S1: It's time for KPBS Midday Edition. On today's show , we'll hear from the authors behind this year's One Book , One San Diego selections. I'm Jade Hindman with conversations that keep you informed , inspired , and make you think. I'll talk with the adult selection author James McBride about his book Deacon King Kong , then the Teen selection author Tin Pham about family style , memories of an American from Vietnam , plus Olivia about-I talks about her kids selection book , The Interpreter. That's ahead on Midday Edition. You know , every year , KPBS partners with libraries and other public institutions to bring you one book , one San Diego. It's a time for San Diegans to share their love for reading by diving into the same book. There's a selection for adults , teens , and kids , and this year , the Teen Selection is a graphic memoir. It follows a Vietnamese immigrant boy's search for belonging in America , and it is called Family Style Memories of an American from Vietnam. Author illustrator Tim Pham joins me now. Tim , welcome and congratulations to you.
S2: Oh my God , thank you so much. This is so great because I've always kind of thought of San Diego as my second home. I'm really excited about it. I've been doing it. I've been coming , you know , going to San Diego Comic-Con every summer since 2000 , and my friends live in San Diego. So I really love San Diego. And , uh , this is such an honor and it's so awesome that it's in San Diego. Oh.
S1: Oh. That's great. Sounds like you got some good history here. Yeah. Well , okay. Can't wait to dive into your book. Yeah. Um , because this book really , uh , it started with a conversation that you had with your mom back in 2020. Yeah.
S2: Because for us Vietnamese immigrants a lot , our family always kept us from like , trauma. They were always trying to protect their kids from anything that's bad. My parents has never told me anything like bad in our family , you know ? Um , and so my parents never told me the story , the full story of how we immigrated here from Vietnam. I mean , I would hear bits and pieces and stuff like that , but nothing , you know , fully detailed. Um , and , you know , I'm 48 , so I , I , I've , I've been around so I've hadn't heard anything and I've always wanted to tell this story because , you know , like my friend Jeannie , I once told my friend Jean about kind of like how we came over to America and my friends was basically like , you have to tell the story because it's the only thing interesting about you. And so I was like , well , I guess I gotta tell it. Um , but I was able to do it , and I never really understood why until in 2020 , it was the pandemic. Basically , uh , I went and visited my parents a lot because I was worried about them. And it was one of those things where you don't , you know , you don't get to see people a lot. So you can visit your family and you can just sit outside in the backyard or the front yard and eat and talk. And , um , I quickly realized that we were running out of things to talk about. So I decided that I was going to finally ask my mom. And so I asked my mom , like , uh , you know , the story. so she told me , but I wasn't really expecting how moved I would be. She told me this story. Um , I think it maybe is my age. I'm starting to really think about things and life and stuff , and as she's telling me the story , I just felt so moved of the sacrifices and and the hardships that my family went through just to give their kids a better life. You know , and I take my family , my parents , for granted quite a bit. And when I heard this , I was just so like , I just felt so , like , appreciative of everything. And I was just like , I can't believe I was just complaining about having to like , re fix their wifi and here telling me this story , this harrowing story of like everything they did to get us to have a better life. And so I went home and I was like , okay , I have to tell this story now. And so I just started to , uh , to write. Yeah. And the weird thing was , even though I knew this my from a source from my mom , I didn't quite understand how to , like , approach the story until we had more of a conversation. And my mom asked me what I remembered from my trip.
S1: Well , let me ask you about that , because , you know , I mean , how does telling this story through a child's eyes , um , resonate with teen readers ? Why did you go that route with this ? Yeah.
S2: Um , you know , when I started writing this , I didn't really have an age group in mind. I was just , you know , writing my parents story. And , um , when she asked me what I remembered , I told her. I started telling her the things I remembered about our early days in America. And I realized quickly that all my memories were , um , were from food. Like , I had all these memories and every memory would start with , oh , I remember we ate this rice ball. I remember we had this , this thing. And that's when I realized that that that was like my my approach to this , uh , to this project was I was going to be able to tell the story through memories of food. And I've already been kind of into , like for a long time now. I've been drawing a lot of comics about food. I do a comic strip food review every week with my friend , uh , Luke here at KQED , which is the public radio station we have here in San Francisco. So I've been working with KQED to , um , do this food strip for a long time. And so it just perfectly matched. It's like , yeah , I'm going to tell it through my memories of food. And so as soon as that happened , I was able to just , like , really concentrate it on writing this book. And then the book became more like our story rather than just my parents story , you know ? Yeah.
