An Asian American Summer Book List for Kids

Though not a Rice Daddy, she is definitely a Rice Mommy. Mia Wenjen has compiled an impressive bibliography of Asian American literature for Young Adults on her site JadeLuckClub.com. I asked her if she would provide us with some summer book recommendations.


In her own words: Mia Wenjen blogs obsessively on children's books and young adult literature at Pragmatic Mom and creative Asian Americans at JadeLuck Club when she's not chauffering around her three kids.

It was about twenty five years ago when Amy Tan published The Joy Luck Club and I remember how excited I was to finally be able to read a book that reflected my culture that I actually purchased the hard copy which was a splurge for me at the time. I was too young to realize as a child growing up that I felt marginalized watching the one hour of TV a day and never seeing an Asian face. It was as if looking Asian was something slightly embarrassing and certainly not an asset.

Asian American children's books did not exist at all so it's been very exciting for me, as a children's and YA book blogger at PragmaticMom, to watch it emerge and even, dare I say it, flourish? !To keep this genre alive and well, we all must read, read, read these books and others. It's wonderful to read books with my kids that reflect their experiences, whether that means they balance their cultural heritage easily or with a struggle like some of these characters in the books below.

I chose these books, most are published this year, because they truly tell an authentic and important story of being Asian American. Many of these authors have won prestigious awards as well for their work as well.

What are your favorite Asian American authors and books? Please share.

10. Vanished by Sheela Chari

Eleven-year-old Neela dreams of being a famous musician, performing for admiring crowds on her traditional Indian stringed instrument. Her particular instrument was a gift from her grandmother—intricately carved with a mysterious-looking dragon. When this special family heirloom vanishes from a local church, strange clues surface: a tea kettle ornamented with a familiar pointy-faced dragon, a threatening note, a connection to a famous dead musician, and even a legendary curse. The clues point all the way to India, where it seems that Neela’s instrument has a long history of vanishing and reappearing. Even if Neela does track it down, will she be able to stop it from disappearing again?

Sheela Chari’s debut novel is a finely tuned story of coincidence and fate, trust and deceit, music and mystery.

Sheela Chari's first book is masterful mixing a multi-cultural experience of growing up Indian American in Boston with a well paced and difficult-to-put-down mystery. Her character, Neela, is named after her niece, and gives the reader a realistic and sensitive understanding of what it's like to grow up as a second generation Indian American with parents who also try to walk the fine line between embracing their culture and fitting in. [chapter book for ages 8 and up]

I have a book review plus our Skype author visit here.

9. The Year of Books by Andrea Cheng

In Chinese, peng you means friend. But in any language, all Anna knows for certain is that friendship is complicated.

When Anna needs company, she turns to her books. Whether traveling through A Wrinkle in Time, or peering over My Side of the Mountain, books provide what real life cannot—constant companionship and insight into her changing world.

Books, however, can’t tell Anna how to find a true friend. She’ll have to discover that on her own. In the tradition of classics like Maud Hart Lovelace’s Betsy-Tacy books and Eleanor Estes’ One Hundred Dresses, this novel subtly explores what it takes to make friends and what it means to be one.

Anna's strategy when her best friend trades up the social ladder leaving her friendless is to turn to books and family for company and solace. It works pretty well but there is a price to pay for social climbing and her friend feels like she may have made a mistake. Should she take her back? [easy chapter book for ages 8 and up]

8. Hot, Hot Roti for Dada-ji by F. Zia

Aneel s grandparents have come to stay, all the way from India. Aneel loves the sweet smell of his grandmother s incense, and his grandfather, Dada-ji, tells the world s best stories. When he was a boy, adventurous, energetic Dada-ji had the power of a tiger. Hunh-ji! Yes, sir! He could shake mangoes off trees and wrangle wild cobras. And what gave him his power? Fluffy-puffy hot, hot roti, with a bit of tongue-burning mango pickle. Does Dada-ji still have the power? Aneel wants to find out but first he has to figure out how to whip up a batch of hot, hot roti Overflowing with family, food, and a tall stack of fun, Hot, Hot Roti for Dada-ji is sure to warm the heart and tickle the tummy. Hunh-ji! Yes, sir!

