Episode #163: If you were going on a spaceship, what 3 books would you read? with Cherie Fu
Welcome back to Kids Ask Authors! Our special guest today, is Cherie Fu! Cherie and Grace answer this wonderful kid question, “If you were going on a spaceship, what 3 books would you read? Thanks for tuning in!
TRANSCRIPT:
Grace Lin: Hello, I'm Grace Lin, children's book author and illustrator of many books including the middle grade novel, When The Sea Turned to Silver. And the picture book A Big Moon Cake for Little Star. Today I'm here with Cherie Fu, the author of the picture book, Little Messy Marcy Su, illustrated by Julie Kwon. Hi Cherie.
Cherie Fu: Hi Grace. How are you?
Grace Lin: Good. Thank you so much for joining me today.
Cherie Fu: Oh, thank you so much for having me.
Grace Lin: Are you ready for today's kid question?
Cherie Fu: I am, fire away.
Grace Lin: All right. Today's kid question is from a person named Sparrow, and Sparrow asks.
Sparrow: If you were going on a spaceship, what three books would you bring to read?
Grace Lin: If you were going on a spaceship, what three books would you bring to read?
Cherie Fu: This is a very difficult question because like so many writers, I love so many books. I would say the first book that I would bring is the first Harry Potter book. And it's because I'm actually reading it right now to my kids who are four and six. And I know it's kind of a classic and maybe it's kind of an easy answer, but I just think it's so magical. And I like for my kids reading it now, they're kind of at an age where, especially my younger one, she doesn't know if things are real or if they're made up. And that's I think so fun. And one of the things I love about the book, she'll be like, wait, "Is that a real sport? Is that a real game" or "Is that real?" And I love that JK Rowling has created such a wonderful magical world that she can't differentiate what's real and what's fiction.
Grace Lin: Yeah, yeah. Because everybody wants to go live in Harry Potter's world, it feels so real. All the little details. I completely agree.
Cherie Fu: I love it. I love it. And I just, how she embraces made up words, and that the vocabulary is both fake words and real words. I somehow find that to be really amusing and totally appropriate for young kids, even though they're still trying to distinguish what's real from fiction.
Grace Lin: All right, how about the other two.
Cherie Fu: Okay. So, the second book is called The Darkest Dark, which is a picture book by an astronaut. I think his name was Chris Hadfield. And when I travel, I know space is a totally different thing, but when I travel, I like to read books that take place in that environment, kind of like travel books. And so, I like The Darkest Dark for that reason. But I also think it's just a magical book where somebody's fear kind of becomes their strength almost. And I find that book really inspiring and I also just think I like the illustrations of the book, which are a little bit moodier than what you see in a lot of picture books. So, I really like that one as well.
Grace Lin: Well, I like that you're taking that book with you in a spaceship.
Cherie Fu: Yeah, I feel like that's the appropriate place for a book like that. And then my third book is a little bit of a cheat, but it's a notebook because I really think that, I know it's not something you read, but I really feel like I love just jotting down ideas and having a notebook next to me all the time. So, I have a notebook at my desk or a couple notebooks at my desk, and I have one next to my bed because there are times that I wake up from dreams and I write them down because I think that they're good inspiration or they could become the kernel of some story, or just because I want to remember them.
And the things that pop into your head are so fleeting that I think it's so important to be able to capture them. Because I look back at the notes that I write sometimes and I'm like, God, I don't even remember thinking that. And if you hadn't jotted it down, it would just totally be gone. So, I know it's not quite a book that you read, but it's definitely something that I think is really important for any writer or just as a daily habit.
Grace Lin: Yeah, that is a good one, bringing a notebook. That is one that I had not thought of. Very good sheet there.
Cherie Fu: I actually interned in college for CNN, and one of the reporters was doing this little session, this lunch and learn. And he looked at a lot of us and he was like, "Why don't you guys have notebooks with you?" And we looked at each other and I think maybe one person had brought a notebook and we were like, of course we should have brought a notebook. And it wasn't just to listen, it was to remember things too. So, that was something that I really took away from that experience.
