Episode 41: When you were younger, what book made you feel like you belonged?-with Andrea Davis Pinkney

Welcome back to Kids Ask Authors! Grace Lin and Andrea Davis Pinkey answer this kid question: When you were younger, what books made you feel like you belonged?

TRANSCRIPTS:

Grace Lin: Hello. I'm Grace Lin, children's book author and illustrator of many books, including the middle grade novel, Where The Mountain Meets The Moon and the picture book, A Big Mooncake For Little Star. Today, I'm here with Andrea Davis Pinkney, the author of A Poem For Peter, illustrated by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher. And Sit In illustrated by Brian Pinkney. As well as the middle grade novel, The Red Pencil with illustrations by Shane Evans and Loretta Little Looks Back, which will be available in September, 2020. Hi Andrea.

Andrea Davis Pinkney: Hello, Grace.

Grace Lin: All right. Are you ready for today's question?

Andrea Davis Pinkney: I am ready.

Grace Lin: All right. Today's question is actually from a person who's also named Grace.

Andrea Davis Pinkney: How do you like that?

Grace Lin: And their question was ...

Grace: When you were younger, what book made you feel like you belonged?

Grace Lin: When you were young, what books did you read that made you feel you belonged?

Andrea Davis Pinkney: Well, I think first of all, Grace, I should let our listeners know that when I was a kid, I was the one who struggled in school. So for me, reading a book was like being served a heap of bitter spinach and being forced to clean my whole plate. If you can imagine that. So all that changed when I was introduced to a book called Selected Poems of Langston Hughes, and then I discovered that the books that made me happy and in which I saw myself, were books of poetry by Langston Hughes, the Harlem Renaissance poem. One of my favorites was a poem, is a poem called Dreams. And to me, when I read that book, I saw myself, I felt who I was, it felt validating, and it allowed me to dream big dreams.

Grace Lin: Wow. How old were you when you first read those poems?

Andrea Davis Pinkney: I was in the fourth or fifth grade and I'm still reading Langston Hughes to this day.

Grace Lin: That's amazing. Wow. This was a really good question because it really made me think because I grew up in upstate New York being one of the only Asian students in the area. My family was one of the only Asian families in the whole area. And I remember always feeling very isolated and low in being the only Asians in the area. And I felt that way through my books too. I loved books. Unlike you, I loved books. I was kind of a bookworm right from the get go. And I always considered books my friends, but I don't know if there was one that really me feel like I belong because it was a long time before I read any book with an Asian character in it. I think the first book I ever read with the Asian character in it that I liked, I mean, there was a couple of books that I read, like The Five Chinese Brothers, which unfortunately didn't make me feel like I belonged. It actually kind of made me feel the opposite.

Grace Lin: But the book that I read that made me feel closer to belonging were these series of books called The Cheerleaders. They were these very, I guess we would call the mass market now, right. They were kind of like a Sweet Valley High rip off and it was about these cheerleaders. And I didn't even like cheerleading, but one of the cheerleaders was Asian. And just because she was Asian, I was like so in love with this book series and I was like, oh my gosh, there's an Asian cheerleader. And she wasn't even like the main character. Like she didn't even get any of the good storylines. Like while the other cheerleaders dated the basketball star, the Asian cheerleader, her drama was like someone stole her sheet music. It wasn't like she had like really great storylines, but just because she was Asian and she was kind of a character in the book, I was just so in love with it. So I think that would probably be the first book that I read when I was younger that kind of gave me a sense of belonging.

Andrea Davis Pinkney: Well, I really love this idea, Grace, that books can be our friends and I really can relate to what you're saying. When I was in grade school. I was the only African American girl in my class. And I remember my dad walking into school every day and kind of giving me a little squeeze on my hand and saying, "Go on in honey. It's okay." And feeling then that I could maybe go to the library, find some books and find books that would be my friends. And while I love the stories, like you, I didn't see myself. And there came Langston Hughes like a shining buddy and he was the one who squeezed my hand when my daddy left me each morning. Those Langston Hughes poems. So I can totally relate to that feeling and to what you said.

Grace Lin: Yeah, that's wonderful. Well, thank you so much Andrea for answering this question and thank you so much Grace for asking it. It was a really great one.

Andrea Davis Pinkney: Yes. Thank you, Grace, the question asker and thank you, Grace. The host.

Grace Lin: Thanks. Bye.

Andrea Davis Pinkney: Bye bye.

Today’s BOOK REVIEW comes from Nevy! She’s telling us all about, Harbor Me, by Jacqueline Woodson.

The book I would like to talk about today is Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson. This book is about six kids who are in a classroom together and need a little extra help learning. They get sent to a room on Friday afternoons where they get to talk about whatever they want. They are confused at first, but ended up appreciating what their teacher allows them to do. I like this book because it has lots of different races and cultures and it's intriguing. I suggest listening to the audio book for a better experience.

Thank you Nevy!

More about today’s authors:

Andrea Davis Pinkney is the New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of numerous books for children and young adults, including picture books, novels, works of historical fiction, and nonfiction. Her books have been awarded multiple Coretta Scott King Book Awards, Jane Addams Children’s Literature Honor citations, four NAACP Image Award nominations, the Boston Globe/Horn Book Honor medal, as well as several Parenting Publication Gold Medals, and American Library Association Notable Book citations. Andrea was named one of the “25 Most Influential Black Women in Business” by The Network Journal and is among “The 25 Most Influential People in Our Children’s Lives” cited by Children’s Health Magazine. In addition to her work as an author, Andrea has had an illustrious career as a children’s book publisher and editor. Andrea Davis Pinkney is a graduate of Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications and is a former member of the Newhouse School’s Board of Trustees. She frequently contributes to the New York Times, Huffington Post, Essence, Bustle, and the Creativity Project. She lives in New York City with her husband, award-winning illustrator Brian Pinkney, and their two children.

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.

Special thanks to the High Five Books & Art Always Bookstore, Ms. Carleton’s 2nd grade class at Jackson Street School for their help with our kid questions and reviews.