Superheroes need not be young or wear costumes. Sometimes even one's beloved grandfather can be a superhero too! And it turns out that eating hot, hot roti is grandfather's version of Popeye's spinach. The good news is that it also tastes good! [picture book, ages 2 and up]

7. Jojo Eats Dim Sum by James Kye

Jojo Eats Dim Sum is the first in a new and exciting series of children's books with the aim of introducing children to the joys of various Asian cuisines. The star of the book is Jojo, a young girl with a sense of adventure and a daring appetite. In stark contrast is her baby brother, Ollie, who prefers to eat pea soup at every meal. The story encourages children to be more open to foods that are unfamiliar, thereby opening doors to other cultures. In Jojo Eats Dim Sum, Jojo eats her way through some of the most popular dim sum dishes, culminating in chicken feet, which are unfamiliar to most Westerners or unappetizing to those who have encountered them. But Jojo loves chicken feet, as she loves most dim sum dishes. Each story in the Jojo Eats series leverages a fun narrative to carry the young reader through the culinary journey, which is interspersed with lessons on how to pronounce foods in the local language. Jojo Eats Dim Sum is an irresistible book that children will want to read over and over again. Each beautiful book is in the shape and size of a menu, adding to the charm of Jojo's culinary adventures.

Asian culture revolves so much around food and family to the point where the two are almost one and the same. We eat communally and this strengthens our bonds. In this charming picture book, Jo Jo, who isn't Asian American, enjoys the unusual delicacies found at Dim Sum. I think the message here is that Asian food is good (and nothing to be ashamed of even if it looks weird or smells funny) and kids with well developed palates like it too. [picture books, ages 2 and up]

6. Money Boy by Paul Yee

Ray Liu knows he should be happy. He lives in a big suburban house with all the latest electronic gadgets, and even finds plenty of time to indulge in his love of gaming. He needs the escape. It’s tough getting grades that will please his army veteran father, when speaking English is still a struggle. And he can’t quite connect with his gang at high school — immigrants like himself but who seem to have adjusted to North American life more easily. Then comes his father accesses Ray’s internet account, and discovers Ray has been cruising gay websites. Before Ray knows what has hit him, his belongings have been thrown on the front lawn, and he has been kicked out. Angry, defiant, Ray heads to downtown Toronto. In short order he is robbed, beaten up and seduced, and he learns the hard realities of life on the street. Could he really sell himself for sex? Lots of people use their bodies to make money — athletes, actors, models, pop singers. If no one gets hurt, why should anyone care?

A gritty Young Adult novel, Money Boy doesn't pull any punches about what it's like to grow up Asian in Canada when your father finds out that his son is gay. Sadly, this is someone's reality. [Young Adult, ages 15 and up]

5. Clara Lee and the Apple Pie Dream by Jenny Han

Clara Lee likes her best friends, her grandpa, kimchi, candy necklaces (her signature look!), and the idea of winning the Little Miss Apple Pie contest. 

Clara Lee doesn't like her mom's fish soup, bad dreams (but Grandpa says they mean good luck!), speaking in public, or when her little sister is being annoying. 

One day, after a bad dream, Clara Lee is thrilled to have a whole day of luck (Like!). But then, bad luck starts to follow (Dislike!). When will Clara Lee's luck change again? Will it change in time for the Little Miss Apple Pie contest?

That Clara Lee is Korean American and living in the mostly Caucasian mid-west is a subtle point in this story and that's the beauty of this easy chapter book for ages 6 and up.

4. Dumpling Soup by Jama Kim Rattigan

Marisa gets to help make dumplings this year to celebrate the New Year. But she worries if anyone will eat her funny-looking dumplings. Set in the Hawaiian islands, this story celebrates the joyful mix of food, customs, and languages from many cultures.

Perhaps it's because my kids are all mixed up being of mixed ancestry including Chinese, Japanese and Korean, but that is increasing becoming more and more common. Again, it's the food that connects everyone to each other and to their culture, even if it's a mixed-plate. [picture book, ages 4 and up]

3. Alvin Ho: Allergic to Camping, Hiking, and Other Natural Disasters by Lenore Look

Alvin Ho is back, and this time he’s facing his biggest fear: The Great Outdoors.

Alvin Ho is back and his worst fear has come true: he has to go camping. What will he do exposed in the wilderness with bears and darkness and . . . pit toilets? Luckily, he’s got his night-vision goggles and water purifying tablets and super-duper heavy-duty flashlight to keep him safe. And he’s got his dad, too.

