Name: The Week Junior | Summer of Reading
Uploaded: 2025-06-13T00:35:37.907Z
Duration: 1 h 5 min 4 s
Description: The Week Junior | Summer of Reading

Transcript for "The Week Junior | Summer of Reading": Hello, everyone, and welcome to The Week Junior's live summer reading event. I'm Andrea Barbolich, editorial director of The Week Junior. And before we begin, I have a message to all the young people who are with us tonight. I hope every one of you finds a book to read this summer that you enjoy so much you never want to put it down. To help you choose a story or a series that will stick with you, we ask the week junior readers for their favorite book recommendations, and then our team at the magazine turned their suggestions into a one of a kind list called the 50 books kids love most, which you can download at the link we'll put in the chat. The editors of The Week Jr. Also found five exciting brand new books to dive into this summer, and we're so grateful to have the authors of four of those books with us tonight. Not only will they give you a sneak peek at their new books, but they'll also share behind the scenes information about the publishing process and reveal the books they loved reading when they were your age. And now I'd like to introduce our moderator for tonight's event. We're so honored to have Ellen Oh leading our discussion. She's the cofounder of We Need Diverse Books, a nonprofit organization that sends books with diverse characters to schools and libraries in need. Thank you for that, Ellen. She's also an acclaimed author of middle grade novels such as Finding Junie Kim and The Dragon Egg Princess. Her most recent work, The House Next Door, will be published in September. Like many of the guests we'll be hearing from tonight, Ellen's path to being a children's book author wasn't direct. She was practicing law when she decided to switch careers, and we're all very lucky that she did. Welcome, Ellen. Hello? Hi. Hi, everyone. I'm so glad to be here. Thank you for having me. Thank you, Andrea, for that lovely introduction. I'm really, really excited about this panel tonight because some these are my favorite authors, and you get to hear from them directly today. You've got Grace Lin, Pablo Corteia, Rita Williams Garcia, and Meg Medina. And these their books, okay, their books are so great. Right? I think we all love their books. They are the books that you read and you can't put them down. And I I'm just so excited to introduce all of them to you and their new books. So why don't I have them come on up and talk to you a little bit about their new novels, and then explain it About thirty seconds. What is a surprising fact about themselves? And I'd love to start with Grace. Grace, come on up. Alright. Hi, everybody. Oops. How are you? Can you see me? It's, I'm having a a, thing that says I'm muted, but I think I'm not. Can you hear me, Ellen? Yes. I can. Alright. So hi, everybody. I'm so happy to be here. Are you saying that I have to do a thirty second intro of my book now, Ellen? Yes, please. We would love to hear about your book. I've already read it. It's phenomenal. Are you, like, timing me, the thirty seconds? Sort of. No. I'm kidding. Go ahead. Alright. Okay. Because I've been practicing because I because you said thirty seconds. Okay. Oh, okay. What time is okay. Oh, okay. So this is my new book, The Gate, the Girl, and the Dragon, and I've been calling it an Asian American Narnia book. Because just like Narnia, you know how there's a wardrobe where you go into another world? It's just like that, but instead of a wardrobe, it's a Chinatown gate. So in my book, you go through the Chinatown gate, and you go into another world. But another difference between my book and the Narnia books is that in the Narnia books, the kids go through the wardrobe, and they end up in Narnia. In my book, it's as if one of the characters or the creatures from Narnia come to our world. And in my book, it's a creature this creature right here, a creature named Jin, and he is the spirit of a stone statue, stone lion cub statue. And he comes to our world, and he gets in a bit of trouble. And he needs to get back home, and he needs the help of a girl and a dragon who looks a little bit like a worm. I think that was more than thirty seconds. Sorry about that. I was not timing you. But, everybody, the worm dragon is, like, the coolest thing. Oh, but I think you forgot to include a surprising fact about yourself. Oh, a surprising fact about myself is that I can only write novels if I eat candied ginger. I have to eat lots and lots of candied ginger, and, and especially the kind from Trader Joe's. So all of my books are fueled on candied ginger. And then, of course, brush your teeth and floss your teeth very well after. Very well after every after every writing session. Alright. Thank you, Grace. Now we're gonna have Pablo come on come on up. Hi, Pablo. Hello. How are you doing, Ellen? We are great. Really excited. I can see the chat lighting up. Can we hear from you about your brilliant book? And don't forget the one that you guys do that. I'd be delighted to. And and thank you, Grace, for going and, like, taking all the dishes out of this. So happy to be here. This is my book, A Hero's Guide to Summer Vacation. And in thirty seconds, I wanna say really quickly, this is a road trip book with a kid named Gonzalo and his abuelo, his grandpa, who is a very famous, children's book author. He wrote a very famous fantasy book series. I've seen in the chat here that there's a lot of Percy Jackson fans. He wrote a book just like that, but his grandson has never read it. And then his mom puts him on a road trip with his grandpa to travel from Mendocino, California all the way down to Miami. And his mom bribes him and says, look, I'll give you $50 if you start reading your grandfather's books. So he starts reading them. And then as he's reading them, he starts connecting the stories, these fantasy stories with his grandfather's life in Cuba and how he escaped Cuba and came to The United States and how all of that kind of connected into these stories about fantasy. Because the way that we all write stories are very much