1. What draws you to write for young readers?
Books were such an enormous, magical part of my childhood, and I try to capture that same magic for my readers. No one falls in love with a story like a child or teen, and it's amazing to know your book is creating a long-lasting (or even momentary!) thrill for a young reader. The books I adored as a kid are still the ones I remember best.
And while I love writing for and speaking with older kids, there's something particularly special about writing picture books for very young readers. They have so much joy and curiosity for stories. The most amazing school visits I've done are ones for elementary schools!
2. What message(s) do you hope to send through your work?
This really depends on the book! One of the many wonderful things about being an author is that each book is so different from the last.
With my Amy Wu series, it's important to me that the stories normalize Amy's experience as an Asian-American kid. Her cultural background is significant in her life, but she’s a little girl first and foremost—a kiddo that I hope any child can relate to.
When I was growing up, there were very few children's books featuring Asian-American kids, and those that did usually showcased the divisions between those kids and their families, highlighting all the struggles of being Asian-American. While those struggles deserve to be explored, I wanted to give a voice to the other side as well, and showcase all the joys of growing up Asian-American!
3. Please tell us about Amy Wu and the Warm Welcome (and any other titles you'd like to share about).
I've been wanting to write a book like Amy Wu and the Warm Welcome for a long time. I grew up bilingual, and even as a kid, I noticed how different people can be when speaking in their primary language versus a secondary language. Speaking an unfamiliar language can make an unusually outgoing person shy, or obscure how funny and clever they are. Since I was often one of the only people in my grade who spoke Mandarin, I was sometimes asked to translate for new students moving to the US from China. These experiences all inspired Amy Wu and the Warm Welcome. In it, Amy struggles to invite a brand new student to her classroom. Lin, who has just immigrated with his family from China, seems friendly but doesn't speak. It takes all of Amy's ingenuity--and some help from her family!--to learn the best way to welcome him.
4. Any message for young creators and writers that you'd like to share?
Writing takes so much resilience--and that's even before you take publishing into consideration! I was eleven or twelve years old when I started writing stories, but seventeen before I actually finished a whole novel. However, there's so much to learn from completing a project. And every story you complete is important and meaningful, even if it doesn’t get published.
Writing is so much fun, but that doesn't mean it never feels like work or isn't frustrating sometimes. If publishing is your goal, stick with it and know that rejection and disappointments are natural parts of the journey that happen to everyone!
5. Where can we find more information about your work?
The best place to learn more about me is at my website: www.katzhang.com You can also find me (rarely) on twitter: @KatZhang And more frequently on instagram: @KatZhangWriter
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