English-language Asia-set Children’s and YA Fiction ~ by Holly Thompson
Part 2 of 3 (read Part 1 here)
Some years back as we settled into our bicultural family life with young children here in Japan, although we were surrounded by books in Japanese and took full advantage of Japan’s healthy picture book and middle-grade market, we discovered that finding English-language reading material to support our bilingual children was no easy task. Because our children attended Japanese schools, English education happened in our home, and we needed a steady supply of English-language books. But libraries in Japan stock few English-language books, and bookstores here carry very few and at hefty mark-ups, so whenever friends or family visited from the U.S. they brought books to us. Returning from a trip back to the States, our luggage was always heavy with books. We book-swapped with families in Japan, we ordered from Scholastic with our English-after school group, and we pounced on book sale tables at international school fairs. At last, Amazon Japan with free and quick delivery of affordable overseas books came to the rescue.
Always on the lookout for books relating to our lives while raising our bilingual children, we soon became aware of a lack of English-language children’s books that reflect Japan. English-language picture books set in Japan were rare, and those that existed, we discovered, tended toward folktales and nonfiction. Where were the day-to-day stories that reflected the landscapes and people and value systems surrounding us? Where was Japan?
We treasured our Allen Say books, especially Kamishibai Man and Grandfather’s Journey.
We read and reread the bilingual Grandpa’s Town by Takaaki Nomura. We enjoyed folktale retellings like The Seven Gods of Luck by David Kudler and Yoshi’s Feast by Kimiko Kajikawa. and biographical works like Cool Melons—Turn to Frogs by Matthew Gollub. All excellent, but we were discouraged that such English-language titles set in Japan were few and far between.
Searching for other Asian cultures in English-language picture books yielded similar results—folktales, nonfiction and concept books, but few fictional stories set in Asia.
As the children grew older, we came to realize that even less common than English-language picture books set in Asia were English-language middle-grade and YA novels set in Japan and Asia. What we found was mostly historical fiction. Of course we read and loved Korea-set historical novels by Linda Sue Park, Japan-set novels by 0 Comments on PaperTigers’ Global Voices feature with award winning author Holly Thompson (USA/Japan)~ Part 2 as of 5/23/2012 10:49:00 AM
Love your bracelet, Sara! My two writing personalities are vastly different. My rough draft one just keeps chanting "shut up" to my brain and "write. more. faster." to my heart.
My revising one is very thoughtful and analytical.
*Drooling over the bracelet*
Of course you know I love the FOOD and TROD combination. But they're not unlike FROG and TOAD, since to me, frog represents initial spark, leaping, flying off into creative avenues, and toad represents a more deliberate plodding (or trodding), through a piece of writing once a draft is done. Like Laura said, one side seems more analytical, the other fueled by emotion. Either way, you gotta wear green.
I haven't gotten one of these yet, but then I'm still torn between BEEZUS and RAMONA, not to mention FOOD and TROD!
I don't think I can separate the composing/editing sides of my personality; as I write, I edit. You've seen the website Fuzzmail, right? Where it records you writing an email as you write two words and then correct them? That's how I compose -- five paragraphs forward, two paragraphs back. Either I have a split personality all the time, or... something. I'm pretty sure whatever it is, it definitely is in favor of FOOD and TROD...
I love the bracelet.
I'm more like TadMack, editing away while I write, although my first draft self can be kind of neurotic. I enjoy the work while I'm doing it, but when I'm away, I fret about whether or not I can do what I want to do, if I can finish, if the project's worthwhile, etc. That neurotic part goes away when I have a full draft and I'm revising/editing. I really love revising and editing. I'm not sure what the character analogy would be.
Tadmack, I tried Fuzzmail, and it was fascinating to watch my own mind grind away. :)
I tend to write, edit a bit, write some more, edit a bit more, etc., instead of rough drafting everything at one go. (For novels, anyway.) So I'll just have to keep flipping my bracelet back and forth, now won't I?
And Laura, I do find it hard to keep Toad's voice down when Frog is writing. Later, later, I tell him.
For sure when you're working on the first draft you need to go with "Trod." I myself prefer the motto "Trudge On."
Great bracelet! And what's with that delicate wrist? Is it yours or a wrist model's?
I need to get my George and Martha sides working together. Think I;m gonna need a bigger bracelet.
Robin, that's a wrist model, not me. (Hey! Great career for a flaked out parent in a YA novel, don't you think?)
And David, perhaps a George/Martha reversible T-shirt? Two-sided belt buckle? OK, now I'm getting ridiculous...
That's my wrist!
Glad you're enjoying the bracelet, Sara -- now I'll have to get to work on creating a George/Martha line!
Yes. Very very different. The mad woman in the attic and Marian the librarian. Or Frog and Toad, as the case may be...
What a great bracelet! I, too, am rather fond of Food and Trod. I think I'm like TadMack in that I'm always editing quite a bit as I compose, so my writing process can go a bit slowly as a result. I think it's actually because my editing personality is a domineering tyrant.
The only time I've been able to actually separate them is when I've tried to do NaNoWriMo--no time for editing!!