Last Sunday was the closing show of the Bay Area Children's Theater's adaptation of RICKSHAW GIRL. I was sad to bid farewell to the cast and crew, but the memories of their artistry bringing my story to life will uplift and sustain me for years to come. My thanks to one and all, with deep gratitude for this marvelous privilege. I know it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience for a writer.
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| From left to right: Amit Sharma (Cast/Tabla), Emily Alvarado (Naima), Director Vidhu Singh, Salim Razawi (Saleem), Ariel Irula (Mother), Pankaj Jha (Father), Sonali Bhattacharya (Music), and me. Missing: too many to list, but I must mention Radhika Rao (Rashida/Rickshaw Painter) and Aditi Kapil (Playwright). |
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| Meeting an author is kind of scary. |
I found a Facebook status written by someone I didn't know who took her daughter to the show. Her words were encouraging as my friends and family can't really be trusted for an impartial response.
"Was amazed today at Bay Area Children's Theatre's production of RICKSHAW GIRL. I think it was my absolute favorite show of the season which is hard to say when I loved them all! We had not read the book before and didn't know the story so it was beautiful to discover such a treasure! It was so nice to see Holly engaged with a story so unfamiliar, and we loved the Bangla songs and the Tabla music! We were lucky to be blessed to meet the author of the book who was in attendance at this final Berkeley performance ... We are looking forward to next season already!"
On Sunday we surprised the cast and crew of
Rickshaw Girl by showing up for their last performance in San Ramon before the show heads to San Francisco. This Bay Area Children's Theatre performance of Aditi Kapil's well-paced, poignant script, directed masterfully by Vidhu Singh, surpassed my wildest dreams. Beauty abounded — spilling over from the set design, through the music and dancing, via the actors, until it filled the faces of the rapt audience.
I especially enjoyed hearing whispered comments from young theatergoers that revealed a deep engagement with the story and affection for the characters. Thanks to one and all involved for the gift of this show to me and my family. (If you want to see it during the next few weekends in S.F. or in Berkeley, you may order tickets
here.)
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| The stage design transports you to a village in Bangladesh. |
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| Ma and I quietly took our seats. Can you spot us? |
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| Afterwards, we greeted the actors in the lobby. |
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| My Ma with Naima's Ma (Ariel Irula) and Baba (Pankaj Jha) |
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| Aren't they adorable? |
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| Even seeing the tickets was thrilling. |
Here's the official video from the Bay Area Children's Theater, followed by some professional shots taken during the show by Joshua Posamentier.
Every Saturday and Sunday at 11 and 2 from 4/2-5/22, you can catch the Bay Area Children's Theater's beautiful adaptation of my novel Rickshaw Girl. GET TICKETS HERE!
And if you want to get a signed copy, come to the show when I'll be there (see below). Thanks for supporting this story of a brave girl who finds a way to honor her family.
My novel for elementary-aged readers,
RICKSHAW GIRL (chosen by the New York Public Library as one of the best books for children over the past 100 years), is pedaling to the stage in a wonderful musical adaptation! The
Bay Area Children's Theatre will put on shows at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday from April 12 to May 22, first in San Ramon's Front Row Theater, next at the San Francisco's Children's Creativity Museum, and last but not least in Berkeley at The Osher Studio.
Here's the
ticket purchase information:
http://bactheatre.org/shows/RickshawGirl. If you want to say hello and get a signed book, I plan to be there at the opening shows in San Francisco (Saturday, April 16 at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.) and the closing shows in Berkeley (Sunday, May 22 at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.).
Thanks,
Girls Leadership, for selecting RICKSHAW GIRL as a Parent / Daughter Book Club Pick, and for inviting me in to your offices to be interviewed by the brilliant Daliya.
I'm thrilled that parents and kids are reading Rickshaw Girl together this month, thanks to a recommendation from Girls' Leadership, a wonderful organization with this mission:
Girls Leadership teaches girls the skills to know who they are, what they believe, and how to express it, empowering them to create change in their world.
