Still, there are details in the book that have symbolism that I was unaware of. There are often pages where I discover something new and don't know the tale of the imagery and would have my step father share the whole story. And so, our illustrator brought in the imagery you see now that's filled with symbolism and references to legendary stories. Our editor would challenge that it was too cliche or expected. Often, a non-Asian person would think Chinese culture only includes dragons, red envelopes or something-of-the-like. Why did your team decide to have so many traditional elements? fai chun (greeting decorations), peonies, Guanyin & Monkey King, etc. There were many symbolic Chinese images illustrated in this picture book, i.e. We have generations of people that internalized this negativity and have been really harmed. This really has shown me how pervasive, how damaging, and how widespread this very narrow Western-centred definition of beauty is. I have seen and continue to receive so many messages: they wish they had this book when they were young, or some would buy this book for themselves and don't even have children. It would have been more timely for us when we were younger. Do you feel that your book was a timely release with 'representation' being a pressing topic this year? So, everything that I do stems from that desire to educate and fight for racial equity. I feel lucky that I am someone who has a really clear passion and drive. At that moment, I can only describe it as a very spiritual-like impression that "you should write a book." I love reading, I love language, and I love books.
When I had my first child back in 2015, I tried to purchase inclusivity-themed books and quickly found out that there were so few books with kids of colour.
As part of the work, I tried to introduce more inclusive literature to my students to help them see themselves and see others in the text. I was an English teacher for a few years. With my writing, it very much followed the same passion. By becoming an educator in this area, I have the opportunity to sort of 'disrupt' and change the system.
I am an educator and vice-principal by profession in an area with marginalized populations, where the school system is often oppressive and unjust. Starting out, I've always had a strong passion for racial equity and fighting for racial justice. With so many book genres to pick, why did you choose to write a book on diversity and representation?
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