Fall is in the air!
It’s already mid-September—have you gotten into the autumn spirit yet? The days are still a bit warm here in Brooklyn, but (in-person!) school has begun and the shift in schedules has put me into the fall mindset.
Read MoreFall is in the air!
It’s already mid-September—have you gotten into the autumn spirit yet? The days are still a bit warm here in Brooklyn, but (in-person!) school has begun and the shift in schedules has put me into the fall mindset.
Read MoreIt is already June now, but did you know that May was designated as Asian/ Pacific Islander month? I didn’t! But it has been official since 1992. May was chosen because the first Japanese immigrants came to the US on May 7, 1893 and the transcontinental railroad, which many Chinese immigrants helped to build, was completed on May 10, 1869.
My grandparents on both sides of my family immigrated to Hawaii at the turn of the century from Wakayama and Yamaguchi prefectures in Japan.
My parents were born and raised in Honolulu and eventually settled in California where I was born.
Growing up in a small town on the central coast of California, I often found myself to be the only Asian kid in class, on the playground, and in public places in general. There just weren’t many Asian Americans living there. My parents weren’t affected in the same way, as I was, having grown up in an environment where they were the majority ethnic group in Hawaii. I was always aware of being “different” and internalized a sense of being “the other” from a very young age.
Not only did I not see many people who looked like me in my physical environment, I didn’t see myself in the media. I decided at a young age that in order to be on TV, I had to be a newswoman (like Tricia Toyota or Connie Chung, the only Asians I ever saw on the tube). I could never be an actress because I would never believably blend in with the television families I saw - the Bradys, the Cunninghams, the Waltons. The only show I could hope to be on looking like myself was Sesame Street. Perhaps that’s where the allure of NYC first hit me. I loved the city vibe -- and the diversity so absent in my own surroundings.
Even in my beloved picture books, I never saw kids who looked like me, with the exception of an old Japanese Folk Tales book that was published in Japan. My childhood experience has shaped how I approach my work as a children’s book illustrator.
In the books I illustrate, I try to show kids who aren’t always seen. My first book, Night Shift Daddy, written by Eileen Spinelli features a biracial family, as does Let’s Go to the Hardware Store, and Pizza Day. Good Night Engines, Wake Up Engines, Soup Day and Let’s Go to the Hardware Store feature Asian American kids as main characters. That aspect isn’t integral to the story, but that’s the point — they are just American kids who happen to be Asian.
I talk a lot about my childhood and my path to becoming an illustrator and then author in an episode from the Sandi Klein Show - Conversations with Creative Women.
Last month I was honored to be invited to speak with Sandi on her fantastic podcast! Every week she interviews creative women in various fields. Her guests have included authors, actors, activists, playwrights, directors. I was so humbled to be a part of her show and included in the list of these successful, fascinating, and inspiring women!
The topic of diversity in children’s books was also at the forefront of NerdCamp NJ which took place in May. We listened to inspiring talks by Tricia Ebarvia, Emma Otheguy, Andrea J. Loney, Jarrett Lerner, and Laurie Halse Anderson on inclusion in the classroom.
I was also on a panel organized by teacher, Julia Guthrie, on Asian American children’s book and Y/A literature with authors Aram Kim, Karuna Riazi and Emily X.R. Pan. We spoke of our own experiences and how it has influenced our work and shared children’s books with Asian American characters. A list of recommended books for teachers and librarians and readers of all ages can be found here. *
Concluding the theme of the month, on the 29th of May, I was a guest author at the 3rd Annual Hastings-on-Hudson Multicultural Book Festival and Fair. I was blown away by the efforts of ENL coordinator and Director of Diversity of the Hastings-on-Hudson School District, Jenice Mateo-Toledo, and Marie-Louise Miller in organizing such a wonderful festival. Their mission is to encourage multicultural awareness and offer books that depict lives of all children, broadening the types of stories typically available to their students and families.
It’s so wonderful that diversity in Kid Lit is being discussed and championed these days. It’s such a difference from when I was a kid. Efforts of We Need Diverse Books, Multicultural Book Day, and others like the good folks at Nerd Camp NJ and Hastings-on-the-Hudson Multicultural Book Festival and Fair are helping to bring awareness and change within the children’s book industry to reflect the lives of all children. I’m so happy to be a part of it!
It’s not perfect, but it’s a step in the right direction…
*For more a more extensive list on multiculturally diverse books, check out Mia Wenjen’s Book lists at Pragmatic Mom. :)
On September 9, 1942, World War II Japanese pilot, Nobuo Fujita, bombed the Oregon Coast. Thirty Minutes Over Oregon is the story of how that incident led to the amazing events that followed. I won’t give away the ending to this moving story, masterfully told by Marc Tyler Nobleman — you’ll have to read the book!
I was first offered the manuscript for Thirty Minutes Over Oregon in early 2016. Marc had written the story years before, and he details the manuscript’s journey on his blog. I had worked with our editor, the wonderful Jennifer Greene, at Clarion Books over a decade ago on several of my earliest picture books.