Lenore Look’s touching, drop-dead-funny chapter book about an Asian-American second grader—with illustrations by New York Times bestselling illustrator LeUyen Pham—is perfect for beginning and reluctant readers alike, and has tons of boy appeal.

Lenore Look's book have wide appeal that break down barriers of race. Her Alvin Ho series is just plain humorous and if Alvin Ho is a quintessential geek, that's beside the point. [easy chapter book for ages 7 and up]

2. Ting and Ling: Not Exactly the Same by Grace Lin

Ling and Ting are twins. They have the same brown eyes. They have the same pink cheeks. They have the same happy smiles.

Ling and Ting are two adorable identical twins, and they stick together, whether they are making dumplings, getting their hair cut, or practicing magic tricks. But looks are deceiving--people can be very different, even if they look exactly the same.

This is a pitch perfect easy reader for kids who are just starting to read on their own. It has Asian references like making dumplings but Ting and Ling have wide appeal to any child of any ethnicity. I think of it as the heir to the Little Bear series. [easy reader for ages 4 and up]

1. The Great Wall of Lucy Wu by Wendy Shang

In this humorous and heartfelt debut about a split cultural identity, nothing goes according to plan for sixth-grader Lucy Wu.

Lucy Wu, aspiring basketball star and interior designer, is on the verge of having the best year of her life. She's ready to rule the school as a sixth grader and take over the bedroom she has always shared with her sister. In an instant, though, her plans are shattered when she finds out that Yi Po, her beloved grandmother's sister, is coming to visit for several months -- and is staying in Lucy's room. Lucy's vision of a perfect year begins to crumble, and in its place come an unwelcome roommate, foiled birthday plans, and Chinese school with the awful Talent Chang.

Wendy Shang is the heir to Amy Tan in children's literature and The Great Wall of Lucy Wu is a spot on realistic portrait of what it's like to be third generation Asian American with all the pressures of high expectations but with the self identification of being just like everyone else. [chapter book, ages 8 and up]

Thanks Mia! I would also add both of Lisa Yee's Bobby books (Bobby The Brave , Bobby vs Girls ) and Lawrence Yep's Cockroach Cooties to the list.


Additional reading suggestions welcomed! Add them to the Comments below. 

Economics of Fatherhood from Active Dad UK

I stumbled across this video from Active Dad UK while searching for links to free ebooks for kids (their aunts and uncles got them Kindles for Christmas). In addition to providing descriptions to free ebook sites, Active Dad also included this video regarding the impact of parental (namely fathers) literacy on their children.

It had some interesting statistics (though I didn’t see a source so am not sure if they refer to literacy solely in the UK or globally) so I thought I would share.

Interview with Author Lisa Yee

Earlier this year I interviewed children's author Lisa Yee. Find out how Yee got started writing novels for kids, if she made a conscious decision to have Asian Americans be central characters in some of her books, and how an obsession with putting marshmallow Peeps into a microwave turned into a great way to meet famous authors. Her latest book, Warp Speed is available in bookstores starting March 1, 2011.

How did you get started writing children's books? What drew you to writing children's books?
I'd been almost every sort of writer before penning novels for kids. I was a journalist, a television writer, copywriter, jingle writer, you name it! However, I had always wanted to write children's books. It wasn't until I was a mom that I realized, how could I tell my kids they should pursue their dreams, if I wasn't pursuing mine?

Since I was working full time, I had to write late at night. I didn't have an agent when I first started, so I just sent something to Arthur Levine, the editor of the HARRY POTTER series. He pulled it out of the "slush pile." I've been publishing with Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine Books ever since. WARP SPEED will be our seventh book together.

Many of the central characters of your books are Asian American. Was it conscious effort to create stories with Asian American characters?
It wasn't a conscious effort at first. When my first novel, MILLICENT MIN, GIRL GENIUS, came out in 2003, the main character just happened to be Chinese American, probably because I was. I didn't think twice about it. Later, I was shocked to learn that the book was the first children's contemporary fiction with a photo of an Asian girl on the cover.

My second book, STANFORD WONG FLUNKS BIG-TIME, featured a boy who was Millicent's enemy. It took place during the same timeframe as her story, only from his point of view. However, this time around I was aware that I was writing about an Asian protagonist, so I decided to go against stereotype when writing about a Chinese American jock who was flunking school.

