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… and if you haven’t checked it out yet, be sure to do so. The focus of this issue is Young Adult books, including interviews with YA authors Alan Gratz (Samurai Shortstop) and Hazel Edwards (Antarctica’s Frozen Chosen); and YA librarian Miranda Doyle. Our Illustrators’ Gallery focuses on two artists who have contributed greatly to making illustration relevant to Young Adults: Shaun Tan (The Arrival) and Gene Yang (American Born Chinese).

Book of the Month is Paul Yee’s What Happened This Summer, a rich collection of short stories about different teenagers growing up in Toronto, with a focus on their Chinese Canadian backgrounds. If you’re looking for inspiration about which book to read next, try our Reviews section; and take a look at those selected by writers Susanne Gervay in her Personal View YA Books: Cutting Edge Literature and Mitali Perkins in hers, Teens Between Cultures: A Reading List.

I have also picked out a short list of only some of the wonderful YA books we have featured on PaperTigers: Open up and get reading: YA books you just can’t put down and I hope you will add some of your own suggestions - we would love to hear from you.

The Summer Blog Blast Tour has begun, with the first interview appearing on its own today. Check out today's interview with Gene Yang at Finding Wonderland.

You can find the entire schedule here at Chasing Ray. I have the pleasure of hosting Mitali Perkins here tomorrow!

The Asian Art Museum in San Francisco just opened a big retrospective on the work of Tezuka, father of anime and manga, words which refer respectively to the Tezuka-inspired animation film and graphic books now so fabulously popular. Opening day at the museum last weekend, the show was packed with twenty-somethings and parents tagging along with their 10-year-olds. Nicole Harvey (who buys children’s books for the musuem shop, among her many other duties) and her colleagues at the museum have been working overtime to get the adventurous show and related activities up and running. There’s a Manga Lounge set up with a typical manga-fan kid’s bedroom and lots of manga-related products. The bookshop has a great collection of manga and books about anime and manga, including Gilles Poitras’ deconstructions of the magic for those of us who are a little more dependent on the written word. Gene Yang, author of the highly regarded American Born Chinese, is among the area artists who will demonstrate their comic art skills at weekly events through the summer.

If you’re the parent of a comic-lover and live nearby or if you plan to visit the Bay Area this summer with kids, the Tezuka show is a chance for you to learn something and earn some undying gratitude from the children as well. And if you can’t be here in person, the show’s website has links to everything from a Tezuka bio to essays on manga. Check out the blog, too! Help yourself to a virtual visit to a magical world.

After an initial reading of American Born Chinese your average librarian will recognize the fine line Yang is able to walk. It's not an easy book. Not one that allows you to skim through it without getting sucked in and having to (gasp, shudder) think. Then I saw this piece on the First Second blog.

Apparently, MySpace has made American Born Chinese a featured book... Not all good news, though, since it seems to come with a rather tasteless ad campaign that uses the Chin-Kee character out of context, and has led to all kinds of discussions among people who haven't read the book. Gene Yang responds.

And over in the center ring, may I draw your attention to one Cybils interview with author/illustrator Gene Yang. Y'all may remember him as the fellow who won a Printz and a 2006 Graphic Novel Cybil Award for American Born Chinese. And now that I think about it, there's another nice interview with Lois Lowry over at wordswimmer that's worth a looksee. Aw, heck. On top of all that is the magnificent interview with Jarrett Krosoczka at Ye Olde 7-Imp. Keep an eye peeled for his Estefan-laden fanmail.