may days

spotlight: author/illustrator allen say

~ jama ~ 8 Comments

“Most people seem to be interested in turning their dreams into reality. Then there are those who turn reality into dreams. I belong to the latter group.” ~ Allen Say

Open any one of Allen Say’s picture books, and chances are good you will see lots of windows and doors.

Some of these are the wood and paper shoji doors found in Japan, while others are flat panel doors or double-hung windows commonly found in homes across America.

 

For Say, these may be portals to a dream state, concrete symbols of conflict and exclusion, or simply the way an outsider views the world — looking at the lighted windows in a cozy home and wishing he belonged inside, or sitting inside viewing the rest of the world through panes of glass.

I’ve been a big Allen Say fan since the late 80’s, traveling back and forth between Japan and America with him via his books, keenly identifying with his dilemma of a dual identity, walking the tightrope between cultures.

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for you: a writer’s bouquet

~ jama ~ 20 Comments

#8 in an ongoing series of posts celebrating the alphabet.


tussie-mussie from MYbeeboANDbijou’s photostream.

You probably know that roses symbolize love; lilies, purity; and rosemary, remembrance.

But did you know that if someone hands you a flower with his/her right hand, it means, yes, and with their left hand, no? If the flower is upright, the feelings are positive, but watch out for flowers with their heads down!

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wok this way: china and korea stir fry

~ jama ~ 12 Comments


It’s been quite a month — flowers, salad, strawberries, and Asian Pacific American Heritage. As far as I’m concerned, every month is a time for ethnic pride, learning more about other cultures, and getting excited over books that feature new voices and perspectives. Do you need an excuse to eat more dim sum? Not me!

One of the ways I’ve been celebrating APAHM is to pick up some of the picture books I’d heard about, but never got around to reading. It was good to see titles featuring more Korean, Japanese, and South Asian characters, alongside the plentiful store of Chinese books. We still need more stories about Hawai’i and the Philippines, though, so I’d better get busy.

Anyway, today I’m serving up this tasty stir fry combining the flavors of Korea and China. Each title brims with its own brand of color, texture, and emotional resonance:

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Shining Star: The Anna May Wong Story by Paula Yoo

~ jama ~ 14 Comments


SHINING STAR: THE ANNA MAY WONG STORY, by Paula Yoo,
pictures by Lin Wang (Lee & Low, 2009). Ages 9-12, 32 pp.

Look what’s being released this Saturday, May 30th!!

I’ve been anxious to read this picture book biography of Chinese American actress, Anna May Wong, ever since I first heard about it in Tarie’s interview with author Paula Yoo at Into the Wardrobe. When I told the nice folks at Lee & Low that I wanted to review it during Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, they sent me a review copy lickety split.

Growing up, I had heard my parents and relatives mention Anna May Wong, and I may have even seen some of her movies. But I never knew much about the details of her life and the struggles she had to overcome as the first Chinese American actress, and the first internationally acclaimed Asian American actress.

Paula Yoo has written a fascinating, inspiring, thoroughly engaging account of Anna’s life, beginning with her childhood in Los Angeles’ Chinatown, to her return to Hollywood in the 1930’s after visiting China, when she vowed never to “play again in a film which shows the Chinese in an unsympathetic light.”

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friday feast: just call me strawberry girl

~ jama ~ 29 Comments

“He turn’d a fruit to an enchantment which cheers the sad, revives the old, inspires the young.” ~ Lord Byron


photo by sunshinesyrie

Did you know that May is National Strawberry Month?

Lots of sweet, juicy beauties have been appearing in the stores for a few weeks now, and I can’t get enough of them. I think they just might be the most beautiful, perfect fruit around — no peeling required, no pits or troublesome seeds, ounce for ounce, containing more Vitamin C than citrus fruits, and only about 50 calories per cup!


     photo by heatherkh

*bites into a dark red ripe berry and sighs with rapture*

My first bite of strawberry each spring instantly brings to mind three things that make me supremely happy: Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski (still a sentimental favorite), “Strawberry Fields” by the Beatles (no explanation needed), and Wimbledon tennis.

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