An idiom is a word or phrase where the meaning can’t be determined by individual words themselves. The meaning stems from an association with something else, such as a cultural reference. I wrote Boxer Baby Battles Bedtime! to showcase how many popular idioms have boxing origins that perhaps people don’t know about. But I also…
Through a variety of exercises, students will learn basic anatomy and movements of children and animals. They will apply their observational skills into developing unique, believable and appealing characters suitable for children’s books. The emphasis is on creating characters who are consistent through a variety of facial expressions and movements. Katia Wish’s Character Design…
I’ll be doing two book signings at the upcoming American Library Association (ALA) Conference in San Diego. On Saturday, June 29th, I’ll be signing Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World at 11:00 am. On Sunday, June 20th, I’ll be signing We Sing From the Heart: How the Slants® Took Their…
It was strange to me that many important Japanese American stories were not told by Japanese Americans. I tried, therefore, to focus my Top 10: Japanese American Children’s Books list on lesser known authors telling important stories. I hope this list will inspire more authors in this genre!
Please welcome my guest author Vicky Fang. We are both in the Soaring 20’s picture book together. She grew up in Newton, MA, where I live now, so we also have that in common! Her newest book is the Ava Lin series, a sweet and funny chapter book series about Chinese American girl navigating social…
I chose these books because there was something special about each of them that helps me to connect to my Chinese roots and I hope that you enjoy them to, even if your ancestry isn’t Asian.
Barbara Richardson, my 87-year-old neighbor loves orchids so when I knew that I had to take photos of the world’s largest orchid garden at the Singapore Botanic Gardens. My favorite spot in this garden-within-a-garden is the cold house! It is so hot in Singapore that instead of a hothouse, they need a cold house. And…