When I first read Marc’s manuscript, I knew immediately that I wanted to do it. The story resonated with me on several layers. Being of Japanese descent and American, and having lived in both countries, I felt connected to both cultures. My parents were born and raised in Hawaii and were actually teenagers living on Oahu when Pearl Harbor was bombed. And while not interned in camps like the Japanese Americans living on the mainland of the U.S., they were deeply affected by WWII. Coincidentally, my father now lives in Oregon several hours north of the bomb site. Most importantly, though, I was so moved by the act of forgiveness and reconciliation demonstrated by both sides of the conflict. It is quite extraordinary the way the relationship between Nobuo and the town of Brookings (located near the bomb site) evolved.
Although I felt strongly that I wanted to illustrate this amazing story, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t also terrified. I had never illustrated a non-fiction 40-page picture book for older kids before, much less one in watercolor! It was completely out of my comfort zone.
In my almost 20 year career of illustrating children’s books, I can honestly say that this one was the most difficult! There were many times that I felt like I was failing. Because my sketch style was so intrinsic to working from life and from photographs and because this story is based on a real person, I knew I had to find relevant photo reference of Nobuo at different stages of his life. The plane Nobuo flew was a Yokosuka E14 Y Glen seaplane that could be disassembled and stowed and transported by an I-25 submarine. A lot of the story takes place in Brookings, Oregon over several decades. I knew I had to find reference to be able to paint these and wanted my illustrations to show these things accurately.
I am indebted to many, many people who helped me during the research phase of the project. I got as much information as I could at the Picture Collection and Periodical Divisions of the NY Public Library. And I made a truly memorable trek out to Brookings, Oregon. The wonderful folks at the Curry Coastal Pilot newspaper opened their archives to me to peruse at length. I was able to gather a ton of photo reference and news clippings that would have been impossible to procure outside of their offices.
I also had a personal tour of the Chetco Valley Museum by Patty McVay.
I spent several hours at the Chetco Library where Nobuo donated his 400-year-old samurai sword.
He also generously donated thousands of dollars towards multicultural children’s books where they reside in the library to this day.
But the highlight of my visit was hiking with Bill Schlichting, a reporter at the Curry Pilot. He drove me to the forest and kindly showed me the actual bomb site. There is a memorial there and it was so incredible to view it in person.
Back in NY, I poured over all of the material I had amassed and sketched a ton.
The amazing Caldecott winning author/illustrator, Brian Floca, who lives in my neighborhood, gave me sage advice and generously sent me a link on Ebay to buy a model of the actual plane Nobuo used on his pre dawn flights!
It was really helpful for drawing and painting different angles of the plane, which I ended up painting countless times!
During the painting process I had several obstacles. For one, I sustained an arm injury unrelated to the project and I was unable to use my dominant hand for awhile. I used this time to read and also just watch watercolor tutorial videos on YouTube so I could enjoy painting vicariously.
To some extent, I learned how to paint with my left hand as well. I did early preliminary sketches of scenes with both hands at times.
When my arm was much better, I was able to start painting the finals. There I faced my second major obstacle: How would I paint the illustrations? I first started with a lot of small color studies to figure out which colors to use and how to mix them.
I wasn’t sure what size to paint the images. Normally I work at 100%, but I had a lot of problems painting at this scale with watercolor, as I had been training myself with much smaller pieces. My daily sketches are only about 3” x 4” in size! So I ended up painting the same scenes many times. Watercolor is an unforgiving medium. During the process I often felt like I didn’t know how to paint with watercolor.
I finally had a brainstorm: I needed to just do the paintings at a smaller size!
Unlike with my daily paintings, I decided to separate my line from my watercolor. I knew I would have to revise things, and truth be told, I was a bit nervous about drawing directly on my painting and risking having to do the whole thing over again if I made a mistake with my inking! So I drew my ink line on vellum and bristol paper and scanned that in with the watercolor and assembled them in Photoshop.
This process worked out well with the text I incorporated in some of the images. I didn’t want to use actual newspaper clippings, so I recreated parts of them by hand. I was able to layer different elements together and assemble them in Photoshop. I scanned my paintings at 600 dpi so they would print clearly when enlarged.
By the time I was ready to turn in all of my artwork, I had studied and looked at it for so long. All I could see were things I could have possibly done differently. I think this is common and have heard this sentiment from other artists about their own work. There is always room for improvement. But I know that I did the best I could have possibly done at that time and place in my life. I do hope I did justice in helping to tell this story with my pictures. It’s definitely a story that needed to be told and shared.
Seventy-six years and one month after the first bomb was dropped, on October 9, 2018, the book will be released and it is available for pre-order now online or in your local bookstore!
Marc and I will be on a panel with other non-fiction picture book authors and illustrators to talk about our work at Books of Wonder (Upper West Side store) this Sunday, 3-5. Please join us if you are in the area!