rooted in the some of the experiences that we have, the things that we're looking at in the world. And so, like, the grandfather kind of wrote this series as a kind of reflection on his personal life. And so Gonzalo goes through. He has to read the books. And at the same time and if you look really closely here, there's these green eyes that are chasing him across the country, these green eyes that appear in the sky. And at one point, he has to step out of that car. He has to look up, and he has to face those green eyes. And whether they will drown him in a gross middle school toilet or will he defeat it is up to Gonzalo, and you won't find out until the very end. Fabulous. Such a great book. Thank you. And then, Pablo, surprising fact, we all wanna know it. Okay. So, I know the kids so I I was an actor for for years before I became a writer. And I've done you know, I was in some shows and I was in musicals and I've I've done a whole bunch of stuff. One of the fun things, I do all my audio book recordings, because I I was one of the I did the Spanish dubbing for a very famous cartoon, for three years. But since this is a kids show, I'm gonna just say it was a very funny, very cool cartoon, and I got to do I got to do the voices for for that show for about three years. That is so cool. How long does it take you to do the audio book? Typically, it's about two days. It's like Wow. But it's it's a long. And and I because I'm a I'm a performer, so I I do it standing up. And so it's like a, like, five, six hour sessions where I'm just standing up and I'm moving I move my hands a lot. You know? This is Latinos. We we we do this thing a lot. We do we move our hands. And so I yeah. So that's yeah. That's where, I get it from. That is so cool. Thank you so much. And now I'm excited to bring Rita. Rita, please join us. I'm sure Rita will be up soon. Yay, Rita. I will say, Pablo, I'm so impressed because it takes it takes me two and a half hours to record a one minute video, so I can't even imagine just I would just make I just I just pretend like I know what I'm doing, and and then much smarter, more capable people just kinda fix it for me. Grace, do you do your own own audiobooks also? Or no. I do not do my own audiobooks, but I always I try to do the author's note. So in all of my books, I usually have an author's note. So I do try to do that part for the audio, but, usually, I let it be in the more capable hands of a voice actor. Yeah. Me too. Alright. Well, since I think we have a little difficulty getting rid of, let's get Meg here. Meg, come on up. Ta da. Hi. How are you? Hi, everybody. So So my hook is Graciela in the abyss, and this is a book for kids who like to be sort of scared when they're reading. It's a fantasy and a ghost adventure, and so I've never written one of those. So it was great fun. It's set in the bottom of the ocean, the place where no sunlight reaches, that's called the abyss. And everyone in this novel is dead or gets dead by by the end. So not really cheery. It doesn't sound that way, but it is an adventure. Graciela is 12 years old. She died falling off a cliff a hundred years ago. Jorge is a blacksmith's son, and together, they have to work to get this harpoon back out of the ocean because it has the power to really destroy the ocean and the balance of the world. So if you like scary books, if you like adventures, this one might be for you. And I was thinking about what is unusual about me, and I can't really think. So I'm going with the candy thing that Grace did. My favorite candy is Milk Duds. Do not tell my dentist. I will get in a lot of trouble. But I those big sticky I I love going to the movies. Everybody else orders popcorn, and I get that big fat box of Milk Duds every time. I the they're actually too chewy for me. I'm a big Starbucks girl. I just love Starbucks, Skittles, any fruit flavored stuff. Yeah. When you're writing, you have to have something chewy. Like, you have to, like, chew while you're writing. It's not it's there's something about it. I know. And it's just the sugar for me in that that that you know, when I it just feels very comforting. So, anyway, do we have Rita? Has she come? Has yeah. Oh, no. Okay. I don't want her to tell my dentist. Yeah. No. That's a that's a lot of flossing and, two questions. So now since we're while we're waiting for Rita, I think I'm supposed to say that if you have questions to everybody out there listening, you can write your questions into the chat. So, hopefully, we'll have time later. And, should I maybe introduce the author ambassador, and do the video? Yes. Okay. So our author ambassador couldn't join us today, and he did a video message to share with you. So we're gonna turn it over to the video. Hello. My name is SF Saeed, and I am the author of Tiger. I am absolutely delighted to be a summer reading ambassador for the week junior. I love the week junior, and I love summer reading. Now Tiger is a story about a boy, a girl, and a tiger. It is set in a strange alternate world in which almost all animals are extinct, and yet, it's in that world that a boy called Adam and a girl called Zadie meet this mysterious magical tiger. This is a book that it took me nine years to write. It took so long because I wanted to do everything I could to make it the very best book it could be, the most exciting adventure story I could imagine, but also a book full of big questions and ideas, things that might stay with you forever. One tip I can give you about writing. When you're writing, it's often a good idea to read your words aloud, so you can see what they sound like as well as what they look like. I did that many times in the nine years it took me to write Tiger, but it was totally worth it in the end because this is the most exciting book that I can imagine. I hope you enjoy it too. Happy reading. Happy writing. Happy summer to you all. That was the most amazing room of books. He was just surrounded. That was amazing. Alright. Well ever how it was, like, the tiger face. You know? It was pretty cool. Alright. So, while we wait for Rita, I think the next thing is to let's talk a little bit about the next question, which is, for