As our country witnesses horrific attacks on the Asian and Asian-American community, exposing deep-seated racism, many parents have been asking a critical question: how can we have conversations with our children about race and diversity, early and often?
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For over 50 years, ParentChild+ has been working to overcome systemic racism by partnering with parents to build school readiness in the homes of young children and their families. By committing to provide all families with reading materials that are diverse, inclusive, and culturally relevant, we are now prioritizing helping children to understand the importance of racial justice, be rooted in their own identity, and develop a strong sense of self and understanding of others.
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As part of ParentChild+'s virtual series Windows, Mirrors & Doors, we invite you to join Asian children's book authors and illustrators for a compelling, nationally relevant discussion on the representations of Asian characters in children's literature. The discussion will shine a light on the impact representation has on the well-being and social-emotional development of Asian children — and all children, the importance for children and families of experiencing books by Asian authors and illustrators, and the ways in which representation and book selection can be a powerful step toward building a stronger, more equitable world.
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This event is free and open to the public. As you learn more about the impact that programs, like ParentChild+, have on families living in communities experiencing economic and health crises, we hope you will consider making a special contribution to our work here.
Creator of Instagram @AsianLitForKids
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Shuli de la Fuente-Lau is the creator of the Instagram @AsianLitforKids, and the Content Lead at LittleFeminist.com – a monthly book club subscription and publishing house. By day, she is an assistant principal at an elementary school. Shuli is also proudly a third culture kid who holds her Chinese Malaysian American identity with gratitude. She lives in Oakland, California with her husband and two strong, spirited, and vibrant daughters.
Author
Joanna Ho is the New York Times bestselling author of Eyes that Kiss in the Corners. Her upcoming picture books include Playing at the Border: A Story of Yo-Yo Ma (Fall 2021), Eyes that Speak to the Stars (2022) and One Day (2023). Her debut YA novel, The Silence that Binds Us will be released in 2022. She is a writer and educator with a passion for anti-bias, anti-racism and equity work. She has been an English teacher, a dean, the designer of an alternative-to-prison program, and a professional development mastermind. She is currently the vice principal of a high school in the Bay Area.
Editorial & Book Illustrator
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Julia Kuo is a Taiwanese-American illustrator currently based out of Cleveland. She has taught illustration courses at Columbia College Chicago and at her alma mater, Washington University in St. Louis. Julia was the visual arm of Chicago’s 2017 March for Science and has had the honor of being an artist-in-residence at Banff Centre for the Arts in 2014 and in 2017. She is currently the recipient of a 2019-2021 Gray Center Mellon Collaborative Fellowship at the University of Chicago.
Author
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At the age of twelve, Kat Zhang started her first novel and begun plans for her life as an author. Said plans didn't come into fruition until seven years later, when her agent sold her Young Adult trilogy, The Hybrid Chronicles, to HarperCollins. The series, about a parallel universe where everyone is born with two souls, concluded in 2014.
She has also published two Middle Grade novels — The Emperor's Riddle and The Memory of Forgotten Things. She also has two picture books, Amy Wu & the Perfect Bao and Amy Wu & the Patchwork Dragon, and is working on a series of books with Baobab Studios and Penguin Random House about the Magic Paintbrush legends.
ParentChild+ is a national non-profit organization that uses early education and school readiness to support families living in marginalized communities and facing the largest opportunity gaps.
For over 50 years, ParentChild+ has worked with young families in immigrant communities and communities of color. Utilizing its research-based school readiness models, the organization engages parents as their children’s first and most important teachers, helping families to build educational opportunities and close the equity gap.
Today, ParentChild+ works with over 9,000 families with young children, across 142 locally-run program sites in the U.S.