S1: That's cool. And talk to me about , you know , the graphic memoir format.
S2: This is my very first graphic memoir. And , um , one of the greatest things about the graphic memoir is it allows , like you , you are you remember your story. And and if you don't remember your story , uh , you know , you have people that can reference it for you. The neat thing about everybody's life is like , I , I for a for a little while , I thought they had already been a couple of Vietnamese diaspora , uh , memoirs already and , uh , graphic novels. And they're really good. So for a while I thought , do we need another one ? And what I have , what I have come to realize after writing this book and going around and talking to other people that have read this book , that , yeah , we need all these stories because it's like , I just didn't think that my life was anything that anybody wanted to read about. But in telling your story , it's amazing to see how many people can relate to your story. I have so many Vietnamese immigrants that you're either born here. There's a lot of , uh , second generation , third generation Vietnamese immigrants that tells me that their parents or their grandparents have the same story and how this is , you know , like that , that they they really relate to it. I have people that aren't even Vietnamese , just immigrants from the Philippines or , you know , in other countries that also relate to it. And then there's just people that just relate to it because of the the food aspect or the , um , or like certain aspects of being an immigrant. So it was really neat to see how my story is very similar to many people's story. But the difference is , is what makes each one of them are so interesting. You know , like someone will tell me , oh , my parents went through the same thing , but their story is this , this and this.
S1: Um , yes. And , and have that story to pass down. That's amazing. You know , this idea of the American dream is a really present theme throughout your book.
S2: You know , for us , um , for my parents and I , you know , when we used to think , you know , like , uh , as immigrants , you know , you want that that house , that you want to be rich , you want to , you know , you want your kids to be doctors and lawyers and engineers and stuff like that. Um , and of course , that changes like , like , not all of that is easy. Not all of that is. You find out it's actually what you want. You know. Um , uh , my parents , uh , were basically they came with. One thing is that they were going to work hard so their kids can have a better life. You know , and , um , I think they quickly realized that , you know , they can work as hard as they want , but , you know , and they can provide for their kids , but their kids had , like , minds of their own. You know , so , like , it was really hard , like telling my parents that I wanted to be an artist. And , um , and I didn't want to , to get one of these jobs that they was like , hoping that I would get to set me for life. Um , so , uh , so for the American dream , for me , it was different , right ? I , I instead of trying to make a lot of money and have a solid foundation in life , I really wanted to do art. I wanted to express myself. And so my since my , my American dream changed their idea of what the American Dream did changed as well. You know , and for a while they worried a lot about about me and and and us because it wasn't exactly how they had pictured it. But now you know that they're there. They see , you know , how happy or or what , uh , your , their kids are. They I think they're way more flexible now. I think the American dream has changed quite a bit. I mean , I feel like my life now is living the American dream. I , I feel like we came here. Uh , my family came here with nothing , and we didn't know the language. Uh , we didn't know anything. And , uh , we worked basically , our just worked hard to have good lives and and to to give back to this country that that that has adopted us and to be , uh , a person that gives back and , and is , um , uh , integral part of this community. And I think I've done that , and I think I seek to constantly do that. And I think that's my American dream now , is to be part of something bigger. And , uh , that's what I look for.
S1: That's great. You know , this this book is the teen selection for one book , one San Diego. But really , anyone can enjoy it. Um , yes.
S2: I think , um , not only adults and teens will enjoy it , but I think little kids will enjoy it too. Um , I , I've spoken to schools everywhere from , uh , like elementary schools all the way to middle schools and high schools and even adults. And I think it depending on how what age you read it , you just get more out of it , you know ? Um , young kids. They they they like the story , but they might not grasp some of the , the , the nuances as a high school kid might take , Mike might grasp and and they might not grasp some of the themes that an adult reader might understand. And I was hoping that this book was one of those books that would just grow with people as they they they read it. You know , the two takeaways that I really wanted to come across , and it's not the thing that I started off telling. You know , I started off just telling the story about immigrants. But now I see it as a book about all of us and about , um , struggling to to make it and to being happy. And , and I think with the immigrant part , I really wanted one of the , the main things is I wanted to see show the world how important immigrants are to this country , um , and how hard it is for , for them to work to become an integral part of this , this community. And it isn't something that you just , you know , fall into. It's something that you really , really have to work hard for. And I just really wish that everybody , when they read this can see their family in this. Um , I wish I hope that more people when they read this look at their parents or the generation before them or before them , and see the sacrifices that every generation and the work that every generation does for the next generation. Mhm.
