My first CHANGING THE GAME virtual author visit

My Kickstarter children’s book campaign was a great excuse to catch up with classmates from a long time ago. I went to UCLA’s Anderson School for an M.B.A. nearly 30 years ago.

My favorite extracurricular activity was this program called T.E.C. on Campus. It stood for The Executive Committee and it was run by a volunteer who was an industrial psychologist, Larry King (but not the one on CNN). He worked with family-owned businesses as well as entrepreneurs to help them manage their work/life balance and focus on the elements of their business that needed tending to but perhaps they were avoiding.

We would meet once a month at a company and hear from the entrepreneur, who, because of his close relationship with our leader, would share with us very personal parts of what it means to be an entrepreneur. Then, we would meet with just our small group of M.B.A. students — I think there were only 1o of us — and talk about our own dreams, anxieties, and problems.

It was a forum in which we got to know each other very well. John V. was in this group and when I reached out with my Kickstarter book, he not only donated but also set up a classroom author visit with his sister who teaches 4th grade. It was my first time doing an author visit for my new book. I always want to add content that kids can relate to so I decided to talk about the time that I was in 4th grade in an elementary school located also in Southern California.

I told them that I read all the middle grade biographies and fiction books in my school library. It took me more than two years. And guess what? I never saw a character that looked like me.

Later, when I had three children, I found lots of children’s books with Asian characters and thought it was a remarkable improvement. I started my blog when my youngest was 5 years old. He’s 16 now. It was from blogging that I learned that only 6% of the children’s books published had diverse characters or themes. That number had not changed in more than 14 years!

I was shocked and I decided to focus on diverse children’s books for my blog. Multicultural Children’s Book Day, a nonprofit that I co-created with Valarie Budayr, came next.

Changing the Game: Asian Pacific American Female Athletes also was a very personal OMG moment. My teenage daughter who played a lot of sports growing up told me that she didn’t think that there were ANY Asian female athletes that were any good.

What?!!! That shocked me! So I decided to write a book and that is how Changing the Game came to be.

There was more to my story but I’ll save that for another day. In the meantime, their teacher had her class write questions. Here are some of them:

My virtual class visits are free. Feel free to contact me if you would like me to visit your school!

p.s. Related posts:

Pre-Order CHANGING THE GAME

Changing the Game: Chloe Kim (last day of my Kickstarter Project)

Changing the Game: Michelle Waterson

Changing the Game: Kristi Yamaguchi

Changing the Game: Naomi Osaka

Changing the Game: Michelle Wie

Changing the Game: Amy Chow

Changing the Game: Julie Chu

Changing the Game: Miki Gorman

Changing the Game: Victoria Manalo Draves

Changing the Game: Natasha “Tasha” Kai

Cover Reveal of My Newest Book: Asian Pacific American Heroes!

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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

Postcards from Malcolm X: How Yuri Kochiyama Became a Civil Rights Activist

Bookshop.org / Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me

Fortune Cookies for Everyone! (Smithsonian): The Surprising Story of the Tasty Treat We Love to Eat

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: The Amazing and Surprising Journey of Many of Your Favorite Foods

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

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