Grace Lin:Oh, that's so smart. Yes. Okay, so now you've upped my game. Because I was trying to think what would I bring? What would I bring? I would definitely bring, because I was thinking if I was going to outer space, I would definitely bring something like Anne of Green Gables, something that felt really earthy, and very safe and-
Cherie Fu: Grounded.
Grace Lin: And nostalgic, almost something like that. And then I was thinking I'd probably bring something a little fantastical. And when you mentioned you were reading to your kids Harry Potter, I was like would I bring Harry Potter, then I was thinking, I think I would bring The Phantom Tollbooth because I was just reading that to my daughter and I remember, and I just remembered how wonderful of a book that was. And now I was going to say something else, but now I think the third one, I'm going to have to go with the notebook too.
Cherie Fu: Yeah, yeah. I think that, you know what? In terms of, I have to check that book out because I don't know it personally, but I think that the thinking about space and being in pure darkness, it's kind of reading in a closet. And I think that with it being perfectly dark and being totally otherworldly, so I do think something fantastical totally makes sense because it's kind of like you don't have the stimulus of your environment to distract you from something that's totally imaginative. So, I love that idea. And I totally think that makes sense for that kind of dark environment.
Grace Lin: Though what I was going to say before you said notebook was I was going to say I might bring the Best Word Book Ever by Richard Scarry. Just in the idea that if I ever saw any aliens or something, I'd be like, this is a car all the-
Cherie Fu: Oh my gosh, that's such a good idea.
Grace Lin : All the words-
Cherie Fu: Learning a foreign language. Yeah.
Grace Lin: Yeah.
Cherie Fu: Yeah, that's a really good idea.
Grace Lin: What do you think, if you were to bring your book. A Little Messy Marcy Su into a spaceship and Alien saw it, what would you think they would think of it?
Cherie Fu: I think that they would see, what I hope they would see is kind of fundamental humanity, which is really about love and family. And the story has a few generations in it, has a girl and has her mom and her grandparents. And I think that's so fundamental to civilization, that I think it would communicate... I think it would communicate love and kind of humor in a way that is very at the core of our humanity. So, I hope that's what they would take away from it.
Grace Lin: As well as messiness.
Cherie Fu: Thank you!
Got it!
Love it!
Today’s Kids Ask Authors BOOK REVIEW comes from Mina! Mina is reviewing Little Messy Marcy Su by Cherie Fu.
I am reporting on a book called “Little Messy Marcy Su”. The author of this book is Cherie Fu. Illustrated by Julie Kwon. This book is about a girl named Marcy Su, who is VERY messy. Her grandparents, Wàipo and Wàigōng are coming. Marcy cleans up herself and her room but while doing that she makes the rest of the house even more messy. I like this book because it is about a girl who wants to be helpful even if she does not end up succeeding. I recommend this book to people who try their very best.
Thank you Mina!
More about today’s authors:
Cherie Fu was raised by immigrants, in a home filled with the garlicky aroma of wok-fried food and the crackling of mahjong tiles. When she became the mother of two audacious little girls, a creative interest was ignited. Inspired by childhood's wondrous humor and optimism, she began imagining characters and telling stories that reflected her own family's cultural experience. Little Messy Marcy Su is her debut picture book. She lives in Austin with her messy husband and even messier daughters.
Grace Lin, a NY Times bestselling author/ illustrator, won the Newbery Honor for Where the Mountain Meets the Moon and her picture book, A Big Mooncake for Little Star, was awarded the Caldecott Honor. Grace is an occasional commentator for New England Public Radio , a video essayist for PBS NewsHour (here & here), and the speaker of the popular TEDx talk, The Windows and Mirrors of Your Child’s Bookshelf. She is the co-host of the podcast Book Friends Forever, a kidlit podcast about friendship and publishing (geared for adults). Find her facebook, instagram , twitter ( @pacylin) or sign up for her author newsletter HERE.
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