S1: Well , speaking of.
S3: You know , the next generation. I mean , I'm curious.
S1: Um , do you have any concern that for people who may be seeking the American. Dream.
S3: Dream.
S1:
S2: And I find that that the American dream. It seems like it's something that is more , um , widely available. I think that , um , when we were growing up , what we wanted to do was very limited. You know , you were the idea of what you're going to be when you grow up was very limited. And now , as I teach , I realized that when my students graduate high school and go to college and they get a job , their jobs are jobs that I don't even know about yet. You know , like like I don't think that they are going to. You know , there are jobs there that they're going to be doing that has not even been invented at this moment. And I like that the the world moves is moving way , way faster. And I feel like there's finally a place for everybody. You know , I feel like if you want to be an artist , you know , like when I was growing up , they would say , if you want to be an artist , there's no way you're going to starve. But now you want to be an artist. There's a there's a place for you out there. You know , you can still be an artist and , you know , make money and survive. I feel like that world has been open to everybody. So I have , like , all the hope in the world that the kids of today , because of how much the world has opened up , will have a better chance at , you know , achieving their dreams than we did.
S1: I've been speaking with Tin Pham , author and illustrator of Family Style Memories of an American from Vietnam. It's this year's teen selection for one book , one San Diego ten. Thank you so much.
S2: Thank you so much.
S1: Coming up , James McBride , author of the one book , one San Diego adult selection , Deacon King Kong joins us. KPBS Midday Edition is back after the break. Welcome back to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman to continue our celebration of International Literacy Day. And one book , one San Diego. James McBride is joining us. He's the author of this year's adult selection , Demon King Kong , and he's really just a literary giant. Last year , McBride was awarded the Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction. Aside from Deacon King Kong , some of his other works include The Color of Water , The Good Lord bird , the Heaven and Earth Grocery Store , and much more. James joins me live now. Congratulations on the selection and welcome to Midday Edition.
S4: Well , as they say in public radio , thank you for having me.
S1: That is the thing they say , right ? It's what we. Say.
S4: Say. What they tell you to say. They say. Yeah , they say. Say thank you for having me. All right. There it is.
S3: Well , I'm.
S1: So happy to have you here. Uh , you know. Okay , so some readers , they may not know this about you , but you actually left a career in journalism to become a full time musician. Talk to me about that pivot.
S4: Well , I just got , you know , I the nature of journalism is to find out what's wrong and the nature of good storytelling. Storytelling that people want to read to the end is to find out what's right and what's worked , what works. You know , and so journalism for me was always it was not creative enough. Uh , I was I just felt limited. And , you know , I grew up as a musician. I , you know , went to school for music. I loved to play , so I just , I quit. I was at the Washington Post and quit and moved to New York , moved back to New York and just started to play and , uh , you know , so I , you know , I it those were happy years. Actually , um , I was broke , but I was. I was very happy. You know , you got to do what you like to do in this life , you know , because it's a very short run.
S1: That it is. Yeah. Well , tell me , I mean , your first book , The Color of Water , was a memoir.
S4: I just find that to be really , for me personally , a little bit boring. Um , you know , having grown up as a , a so-called mixed race person in black America , I mean , if you can show me one black American who's not mixed , I'll give you $100 right now. I just didn't I just was like , I'm outgrown that , you know ? And so fiction was a place for me to really , you know , a place where you could really make dreams come true. And , you know , you could you could , could help things happen that you , that you dream about and that have happened , and present them in ways that allow people to see how how we learn to get along and how we are. Quite , quite a lot the same. So and it's just more creative. I mean , nonfiction is , um , you're limited by the facts , and sometimes those facts are someone else's facts. And , you know , so then you get into , like , explaining why someone else's facts are not really facts. And by the time you finished , ten pages have passed and the reader puts the book down and turns on the television.