Please join us on December 2nd (8 p.m. EDT, 5 p.m. PDT) for a live video chat about the book.
Last night I had a magical experience. I was invited to attend a workshopping of RICKSHAW GIRL, the stage version, by the Bay Area Children's Theater (BACT). Playwright Aditi Kapil was in town from Minnesota to work with director Vidhu Singh, and our evening started with dinner at Toast in Oakland.
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| From L to R: Me, Vidhu Singh, Water Bottle, BACT's Ben Hanna, and Aditi Kapil |
After dinner, we headed to BACT headquarters in Montclair, Oakland, and the talented team of actors, director, producer, and playwright began to work through the script. When you create a story in your head and people it with characters who exist only in your imagination, it is otherworldly to see them come to life. As I listened in wonder, I found myself moved by the plight of a young Bangladeshi girl who wants so desperately to help her family. I had written the darn thing, but last night Naima's story was presented to me in a fresh and sweet form. It was the same; it was completely different. It was magic.
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| Aditi's amazing script adds song, dance, staging, character depth, pacing, and emotional resonance to the story. |
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| The actors who play the main characters, Naima and Saleem, are as adorable in real life as they are in this picture. |
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| "What is scansion?" wondered the theatrical neophyte. In silence, of course. |
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| Here's the first read-through of the rickshaw crash scene. |
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| The RICKSHAW GIRL team: actors, director, author, and playwright. |
If there's a shortage of clotted cream in the British Isles, feel free to blame my recent visit to London. As usual, I overdosed on Darjeeling and scones laden with liberal servings of my favourite (note the spelling) dairy product.
My husband suggested that we see
WAR HORSE in the theater, and I reluctantly agreed, curmudgeon that I am when it comes to literary adaptations. Let the record stand: I didn't see the film. The curtain went up, and to my amazement, I was hooked within minutes. Much of my pleasure was derived from the creative puppetry provided by
South Africa's Handspring Productions. These artists made it easy to suspend disbelief and cheer for the beautiful horses on stage.
I popped into
Blackwell's Bookshop in Oxford to buy a copy of the
book by Michael Morpurgo and read it on the flight home. The novel is delightful, but the stage production takes it to a new level thanks to the added talents of directors, actors, stage designers, and most of all, the puppeteers.
I stand corrected about theatrical adaptations, at least when handled with excellence in craft and story. And I'm more hopeful and excited to see what the creative team at the Bay Area Children's Theater will do with their adaptation of my novel
RICKSHAW GIRL, premiering
April 16, 2016 on the stage of the
Creativity Theater in San Francisco.
We writers like to be in charge of our stories, but magical things can happen when we release the reins and harness the talents of others. Perhaps our stories will be able to gallop into the hearts and minds of a much wider audience. Fodder for thought? (Sorry.)
I recently received a poem from a reader of my book Rickshaw Girl who said that the main character in the story, Naima, reminded her of her mother. I asked for permission to post it on my blog in honor of Mother's Day, and here it is:
Naima
by Katherine Nguyen
With your long black hair
Fingers like a brush
You draw an alpina
The work of an artist
Young and free
In a world so narrow
You fly like the wind
Pave the way to a new tomorrow
Your hopes and dreams
Are like blue skies and rainbows
Colorful, pure, and hopeful
Painting the world, one stroke at a time
With your hair tucked in
The façade of a boy, inside truly a girl
You embody a woman
Strong, independent, beautiful
Unsure of your success
Remembering your mother’s bracelet
You hold onto that memory
Cannot let go, will not forego
Life without a family
A vision you cannot see
De
My first novel for younger readers (as opposed to teens), published in 2007, is doing okay. Here are some of the reasons why kids in several states are reading RICKSHAW GIRL 2-3 years after publication:
Nominated for the 2010 New York Charlotte Children's Book Award
Nominated for the 2010 Oklahoma Sequoyah Award
Nominated for the 2010 Arkansas Charlie May Simon Award
Nominated for the 2010 Rhode Island Children's Book Award
Nominated for the 2010 South Carolina Children's Book Award
Nominated for the 2010 Children's Crown Award
Nominated for the 2009 Massachusetts Children's Book Awards
Maine Library Association Lupine Honor Book
Nice, right? The advances and royalties might be heftier if I wrote for adults, but this particular book has showcased two financial advantages of writing for kids:
- the buying power of educational markets, keeping books in print
- the supplemental income of author visits
Thank you, schools and libraries, for continuing to put Naima's story into the hands and minds of young readers. I'm also grateful to
Charlesbridge and editor Judy O'Malley for acquiring and championing the book (which was rejected quite a few times by other houses.)
