Community coming together!
This event will feature two brand new books An Asian American A to Z by Cathy Linh Che and Kyle Lucia Wu and Cindy and Panda by Benson Shum. PLUS an opportunity to meet and mingle with some other amazing members of the community.
Masks are recommended for our events.
About An Asian American A to Z:
A comprehensive and spirited exploration of Asian American history--its movements, cultures, and key figures--beautifully illustrated and compellingly told for readers of all ages.
Co-authors Cathy Linh Che and Kyle Lucia Wu take us on a journey through stories of celebration and resistance: the Third World Liberation Front, the Muslim Ban, Japanese American incarceration camps, Padma Lakshmi, Rashida Tlaib, Sunisa Lee, and more. It is a history of struggle, but also one of great triumph, brought to life with colorful and dynamic illustrations by Kavita Ramchandran.
Written by the directors of Kundiman--an organization dedicated to nurturing Asian American writers-- An Asian American A to Z is a book for children of all backgrounds and a vital resource for tomorrow's organizers. Asian American identity formation is expansive yet under-taught, and this book is a necessary intervention that will ground readers in joy, history, and solidarity.
Cathy Linh Che is the daughter of Vietnam War refugees. She is the author of Split, winner of the Kundiman Poetry Prize, the Norma Farber First Book Award from the Poetry Society of America, and the Best Poetry Book Award from the Association of Asian American Studies. Her work has been published in New Republic, Nation, McSweeney's, and Poetry. She serves as Executive Director at Kundiman and lives on the traditional lands of the Lenape people.
Kyle Lucia Wu was born and raised in a small town in New Jersey. She is the author of Win Me Something, an NPR Best Book of the Year. A former Asian American Writers' Workshop Margins Fellow, her work has been published in Literary Hub, Joyland Magazine, Catapult, and BOMB Magazine. She is the Managing Director of Kundiman and teaches creative writing at Fordham University and The New School.
About Cindy and Panda:
For fans of Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers comes a perfectly baked story about the messy delight of baking and making new friends from Disney animator Benson Shum.
Cindy loves to bake, but she doesn't always follow a recipe! One day, she runs out to grab ingredients for a pie and comes back with something sweeter--a panda who wants to help! Their freestyle recipe may lead to chaos in the kitchen and a bit of a messy meltdown, but together, the pair have the perfect ingredients for a sweet-as-pie friendship.
This book includes a pie recipe in the back with its very own freestyle section for young bakers excited to explore!
About Benson Shum:
Benson Shum has illustrated a number of picture books, including Adam Lehrhaupt's Sloth Went, Jennifer Sattler's Go to Sheep, and his own Anzu the Great Kaiju. Benson is also an animator at the Walt Disney Animation Studios, where he has contributed to such films as Frozen, Big Hero 6, Zootopia, Moana, Ralph Breaks the Internet, Frozen II, Raya and the Last Dragon, and Encanto. Originally from Vancouver, British Columbia, Benson now lives in sunny Southern California.
Photo credit: Provided by author