Since then, not all my books have Asian protagonists, but they all have Asian characters. Two of my books, BOBBY THE BRAVE (SOMETIMES) and BOBBY VS. GIRLS (ACCIDENTALLY) are about a Hapa kid and his family. Plus, my most recent American Girl books, ALOHA, KANANI and GOOD JOB, KANANI also feature a Hapa girl, this time from Kaua'i.

Your latest book release is Warp Speed. What is the story about and how did you decide to write the story?
WARP SPEED is about a Star Trek geek who gets beat up everyday at school. I was inspired to write the book when a boy stood up at a school assembly and said, "I need to know what happened to Marley." I had almost forgotten who Marley was, then I recalled he was a minor character in Stanford's book--a nobody who gets pushed around. Later, the boy's teacher told me that he was exactly like Marley, and I knew I had to write that book.

As a Star Trek geek, which of the various Star Trek TV shows is your favorite? Who is your favorite Star Trek character of all time?
I love TOS, the original series. I remember watching "The Man Trap" episode as a kid and being terrified of the Salt Monster. It gave me nightmares. Like Marley Sandelski in WARP SPEED, I'd have to say my favorite character is Spock. Marley even has a temporary tattoo on his hand that says, "WWSP" -- What Would Spock Do?

Tell me about your obsession with Peeps? How did that all start? Do you find that "Peepy" your plush Peep is a great ice breaker?
I liked blowing up marshmallow Peeps in the microwave and would blog about it (http://lisayee.livejournal.com). One day a fan sent me the plush Peep that I named Peepy. Since I travel so much, I decided that she'd go with me and I'd blog about our adventures. It's so cool because when Peepy's around I'm not shy about going up to a famous author or someone and saying, "May I take a photo of you with my Peep?"

What advice do you have for other aspiring children's book authors?
Read, read, read, write, read and write. Know what's out there, but don't try to copy--instead find your own voice. Also, join the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. It's the group I credit with jump starting my career.

When you are not writing, what are some things you enjoy doing in your spare time? Any guilty pleasures?
Hmmm . . . spare time? I'm not sure what that is.

I love spending time with my family. And reading's on the top of my list, too. It's also been a goal of mine to take a nap, but I haven't mastered that yet.

What is a typical day like for Lisa Yee?
I still do most of my serious writing very late at night and quit around 2 or 3 a.m. In the morning I pretend to be awake while I answer email and do lots of business stuff like arranging for school/library visits, etc. Afternoon is time to blog, goof off on facebook, and begin writing. Just as I'm gearing up and feeling good about what I'm writing, it's time to stop. Grocery shopping, laundry, mom stuff. Later, when everyone's asleep, I start writing again.

And finally, what would you like to say to all your fans out there?
Thank you, thank you, thank you, for helping make my dream come true. I can't imagine a better job than being an author. Also, I do hope everyone likes WARP SPEED. It's about bullying, and I want kids who are being bullied to know that they are not alone.

Rice Daddies Turns 5! To Celebrate, We're Giving You Gifts!

Rice Daddies, the group blog by Asian American dads, launched on February 6, 2006. Which means that yesterday, we turned 5! And we're still here! I mean, happy birthday to us! Heh. Five years ago, I wrote:

We're a group of dads of the Asian persuasion, most of us only 2 years or less into the parenting game. We're bicoastal and multiethnic, Chinese- and Japanese- and Filipino- and Korean- and biracial- Americans. We're writers and lawyers and businessmen and teachers (oh my!), stay-at-home and work-at-home and wish-we-could-work-at-home dads. We're dads who happen to be Asian, and Asians who happen to be dads. And we mention both, matter-of-factly, because they both matter.

Which is not to say that this is gonna be all serious all the time, or all political, or all race-centric. Of course, we're not promising that when we try to be funny, that'll work all the time either. (Except for MetroDad. We give you a money-back guarantee that he will always be piss-your-pants funny.) But really, this is just a place where we can muddle through our own experiences of what it means to be raising the next generation of Asian American young'ns in the technicolor 21st century.

Since then, we've seen old contributors go and welcomed new voices on board, and we've gotten more diverse in terms of ethnic background, geographic location, and length and breadth of parenting experience. (And we're always looking for more, so shoot us a note at ricedaddies@gmail.com if you wanna add your voice to the fray.) We've enjoyed making connections and building community with other Asian American parents, parents of color, and parents of children of color both on- and off-line (and we hope to meet a lot of you at the big Banana 2 AsAm blogger confab on Feb. 26 in LA!), and we look forward to continuing the discussion as our kids get older and teach us more about what it means to Asian Americans who are dads and dads who are Asian American.