The Jane Addams Book Awards ceremony took place yesterday in Manhattan with the flags of the United Nations as our backdrop (that's me, just before entering 777 UN Plaza for the event).
I was terrified I was going to lose it during my talk. Who wouldn't get verklempt when given an award for "children's books that promote the cause of peace, social justice, world community, and the equality of the sexes and all races?"
To avoid the danger of extemporaneous verbiage, I wrote out the whole three minutes:
Thank you to the Peace Association for your hospitality at this wonderful event and this great honor for our book Rickshaw Girl.
My great-grandmother, who lived in Bangladesh all of her life, was nine years old when she was married. My only memory of her is an old woman sitting quietly in a widow’s white sari.
Did she have power? Some might say not much.
But she taught her daughter how to draw alpanas, the traditional folk art of Bengal. And she told stories. Wonderful stories. Which meant that her daughter taught my mother to draw alpanas, and told her stories.
Thanks to our family’s move here to New York when I was seven, the alpana art skill didn’t pass to the next generation. The love of stories, however, did.
I wrote Rickshaw Girl for my great-grandmother, and for girls today in Bangladesh who still don’t have many choices.
The good news is that when I lived there for three years, I traveled to the villages and was thrilled to see that life is changing slowly but surely for young women. Like Jane Addams, Muhummad Yunus of the Grameen Bank is a Nobel Peace Prize winner and a genius with a big heart. Thanks to women’s banks that offer loans at lower interest rates, these girls have opportunities that my great-grandmother never had. They can start and manage small successful businesses, like the rickshaw painter in my novel.
I want to thank my father, whose love for his three daughters rivals the fictional paternal love in my book. My mother, for beautifying our American home with alpana art, Tagore songs, and the great smells of her savory cooking. My sisters, husband, and sons for constant support and cheerleading. Jamie Hogan, who bridged cultures so beautifully with her illustrations, and Judy O’Malley of Charlesbridge, who edited the book with unmatched care and compassion. Naima’s story wouldn’t be here at all if Judy hadn’t taken it under her wing. Last but not least, I want to thank God, the Author of my story.
Don’t you think Jane Addams, one of my personal heroes and champion of immigrants, would be pleased that a writer born in Calcutta would be receiving this honor today? I think she would. Thank you all so much.
Illustrator Jamie Hogan came next, and she got choked up talking about how she resonated with the father's love for his daughter in the story. It probably didn't help that Jamie's own hubby and daughter were sitting side by side in the audience.
That did it. We were unanimously verklempt, but sweetly so.
Part of the award included our
very own Jane Addams dolls! Yippee!
Remember when I sent copies of my books to the McCain and Obama girls as payback for tracking them on sparrowblog?
Well, I haven't heard back yet from Meghan or Bridget, and the padded envelope containing Rickshaw Girl was returned to sender by Obama's campaign headquarters, unopened.