S1: Yeah , sure. Or or starts to scroll , you know. Um , it really , I guess , you know , what you do gives you an opportunity to to reimagine what this world can be and who people can be. You know , you once said in an interview. Fiction allows your dreams to come true. In what ways has fiction major dreams , both in the world of your novels and in real life , come true.
S4: Oh , I don't know. I mean , you know , it allows you to be. I mean , you know , I'm I'm working on a new book now , so I'm I'm lost in that , and I , I don't feel like my dreams are coming true. Right now , I'm just going through the usual torture of book writing. But , I mean , you know , it's provided me with a wonderful living. And , um , I just got lucky. I mean , I , you know , I , I , you know , in fiction , you don't have to work with anybody else. If you're screenwriting , you write it , you gotta , you know , you write a production company. The production company says a little to the left , a little to the right , and then they stick the script in the drawer anyway because they they want to keep their job. And then if you , if you're in a band or if you even if you run a band , you say , look , I just , I just want four bars of this and they do something else because they're hearing something. You have to , you know , you have to call , you have to you have to constantly coax others into your dream life. But with fiction , you know you can. You don't actually move the characters around. They kind of move you around , but you at least set them on the page and you can turn them loose. Mhm.
S1: Mhm. Yeah.
S4: Yeah. So you know it , you just you write because it chooses you and fiction just chooses you. Yeah. Not the other way.
S1: And when you write you don't have to make any compromises. Um which is a great thing. So let me get into your book , Deacon King Kong here because it's set in September 1969. Talk about the significance of that year and how New York changed during that time.
S4: Well , you're talking the wrong guy. I mean , I was just , you know , I was a 12 years old , but I suppose , you know , it was a different city. I mean , um , it just was , you know , there were no cell phones. It was , you know , you had to talk to your neighbors. You had the you had to really get along. You couldn't order from whatever those people order from I don't know they have some you know you can call somebody and they bring bread to your house or whatever. You know , it was just one of those. It was a situation where people had to actually talk to one another and , and , and , you know , it was it was a lot grittier. I won't say it was more dangerous. It was just more interesting , in my opinion. Now , you know , I don't want to get into the good old days. Everything's everyone's good. Old days are worthwhile. But it was just the more interesting place because the dynamics of humanity , the dynamics of technology , required that you that you stand at the bus stop and wait for the bus , um , and you know , and and that you I mean , you can do that now , but then you can check your watch and you can look at your cell phone. You don't have to look at people. You don't have to. You can just flow through as a as a lonely soul without ever paying attention to someone you know. New York , New York is like an empty distance. New York is like a disco now where just millions of people are dancing , being lonely together. In the old days , you know. You had to really communicate with other people because you were just. You were forced to just get around and , you know , go to the store and go to the park and you had to. You had to get out. Right ? Now , that's not to say it's worse now than it was then. It was just different. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. And by different there was human interaction. A lot more of it back then. That's such an interesting take. You know , so the book follows Sport Coat , who is described as a cranky old deacon from a small Baptist church. One day he pulls out a 38 and shoots a drug dealer in front of everyone. It really causes a train , a chain reaction , rather in the community. So talk about the portrait you've painted of this community and how all their different worlds come together.
S4: Well , you ask some pretty tough questions. You know what I mean ? I mean , I mean , you ought to be a painter. I mean , I can't. Well , you know , essentially this this character is talking. This character is , is is visiting the reader is visiting a world that that , you know , that I experienced as a child and also that lives in every community in the country and that or at least lived in every community in the country , and that everybody's different. And so you get to know the eccentric characters in your neighborhood and , you know , the , the , the guy who works on his car all the time and , and his aunt who takes out her teeth at Christmas and all that other stuff. So , um , the portrait of this community is usually the pretty stereotypical one where , you know , people are shooting each other and stealing from each other and da da da da. And that's , you know , the cities are going to hell and , you know , all that other stupid stuff. And that's not really true , not even now. You know , it's just a place of dynamics and and those dynamics , in my opinion , as a , as a just as a human being , but also as a creative person , a pretty interesting. So because I like people , you know , of all types. And so , you know , I , I try to give people a lot of space because they deserve it , just like I deserve my own. So , I don't know , I just I just tried to portray this community that is usually seen from behind the wheel of a , you know , a locked car as the kind of place there where there's a lot of love , a lot of funny stuff happens , a lot of interesting stuff. And , and a lot of us just based on humanity and nothing else.
