Shocked that her parents are cooking Chinese food to sell in the family store on an all-American holiday, a feisty Chinese American girl tries to tell her mother and father how things really are. But as the parade passes by and fireworks light the sky, she learns a surprising lesson.
Janet S. Wong (www.janetwong.com) is an award-winning author and anthologist of more than two dozen books for young readers, teachers, and parents. One of the most distinctive things about Janet Wong's body of work is its variety. There's at least one book for anyone--and EVERYONE!
Picture Books
BUZZ
This book was an L.A. Times Best Book of the Year for children--a lively read-aloud about a toddler's busy morning routine. Kids love buzzing along every time you point to the word BUZZ!
THE DUMPSTER DIVER
This book is not just for kids--with its hipster illustrations, it's a quirky gift for anyone who is good at "creative recycling." Give it to a 5-year-old future engineer along with a box full of assorted junk or to your dad for helping you clean your garage.
APPLE PIE 4th of JULY
This book landed Janet a gig at the White House Easter Egg Roll--a "slice of community" story celebrating diversity.
HOMEGROWN HOUSE
Gorgeous illustrations by E.B. Lewis enhance this story about making a house feel like a home.
Poetry Books
TWIST: Yoga Poems
This book is for all ages, from 3-year-olds who love looking at Julie Paschkis's detailed illustrations (and can bend themselves into all of the yoga poses) to 73-year-old yoga teachers. In "Finding the Center," the author compares herself to a doughnut.
KNOCK ON WOOD: Poems about Superstitions
Teachers looking for books to use with the Common Core will enjoy discussing the Author's Notes about what the superstitions mean and comparing them with the way superstitions are presented in poems. A follow-up exercise is to have students interview family members about those same superstitions.
GOOD LUCK GOLD and A SUITCASE OF SEAWEED
Janet Wong received the Claremont Stone Center Recognition of Merit for these two classic collections about the Asian American experience.
BEHIND THE WHEEL: Poems about Driving
Forty poems for teens about driving also use driving as a metaphor for a wide variety of life issues.
THE RAINBOW HAND: Poems about Mothers and Children
Children's favorites from this book include "Smother Love" and "Crazy Mother," while new mothers appreciate poems reflecting on the motherhood experience such as "The Gift of Breathing Slow."
ONCE UPON A TIGER: New Beginnings for Endangered Animals
As with KNOCK ON WOOD, this is another title that teachers will find useful in their teaching of the Common Core. Most of these poems about endangered animals are "pourquoi tale" poems with a folkloric feel, and yet critical readers will be able to recognize embedded facts once they read the nonfiction notes.
DECLARATION OF INTERDEPENDENCE: Poems for an Election Year
These mostly-lighthearted and nonpartisan poems about various aspects of an election--from debates to the electoral college to broader issues such as liberty--will spark discussion in classrooms and at home. TheDeclarationOfInterdependenceBlog.blogspot.com.
Chapter Books
ME AND ROLLY MALOO
The pressures of standardized testing in 4th grade push Rolly Maloo to ask Jenna to cheat; but only Jenna is caught. Should she keep her secret, or tell on Rolly Maloo? This hybrid graphic novel will be useful in starting discussions about cheating (why we do it, how to say no, and how to deal with being caught in a lie). A Horace Mann Upstanders Award Honor Book (recognizing books where a character stands up for something important).
MINN AND JAKE
This "easy reader for 5th graders" focuses on the unlikely friendship between a lizard-loving girl and a tech geek. A Washington Sasquatch finalist and BCCB Blue Ribbon Award winner.
MINN AND JAKE'S ALMOST TERRIBLE SUMMER
In this sequel to the popular MINN AND JAKE, Jake visits his old home in Los Angeles and learns "you can't go back home again"--but a string of hilarious mini-disasters involving self-tanning lotion, ants, buffet meals, and Disneyland can teach you to appreciate your new friends more than ever!
Books that Teachers Like:
YOU HAVE TO WRITE
A picture book about the writing and revision process--cited on Common Core lists as useful.
BEFORE IT WRIGGLES AWAY
A "Meet the Author" book that gives insight into the writing process with a "just do it" message to put ideas down on paper "before they wriggle away."
THE POETRY FRIDAY ANTHOLOGY
A K-5 anthology of 218 poems by 76 poets, with curriculum connections for each poem. Edited by Janet Wong and children's literature professor Sylvia Vardell. (This is available in a Common Core version and in a Texas TEKS version.)
THE POETRY TAG TIME E-BOOK SERIES (PoetryTagTime, P*TAG, and GIFT TAG)
The three e-books in this series are also Vardell and Wong ventures; accessible poems at irresistible e-book prices; and easy to project onto a Smartboard or screen so that the whole classroom can read and discuss these poems at the same time.
About Janet Wong:
When Janet Wong is not writing, speaking at teacher conferences, or sharing writing tips with children in schools, she spends most of her time trying to grow blueberries and carnivorous plants at her home in Princeton, NJ.