To celebrate our 5th blogaversary, the amazing and prolific author Lisa Yee has graciously donated 5 sets of her two Bobby Ellis-Chan books to give away to Rice Daddies readers, signed by both her and illustrator (and AsAm dad) Dan Santat. Lisa's middle-grade novels have always featured Asian American characters, like Millicent Min, Stanford Wong, and her American Girl books, and her Bobby Ellis-Chan books portray the everyday life of an interracial family, comprised of a boy trying to find his place in his family and school, his princess-obsessed little sister, his football star older sister, their Chinese American businesswoman mom, and their non-Asian pro-football-player-turned-stay-at-home-dad, with humor, a keen, sensitive eye, and a matter-of-factness about the family's racial background that I found refreshing. And my six-year-old daughter absolutely loved them!



To enter to win a set of autographed copies of Bobby Vs. Girls (Accidentally) and Bobby The Brave (Sometimes) for your young readers, leave a comment on this post by midnight PST on Saturday, February 26, listing your or your kids' favorite children's book either by an author or illustrator of color or featuring characters of color. At the end of the contest, we'll compile all of your recommendations into a single post and we'll have a random drawing for five winners.

Thank you for all of your support over the years, for reading, commenting, linking, and coming back. You're why this isn't just a blog, but a community. (Okay, sappiness over. Heh.)

Picture (Book) Perfect

[Cross posted at Cranial Gunk]

There’s this story I like to tell about my introducing “literature” to my children. It involves my eldest. He must have been two. I had bought a copy of Maurice Sendak’s classic, Where the Wild Things Are, to read to him at bed time. I was so proud of myself, suddenly eligible to join the cult of NPRents simply by reading classic Western children’s literature to my children.

My eldest seemed to enjoy the story but then one night he asked me to stop. It seems my venture into classic Western childhood storytelling was scaring the wits out of him! Where Max welcomed the Wild Things and became their king, my child hide from them under his covers after I turned off the lights. And so I learned it wasn’t the “Terrible Twos” causing him to be a “wild thing” - It was the lack of sleep from being so frightened at night!

Needless to say I stopped reading Where the Wild Things Are to him at night. I think we settled on the manic hijinx of The Cat in the Hat instead.

I like the notion of “picture books as art objects” (as Barbara Kiefer defines it) – “a combination of image and idea in a sequence of turning pages that can produce in the reader an effect greater than the sum of the parts.”

Neil Gaiman and David McKean’s The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish immediately comes to mind. The “mixed media” feel – angular depictions in photographs and ink - of the images enhances the surreal dream-like content of the text.

The story is about a boy who trades his father to a friend for two goldfish. When his mother finds out she demands he get his father back. The situation is complicated when the boy discovers the friend who he swapped with has in turn swapped his father for an electric guitar. The story follows the boy through the various hands who have traded his father.

On the opposite end of the visual spectrum – but no less an art object - is Joyce Sidman and Micelle Berg’s Meow Ruff: A Story in Concrete Poetry. My youngest brought it home from his school’s library. Like Gaiman and McKean’s books, Berg and Sidman use text as a visual instrument to help convey the narrative. Unlike Gaiman and McKean, Berg and Sidman’s images are bright with safe edges. With its Chibi-like illustrations, Meow Ruff is a good introduction to poetry in general – not just concrete poetry.

Embedded in the gray depiction of the poured concrete parking lot: “Parking Lot/ Hot Spot, Black Tar Multicar, Hard Flat Welcome Mat.”

And in the depiction of a tree: “Each Leaf A Map Of Branches Each Twig A Branch Of Leaves Each Branch A Tree Of Twigs Each Tree A Green Haired Slim Chested Great Hearted Gnarl-Armed Strong Legged Deep Rooted One.”

Meow is a cat whose owner has abandoned it in a local park. Ruff is a dog who gets away from his owner and stumbles into the park. A rain storm forces the two – who were initially at odds - to seek shelter together under a picnic table - becoming fast friends.