S1: And all of this takes place in a housing project in Brooklyn , similar to the one you grew up in.
S4: You know , my my parents started a church in Brooklyn , a little tiny church , and I'm still part of that church. And so , you know , I knew a lot about , you know , I knew a lot about a lot I know a lot about the community because I , you know , I , I participated and still participate in it. So that part wasn't , you know , hard to draw on. I mean , if you're a writer , you better be around somebody. You know , you can't just sit on a beach and now even write books. I suppose you can , but I just can't do it myself. But I know people can do it. I mean , um , Elmore Leonard wrote great books , and , you know , he wrote books about all kinds of stuff. And he said he just read magazines , but I'm just not that smart. So , you know , I , I , I just did it. You know , everybody sings the song the best way they know how to sing it with whatever music they have. So for me , presenting this community was and some of it was very joyous because , you know , I love some of the characters in the book. Sure. Um , and , um , and , you know , I've you learn to forgive your tribe more than someone else's tribe. But the truth is , your tribe is no better than anybody else's. Mm. And if you approach a story like that , then you can. Then you learn. You learn to get the best out of. Out of everything. There was a writer in New York named Pete Hamill. He was a wonderful , wonderful guy. And he was a wonderful writer. He was an Irish-American cat , you know , and I used to talk to him. I knew him , you know , until he died. I mean , I would talk to him about writing and about New York. And Pete was the kind of guy who really understood that people are just trying to do their best. And he saw a lot of bad stuff. I mean , he , you know , he was a journalist for a long time. He was a very , a very gifted journalist. But he always understood that people are trying to do their best. And and that made him , in my opinion , a great. I don't know. I'd say role model or person to think about in terms of , you know , these characters and in this particular situation , because Pete grew up not too far from where my housing project is. You grew up in the Gowanus area , which was in those days mostly , you know , working class , Irish , Latino , etc. blah , blah , blah , blah , blah , you know. And , you know , so that's I don't know if I'm just rambling now. Hey , you gotta stop.
S1: Listen , you draw off of these relationships and even just passing conversations that you have with people when you're bringing your creativity to the pages of a book. And speaking of which , I know you've sort of had your your mind in the pages of your next book , but it's been five years since Deacon King Kong came out.
S4: Well , I mean something to that effect. So , I mean , I mean , I , I'm still I'm still active in my community. That is reflected in that book , you know , some 40 years ago. And the community has changed quite a bit. And the , the , you know , the problems that are , that are , that are , that exist in the community now , some of them are the same problems that existed before , and some of them are not. I mean , in 1969 , you know , in the housing projects in Brooklyn , there were a lot more families with fathers who worked , who had jobs , you know , and here and this year , you know , fathers are a rarity because so many of them are either sick or in jail and , you know , help. Just the health problems of community now are far , far more significant than they ever were when I was a child. Um , you know , the and the food supply , all that stuff. It's I mean , it's just , you know , it's really more complicated , and it requires a lot more time and a lot more. Yeah. Thought. But the compassion and love is the same. You know , the population has changed somewhat. A lot more Chinese now in the projects , at least in my , you know , my housing project. Um , but , you know , they too. They too suffer the poor suffer in this country. I mean , I was very interested to hear your young. Um , the young man who was talking before you sounds like a very talented writer , but I disagree with his last comments about , you know , you know , opportunity for immigrant. I don't I don't believe that's happening. But , you know , he's a young guy , and we need his voice. Um , but , you know , I see a different. I see a little different take about , you know , in terms of how we treat the poor and working poor in this country. Yeah. So in some ways , Deacon King Kong , as you know , as twisted and screwed up and as funny and as humorous as the community was , there is a lot of that still. There is still good cops who are really funny and who really do their best. And there are really good churches and good people in church who really try hard. And they they don't use religion like a baseball bat. There's all that. But there's also , you know , this giant militaristic , you know , hovering over you with the cameras and the , you know , these , you know , just the whole mentality of we're not watching out for you , we're watching over you. And that's a that didn't exist in 1969.
S1: Well , you know , I know you're going to be bringing this book , Deacon King Kong to San Diego.
S4: That's what I hope. Not.