I'd already inscribed the book to Sasha and Malia, so I decided to send it again, this time directly to their school library. Here's the handwritten note I just got from their librarian:
Thank you so much for the gift of your wonderful book in honor of Malia and Sasha. We do already own a copy, but kids love it, and an additional copy, especially as a gift from you, will be treasured. It is a beautiful story, and a glimpse into a world so different from ours. I will also write a note to the Obamas to let them know the book is here. Thanks again for your thoughtful gift.
Now that's classy. The hand that chooses the books and checks them out to kids rules the world.
Some of you Fire Escape visitors might not know that before I became a mommy-slash-writer, I taught political science and international relations as a visiting professor at Pepperdine University.
My biggest challenge was standing at the board struggling to explain economic principles to my increasingly befuddled students. If only I had known back then what I know now — that kid lit can be used to teach almost anything.
Yana Rodgers, director of the Rutgers University Project on Economics and Children, sent me this nice review of Rickshaw Girl published on EconKids, a rich (pun intended) site featuring children's books that teach economics. Here's the site's mission statement:
This website provides teachers, parents, and volunteers with ideas for using children's literature to introduce economics to children. This site also reviews new books from leading publishers and makes selections for Book of the Month and Top Five categories. Unlike many of the existing websites on economics education, EconKids focuses on younger students in elementary school.
Did you know that children's books, for example, can teach the following economic concepts?
- Barter
- Capital Resources
- Child Schooling and Work
- Entrepreneurs
- Goods/Services
- Human Resources
- Innovation
- Interdependence
- Markets and Competition
- Money/Banking
- Natural Resources
- Opportunity Cost
- Producers/Consumers
- Saving
- Scarcity
- Unemployment
My Lupine Honor Book Award for Rickshaw Girl (Charlesbridge) arrived yesterday. It's a handmade stoneware platter crafted by Portland, Maine potter Toby Rosenberg. Thank you, Libraries of Maine!
... for choosing artist Jamie Hogan to illustrate Rickshaw Girl (which was just named a 2008 Julia Ward Howe Recommended Book and won a starred mention in Bank Street's Best Children Books of the year.) Since our Charlesbridge-arranged introduction, Jamie has lavished me with gifts, like giving me the portrait in my blog header above, and sending me this promotional postcard she designed for both of us:
She also framed one of the portraits of Naima and her sister that she drew for the book, wrapped it, and sent it to my beloved sister in Colorado as a breathtaking birthday present:
And then, at the New England Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators conference this past weekend, Jamie came up after my session and presented me with another of her gorgeous illustrations -- the one she drew of Saleem and reminds me so much of my father as a boy:
Thank you, Jamie, and thank you,
Charlesbridge editor Judy O'Malley and Art Director Susan Sherman for your inspired literary matchmaking.
Yes, that's my little Rickshaw Girl, the French edition, aka De père en fille, releasing this month from Flammarion.
Meanwhile, at the Irish Society For The Study of Children's Literature Conference last month, here was a session presented by Shehrazade Emmambokus:
How children’s literature of the South Asian diaspora responds to the media’s vilification of South Asian minority groups following the 11 September attacks.
Immediately following the World Trade Center and the Pentagon attacks on 11 September 2001, the international news media was gripped by the events that took place. However, not only did the news media respond to these events, but other forms of cultural media did too: the music industry, the film industry, the books and literature industry which also includes children’s literature.
Examples of children’s books which engage with these events include, amongst others, Jeanette Winter’s September Roses (2004), Randa Abdel-Fattah’s Does My Head Look Big In This? (2007), and Brian Mandabach’s Or Not (2007). But more specifically from the South Asian literary sub-genre of children’s literature: Anjali Banerjee’s Looking for Bapu (2006), Marina Budhos’s Ask Me No Questions (2006) and Mitali Perkins’ First Daughter: Extreme American Makeover (2007).
Engaging with media theory and the representations of South Asian minorities since the events of 11 September, this paper will focus predominantly on Perkins’ First Daughter and Budhos’ Ask Me No Questions. Through the characters, this paper will look at whether or not they internalise the stereotypical images and messages purported in the news media, and will ask, firstly, if there is an internalisation of the media stereotypes, why is this possible? And secondly, if there is a resistance towards these media stereotypes, what do these literatures say about young developing ethnic identities and subsequently the individual’s right to negotiate their own ethnic identities?