What’s great about this book is when you have time to think about it, it is a story of abandonment – in Meow’s case purposeful and premeditated – in Ruff’s case just an act of recklessness – that is told in the bright vibrant colors of a child’s birthday card and not the expected subdued colors that signal loss and tragedy.

I think you can take it for granted that the picture book is the first book children experience – meaning it is the first book they interact with physically and emotionally – from turning the pages themselves to interjecting their own ideas as you read.

I remember as a child I had a set of picture books from Encyclopedia Britannica. I don’t remember how many were in the set but they had solid colors – purple, red, yellow, blue, green, etc. I remember one was numbers and one was nursery rhymes.

I also remember Little Golden Books - thin, hard covered books, with the marbled, golden spine. I remember the three little pigs and a story with a puppy in it.

I remember the first Rice Daddies post I read. It was a contest involving the first book you read. I couldn’t remember the first book I actually read on my own – though I remember its story. It was about a boy with large hands who was awkward until he found a sport that would utilize his hands – football.

I also remember my elementary school teacher reading Tales of the Fourth Grade Nothing to my class. It was a positive and lasting impression (though many scores later, reading the same story to my children I realize my teacher left some parts out).

Books continue to be an integral part of my home – even before the children. My parent’s were avid readers and so are my children’s mother and I. I believe the availability of books and a literature rich environment as well as seeing my parents read all the time fostered a penchant for reading in me.

I don’t know if my children will remember their first book, so let me write it here – Where the Wild Things Are (my eldest) and Go Dog Go (my youngest).

How about you? Do you remember yours? Are they fond memories?

New Asian American Tween Novel "1001 Cranes" Out Now (Win an Autographed Copy!)

When I was a senior in high school, o so many years ago, I submitted a short story, set in a WWII Japanese American concentration camp, to a contest being run by LA's longstanding bilingual JA daily newspaper, the Rafu Shimpo. Like many of my generation, my exposure to the paper was via my grandmother's subscription, her copies being handed off to my parents, and then to me, every week or so, bundled up in grocery store plastic bags. When, to my surprise, I won the contest, the editor of the English-language section asked me if I'd be interested in writing an occasional column as part of their perennial quest to connect with younger readers. [Which, of course, now that I'm in the newspaper business, I know is a quest not limited to the ethnic press. Heh.] Honored by the request, I wrote an erratic series of navel-gazing columns over the next two years, looking at stuff like mixed-race identity, the evolution of community, and going off to college from a self-absorbed and self-described "hapa yonsei perspective." (It was called, wait for it—"In The Mix," natch.) If it'd happened today, I'd have been just another teenaged blogger with an audience of 1, but back then, pre-World Wide Web, an editor saw something in a kid who wanted to write, and took a chance on him. And the stuff she let me write about—race, identity, community—is the stuff I'm still writing about, 16 years later. The editor's name was Naomi Hirahara.

In the time since I met her, Naomi left journalism to tackle full-time her dream, to write novels. Naomi is now the award-winning author of the Mas Arai mystery series, featuring an LA-area JA gardener (like both her father and my grandfather) turned sleuth. And now, I'm proud to announce the publication this week of her first novel for middle-grade readers, 1001 Cranes (Delacorte Press for Young Readers).

The book follows 12-year-old Angie Kato, a Bay Area girl forced to spend the summer at her grandparents' flower shop in Gardena to avoid her parents' impending divorce. We follow her journey of growth and self-awareness as she learns to fold the titular origami wedding displays that her family's shop sells [we have ours hanging in our living room!]. I can't wait to put a copy of this on The Pumpkin's "for future reading" shelf.

Naomi's kicking off a whole bunch of SoCal readings with this coming Saturday's Japanese American National Museum's Summer Family Festival, part of the opening weekend of LA's Little Tokyo's historic Nisei Week festival. If you're in the LA area this Saturday, I highly recommend you check it out.

Now, to the contest! Naomi's been kind enough to give Rice Daddies an autographed copy of 1001 Cranes to give away to one lucky reader. All you have to do to enter is, by midnight PDT on Saturday, August 16, write in a comment on this post about one tradition—familial, cultural, whatever—you want to pass down to your kids, and why. The winner will be chosen at random (probably, if one time makes a tradition, by The Pumpkin pulling a slip of paper out of a rice cooker), but you gotta write a comment to enter.

And finally, congrats, and thanks, to Naomi! Yay, more diverse literature for kids! Go get your copy now!