1. What draws you to write for young readers?
I have wanted to be an author since I was in third grade, but it wasn't until I had my own children that I decided to pursue that dream. I was reading a book with my toddler and he was completely engaged with the story, laughing harder than I'd ever heard. In that moment, I knew I wanted to try writing for young people. That's the kind of impact I hope to have on young readers -- to open a window and get them to look at things from a new perspective. Also, I write for young people because I'm still working through many of the emotions and experiences I had at that age. Perhaps reading about how my characters process those emotions will help them as well.
2. What message/s do you hope to share with readers?
Ultimately, what I hope to convey is that we are all more alike than we are different. Whether you live in Shanghai or Osaka or Ohio, we all generally experience the same emotions and want the same things. We need to look past our obvious differences and reach across the divide, whether that's through food (as in LULI AND THE LANGUAGE OF TEA) or the sharing of personal stories (as in WATERCRESS). Find what we have in common and build from there.
3. As an author of both picture books and middle grade work, what do both of these avenues allow you to do as an author?
I love the interplay between words and art in picture books -- it allows me to write sparely, knowing that the illustrations will flesh out the story and explain any words that young readers might not immediately know. And when there are tough topics, like the death of the uncle in WATERCRESS, the text and art can be a bit ambiguous, allowing the youngest readers to absorb only what they're ready for. Conversely, with my middle grade work, I can explore a topic in more depth and model what kind of world I hope to see. Longer works also allow me to stretch my imagination and do more world-building, have more characters, and explore more complicated situations.
4. Any message to share with young authors/creators?
Please don't stop writing and creating. We need your stories and your voices, particularly if you belong to a marginalized community. We need your help to accurately represent our world in books for young readers, in all of its complexity and joy and wonder.
Please revisit the author's site at http://andreaywang.com.
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