By focussing on these questions, this paper will argue that although these texts present their readers with characters who are confronted by the media and its use of stereotype during its coverage of the 11 September attacks, these characters’ ethnic identities are not compromised, in fact, they are able to remain culturally neutral. Subsequently, through the characters’ experiences, these books are able to offer South Asian diasporic children and teenagers a form of bibliotherapy as these books demonstrate how the characters deal with the negative media pressures.
Now that's nice, especially with Boston already greening up for St. Patty's Day.
In fourth grade, I did a massive project on Amelia Bloomer and she became one of my heroes. Today (via a note from their MySpace site which shows you how the world is changing), I discovered that Rickshaw Girl made ALA's 2008 Amelia Bloomer Project list.
This award is moderated by the Feminist Task Force of the American Library Association's Social Responsibilities Round Table (SSRT), and I'm wondering why it seems to have been overlooked in ALA's award announcements.
Oh, well. Amelia rocks! And I'm wearing a comfy pair of bloomers right now, my blogging outfit of choice.
Today's the release date of the paperback version of Rickshaw Girl, which makes me happy because more kids and libraries can afford it.
To underline the irony that defines the writer's life, yesterday I got "the letter" from Little Brown telling me that they're not going to print any more copies of The Not-So-Star-Spangled Life of Sunita Sen. A remainder notice has a different kind of sting than a rejection, and it sends me running to World Cat so I can remember that young readers can still meet Sunita in libraries. Now I have to decide how many books I want to rescue from the pit at seventy pennies a copy. Any suggestions?
Tomorrow I meet with a publicist to discuss the launch of First Daughter: White House Rules, releasing in nine days. It's the first time I'm investing in one of my titles with some cash for promotion. As an archetypical zero-gen immigrant, I usually I prefer to spend time instead of money by making trailers and blogging in my character's name instead of hiring publicists. But as this is an election year, I feel I must give Sparrow her chance to be encountered in tweendom. I'll keep you informed.
Lovely to think of kids in Saipan, Guam, and Palau reading Rickshaw Girl after I read this nice review in Marianas Variety:
RICKSHAW GIRL, by Mitali Perkins, illustrated by Jamie Hogan (Charlesbridge, 2007). Although this novel is also set in the tropics, it takes place in Bangladesh, with a different sensibility than here in the islands. For the child who likes adventure or different places, this is a good choice.
Naima is the older daughter, with one little sister, and no brothers. Her father says that he is glad he has girls, but Naima is bound by cultural rules that seem to limit her options. She cannot help her poor father, who drives a rickshaw — a bicycle attached to a passenger cab, used as a taxi. The family’s financial circumstances are revealed in a series of small details that show them on the brink of disaster, with no margin for financial losses of any kind.
Naima is a talented alpanas painter and energetic girl, but she envies her friend, Saleem because he helps his father by alternating the driving of their rickshaw, which gives his father a chance to rest. Naima’s father has faced poor health and seems very tired to Naima, who frets about his long hours and hard work.
Naima comes up with a scheme to fix things, but only causes bigger problems. And the story grows from there, into a fully realized novel in just 78 pages of large, double-spaced type!
Besides the beautiful, full color cover, the text is illustrated inside with line drawings in black on white. These help show the exotic setting and details of the alpanas (decorative-design drawings), as well as bring characters to life.
This is a wonderful book for children gaining confidence with their reading and wanting to branch out from their easy readers. The story is sufficiently deep to be interesting to older children as well. Highly recommended. (Ages 8-14).
Donna Spurlock of Charlesbridge also informs me that the novel is on the New York Public Library's forthcoming 2007 list of
hundred best children's books for reading and sharing. Hooray for good news about a work that's done when you're under deadline for another novel!