S5: I'm just kidding.
S4: I mean , you know , be joy , love somebody , you know , be courageous and make change right where you are. I mean , the character in this book , you know , he makes changes right where he is. You know , and so you make change right where you are. Take a stand. Be courageous. Stop being afraid. What's he be afraid about ? No gun is going to protect you in this world. Just , you know , put God in your in your lap and roll.
S1: It's a good message. I've been speaking with James McBride , author of the 2025 one book , one San Diego adult selection , Deacon King Kong. James , it's been a real pleasure to talk with you. Thank you so much. And congratulations again.
S4: All right. Well , thank you for having me.
S1: Still to come ? Olivia of Torquay talks about her kids selection book , The Interpreter.
S6: I like writing books about the things that we don't talk about , the things that a lot of children just assume as normal.
S1: KPBS Midday Edition is back after the break. Welcome back to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman. This hour we're talking with the wonderful authors of one book , One San Diego , the annual literary program where San Diegans enjoy the same book. Next up is the children's category. This year's selection is called The Interpreter. The book follows a young soccer player who's an interpreter for her Spanish speaking parents. It's available in both English and Spanish. And joining me to talk about it is Olivia Atagi. Olivia , welcome to Midday Edition.
S6: Thanks so much for having me.
S1: So glad to have you here. So your book follows the story of Cecilia. She has two jobs , one on the soccer field and one at home as a translator. Tell me about her. Yeah.
S6: Yeah. Cecilia is like a lot of kiddos here in the United States. She has parents who speak mostly Spanish , so she kind of has this secret second job where she is interpreting all of her English world into Spanish for her parents. Haha.
S1: Haha. Well , I'd love to to have you read a couple of lines for us to really get a sense of the story. Do you have something ? Yes.
S6: So I will be reading from what I like to call the montage scene in the picture book , and it's just a series of vignettes where Cecilia is translating just kind of everyday , um , interactions for her parents. So I'll start right here at the grocery store where Cecilia's father asks that on the son estos mangos. Where are the mangoes from ? What'll it be , folks ? Can't get it better. And cuantos dias ? Sugar ? When will a package get there ? And now we come across a family with another little interpreter. And they ask in Persian , in Chancellor. And that mother's interpreter asks Cecilia. How old is your little one ? Cecilia then realized that message to her mother and says , Guerin de la baby. Now we see Cecilia. She's getting more and more tired for service in Spanish , press three. And Cecilia says Mark el Trece. Lastly , yes significa at your earliest convenience. And Cecilia looking so exhausted , says Lomas.
S7: Pronto possible.
S6: So we've got all of these different moments. My favorite is when they say for service in Spanish press three , but they're saying it in English and we've all been there and we have to say mom , like press three.
S1: Well , you know that that portion of your book. I mean , it really is the experience of a lot of children. An estimated 11 million children in the U.S. are interpreters or translators for their parents , and that's according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
S6: I grew up in a household where my father is Iranian and my mother is Argentinian , so we had languages just kind of flying all over the place. And it wasn't really until I became older that I realized , oh , like , this was not a normal experience for every family. Um , I had parents who did learn English in their home country , so they learned a very kind of anglicized form of English. But when it came to just Americanisms and idioms , there were things that I remember translating. And at the time I felt shame about it. And we just we just didn't talk about it. And I wanted to. I like writing books about the things that we don't talk about. The things that a lot of children just assume is normal. But turns out it's not everybody's experience. So I , I really just want to write this for myself. And then it , you know , um , as it went on and on , I'm realizing that I'm not the only one. And it helped me feel less alone in writing this novel and seeing all of these other children have the same experience.
S1: Yeah , well , you tell this story with a lot of playfulness and humor. Uh , Cecilia takes her job very seriously. She wears an oversized green suit and tie.
S6: A lot of times when children are going through difficult things or trauma or just something really tough , you know , rarely will a child say , help , help. I'm being oppressed , you know , help , help. This is too much. And I always think about that , um , when I'm reading heavy picture books , and those are the kinds of books where my daughter will lose interest , where we'll be reading , and it's like , ah , like , this is this is a drag. And they're important books. Don't get me wrong , they're important with a capital eye. They're the kind of books that win awards. But are they the kinds of books that a child will want to read over and over again ? So playfulness is super important to me , because at the end of the day , this is for children. And I think when you add playfulness or lightness to difficult subjects , it I'm not trying to make it more palatable , but I do want it to be something that is easier for children to process and , um , see happening in their own lives as well.
