Writing Class
10 Unexpected Gifts from Blogging for the Last Decade
My First Book Festival: Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival
Asian Culture and KidLit series: Nissin Foods Connection
Pitching Our Books to Local Libraries
My books:
Bookshop.org / Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Barbed Wire Between Us by Mia Wenjen, illustrated by Violeta Encarnación
- ⭐ Starred review from Kirkus
- ⭐ Starred review from Publishers Weekly
- ⭐ Starred review from School Library Journal
- Kirkus: The Most Anticipated Children’s Books of Spring 2026
Free and downloadable guide:
Barbed Wire Between Us Teacher’s Guide
Bookshop.org / Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Bookshop.org / Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
- California Eureka Non-Fiction Gold Award
- Junior Library Guild Gold Selection
- Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People Winner (from National Council for the Social Studies and Children’s Book Council)
The Traveling Taco:
- California Eureka Non-Fiction Silver Award
- Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People Winner (from National Council for the Social Studies and Children’s Book Council)
- Reading Rockets’ Summer Reading Guide 2025
Bookshop.org / Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Bookshop.org / Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
We Sing from the Heart: How the Slants® Took Their Fight for Free Speech to the Supreme Court
- ALSC Notable Children’s Book
- 2025 Carter G. Woodson Book Award Middle Level Honoree
- Orbis Pictus Recommended Book for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children
- 2024 Julia Ward Howe Prize for Children’s Literature Winner
- California Eureka Non-Fiction Award Honor Book
- Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People Winner (from National Council for the Social Studies and Children’s Book Council)
- Bank Street Best Children’s Books of the Year 2025
- Recommended Reading for the Social Justice Literature Award 2025 (International Literacy Association)
- Pennsylvania Mountain Laurel Book Award Nominee 2026-27
- Junior Library Guild Gold Selection
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Bookshop.org / Amazon / Barefoot Books / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World
- ⭐ Starred review from School Library Journal!
- Junior Library Guild Gold selection
- Massachusetts Book Award Long List
- dPICTUS 100 Outstanding Picture Books of 2023
- Chicago Library’s Best of the Best
- 2023 INDIES Book of the Year Awards Finalist
- Green Earth Book Award Long List
- Nautilus Silver Winner, Nonfiction Children’s Picture Book
- Sunshine State Young Readers Award Orange Blossom List for Nonfiction
- Imagination Soup’s 35 Best Nonfiction Books of 2023 for Kids
Bookshop.org / Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Bank Street College’s The Best Children’s Books of the Year
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Wow! Congratulations! I jumped over to the Bank Street College page. What a great collection of books they rate! And their mission and set-up as a college is so interesting and innovative. I love it!
Hang in there, Mia! The next one will come!
Wonderful news, Mia–hearty congratulations!!
Thanks so much Maria! I was stunned to hear this but so grateful. I needed this boost of encouragement!