The main advantage of attending one of my author appearances in the San Francisco Bay Area is that audiences get to enjoy my mother's wonderful alpana art lessons. Your next opportunity to meet Mrs. Madhusree Bose is at the Milpitas Public Library on Monday, October 29th, at 4 o'clock in the afternoon. Here's the scoop from the Santa Clara County Library system:
RICKSHAW GIRL BOOK DISCUSSION @ the Milpitas Library for Grades 3 to 8
SIGN UP EARLY, SPACE IS LIMITED!!*
On Saturday, October 27th at 2:30 pm there will be two book groups meeting to discuss Rickshaw Girl, an interesting read about a girl from another part of the world.
We will chat about the book, have an activity, and enjoy a snack together. Members of this book group will be invited to meet the author, Mitali Perkins, at a special event on Monday October 29th.
Please contact the Children's Reference Desk to sign-up.
*Space is limited, so advance sign-up is required for the book group, AND participation in the book group is required to attend the author visit!
This program is made possible thanks to The Friends of the Milpitas Library.
Lots of good news to share about Rickshaw Girl:
It's coming out in paperback from Charlesbridge February 2008.
The book joins some wonderful titles on lists compiled by Betsy Bird at Fuse No. 8 and Pam Couglan at Mother Reader of best books of 2007 (so far).
It's on the Cochecho Readers' Award list for third and fourth graders and recommended for second graders by Education.com.
Rickshaw Girl is reviewed by Anne-Marie Nichols over at Club Mom's A Readable Feast, who provides links to some great recipes from Bangladesh.
And for those of you in Maine (or those who want a foliage drive excuse), illustrator Jamie Hogan and I will be discussing our collaboration at Graves Library in Kennebunkport on Sunday, October 7th at 3 p.m.
Parties don't get much better than this. I got to meet a legend (Anita Silvey), and a cyber-community-builder (Eisha of 7-imp fame). I got to deck editor Judy O'Malley in a saree (to see us in action, visit Unabridged, Charlesbridge's blog), and draw dragons eating their tails (as instructed by Ralph Masiello). And I got to talk about Rickshaw Girl and sign books with my collaborator, illustrator Jamie Hogan (see below). Thanks, Charlesbridge!
In this photo taken by Elaine Magliaro-slash-Wild Rose Reader at a Foundation of Children's Books event two nights ago, slim and elegant Charlesbridge editor Judy O'Malley is the redhead in the middle, multi-talented author-illustrator-Blue-Rose-Girl Anna Alter is on the left, and that's non-petite me hogging half the photo space on the right. (Note to self #1: in future photo ops, stand between or behind two size fours).
Judy and I are doing another duet at Charlesbridge's annual open house for teachers and librarians this afternoon. We'll be sharing the process that led to the publication of Rickshaw Girl, and rumor has it that I'll be draping her in a saree. Illustrator Jamie Hogan will be there, too, and she's bringing along the original art she created for the book. (Note to self #2: try and make an offer on one of those gorgeous pastels, but knowing Jamie, she might just hand it over as a gift ... this is going to take some finesse and diplomacy.)
But there's more. Much more. Author-illustrator Ralph Masiello (aka Icky Bug Man) is going to show us all how to draw the dragons in his new Drawing Book, and two other artists will be there: Kate Endle, who created the collages in Trout Are Made of Trees (Spring 2008), and Ilene Winn-Lederer, illustrator of The Golden Dreydl (Fall 2007). After this soirée, though, I'm putting my heels away until ALA.
The Book of the Week Archive is a wonderful resource provided by the Cooperative Children's Book Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (and not only because my darlin' Rickshaw Girl is this week's choice). Also, their moderated listserv is top-notch when it comes to focused discussion around children's books.
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What a beautiful, powerful poem! Thanks, Katherine and Mitali. :)
Beautiful Thanks for the post, and poem.
Penny