S1:
S6: It was really hard. The first versions were that kind of insipid heaviness that I mentioned , um , you know , full of lessons and morals and , um , and I think what really helped me was I actually my background is in film and television. I went to NYU film school , and when I finally just sat down and wrote this manuscript as a screenplay where I could see what is happening on the page versus what is happening in the text. Um , that helped me a lot in striking that balance and envisioning colorful characters saying these things. You know , it's one thing to stare down the barrel of a word document just in black and white , but it's another to imagine in your head , okay ? Like there's going to be pinks and purples and blues and greens on this page. How can we walk that fine line between an important message , but also just having a really appealing and lighthearted book.
S1: Well , the wonderful illustrations in this book are done by Monica Arnaldo.
S6: That was all. Monica. Much of that was not in my manuscript , and she wanted to add some experiences that she had had growing up as a Mexican Canadian. And Monica's colors and use of the page. The visual balance really comes to light with the speech bubbles. We have all of the speech bubbles in different colors according to the different language. So here in the manuscript , we've got all of the Spanish in a kind of orangey yellow and all of the English in blue. And so when we have moments where those two languages are intersecting , that creates green. So you've got this really gorgeous Venn diagram , and there's sections in Persian. Those are in pink. When those join with the blue that makes purple. And on top of that , taking from those colors , Monica has given Cecilia a green suit because she is speaking both the yellow Spanish and the blue English. And so what's wonderful about the suit as well ? And once again , this just speaks to Monica's brilliance , is that in the beginning of the manuscript , Cecilia is wearing kind of an ill fitting suit. You know , it's a little big. She's trying to fill some shoes that are a bit too big for her. But as she gets more and more exhausted , the suit takes on a mind of its own. It gets longer , the tie gets longer , the collar becomes rumpled , it becomes wrinkly. And it is. It is kind of this visual metaphor for Cecilia's exhaustion as this poor suit gets worn out and later in the. Towards the end of the book , as Cecilia claims , more agency. The suit becomes really snappy , well fitted , and Cecilia just looks really sharp.
S1: Yeah , I love that. Um , you know , this book , it it really does have to do with first generation kids having to take on these adult roles and the immense pressure they can feel. Talk to me about the emotional weight of that as illustrated in the book. Yeah.
S6: Yeah. For a lot of first generation kids , this sense of obligation , duty , filial piety really weighs on us. We know that a lot of our parents came from situations that were really difficult in their home countries. And so having parents who brought us here with so much opportunity , um , is kind of instilled in us. It's just this unspoken thing. And I think the suit also kind of shows that weight on Cecilia , Because we would never say like , no , I can't translate your coffee order like I. I'm burnt out. It's like , um , my parents have sacrificed everything to bring me here. We're so lucky we can even go to a coffee shop and have our customized order. Why would I not translate it for them ? So I think once again , it's that balance of importance and playfulness having to show visually how this duty and obligation can kind of like weigh children down was really important without making it too heavy. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. Well , you know , as we mentioned , this book is the children's selection for San Diego's one Book , One San Diego. It'll be available in both English and Spanish.
S6: Hey , I'm not the only one. This is something that other children are experiencing too. First of all , there's no shame. Um , this is very normal for a lot of families. And secondly , I hope that they just start the conversation of how it feels for them. Some kids may really enjoy this , but at the end of the day , translating is a full time job and some children might be really overwhelmed. So I hope that this book gives courage , gives children courage to ask for help. Number one , but to just even show this labor in the limelight , it's just so unspoken. It's just so , um , assumed that , you know , kids will help in this way. And I love that , you know , so many children want to help their families , but I do just want to shed light on the fact that this is , um , this is a full time job that a lot of kiddos are doing , in addition to their very real job of being a kid. And I hope that this book just starts conversations and that if there's children who need help , that they know that it's okay to ask.
S1: I've been speaking with Olivia Attaway. She's the author of the picture book The Interpreter. It's the children's selection for one book. One San Diego. Olivia , it's such an important book. Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us. And congratulations.
S6: Thank you so much.
S1: That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.