Grace. Grace, did you did you write? I know the answer, but they don't. Did you write and illustrate the gate, the girl, and the dragon simultaneously as you write. And can you explain the process to us? Can you share any sketches? We'd love to see how your work evolves. Alright. So, alright. So my book, the gate, the girl, the dragon, is a little unusual because even though it's a novel, you know, with lots of words in it, there's also full color illustrations in it. So, you'll see like this, and there's also illustrations, there's also illustrations full color, at the beginning of each chapter. And so you could see that, this book is a little unusual for that. There's it even has it even has a design on the edges, which we call spudges for sprayed edges. Gorgeous. Oh, Gordo. One of the reasons why this book has so many illustrations is because I am an illustrator. I wrote the words, and I drew the pictures. Now the question was, did I do the pictures simultaneously? Like, do I do the pictures at the same time? And, no, I do not. I write the words and then afterwards, I decide where I want to put the pictures in, especially the full page illustrations or, what what I want to draw afterwards. Now I am an old fashioned fashioned illustrator. If you meet any other illustrators, you most illustrators these days work on the computer. I do not. I still work using paper and pencil. So, I I draw on tracing paper with pencil. So this is the cover of the book sketch. So you can see this is the cover. And then, I send that to my publisher, and they make their their suggestions. And then I change it so you could see they said they said, you know, we need your name bigger and all these little things. And then from there, I do I take that drawing and I blow it up really big and I, print it on a piece piece of watercolor paper and then I do the painting. And then this is the painting. And you can see that I do the painting way bigger than the actual size because, I like to get lots of details in. So you can see I do all these little details of the scales and stuff, and it's just easier to do when the when the painting is larger. And you could see how that turns to this. So I I don't do any of the type. So you can see at least just big blank spaces for the publisher to put the type in, themselves. So I'm not a graphic designer. I don't have that many computer skills. So I just send them this art, and I let them do the rest. Wow. That is so gorgeous. This is why, like, I have a love hate relationship with illustrators because I'm so jealous. Such talent. Alright. So, Pablo, if I may ask, the draft of the hero's guide to summer vacation didn't include a vacation. Can you explain how your book changed from to final draft and the revision process that authors go through? Tell us how long it it takes to make a book. In in thirty seconds or No. You don't want time. Don't worry. Okay. So, this this book this book took me, nearly five years to finish. And the draft that I wrote was back in May of twenty twenty. And as we all know in 2020, it's like, you know, the whole world was shut down. And I had this deadline and I turned in a draft of this book. And the the the thing that I get like, usually, I'm like, you know, I've I've done pretty well. I'm I'm I've been working for a long time. And I'm I always think that my the the draft that I turn into my editor is going to be perfect. And my editor is going to return to me. It's like if like if like all the students out there, like, when you write an assignment and you turn it into your teacher, don't you expect your teacher to say, oh my gosh, this is a genius piece of work and you don't have to do anything else. This is what I think every time I turn in something to my to my editor. And my editor is like like for for the students out there, it's like your teacher. Right? So I send in my draft and my editor returns shortly thereafter and says, well, Pablo, great start. And the purpose of a draft is to merely exist. So let's keep trying. And I was like, wait. What? How dare you? I'm an award winning author. How dare you? And I get annoyed. And then I start thinking about it. I take some time and I start thinking, okay. Yeah. You know what? She actually has a point. And I start working on the next draft. And so this was a process that we've been doing for years. With this particular book, with this book, I I had started the draft, and I was getting ready to go. And then I thought I I got to a point, and I got, an a call from, my wife's family that my wife's three surviving grandparents have all passed away within the same week. They all had died of COVID. And it was just, like, a really sad thing, and I just stopped. I didn't turn it in. And I don't know for this for the for the students out there when you have a writing assignment or anything like that, and sometimes something happens that you just don't turn in that assignment. Right? And it's not necessarily because you're being lazy. It's just something sad happened. Right? Or something just made you feel bad. So I just didn't turn it in. But I had to do it because it's an assignment. And so I went and I tried again, and I started going and I started working on it. And I was almost done with another draft. And then I get a call, and my childhood best friend has has died. Oh, I'm so sorry. And I and I don't turn it in. And this happened again. So I went, I started. I was really sad. I didn't turn it in. And then I went and then I went to the next thing. And again, I'm about to finish and someone else that I love very much passes away. So this book became, like, I felt like it was cursed. Right? I felt like every time I tried to finish a draft, I I wasn't able to. So what I ended up doing is I had to turn it in just like an assignment for school. You have to turn it in even if your teacher is giving you an extension, letting you take a test. So I had to do it. And so what I I I I thought, okay. I have to put this together. And so what I did was I brought together the idea of a road trip to kind of link these stories, all these drafts together, and I put everything. And I was like, I I just gotta do it. I gotta turn it in. And when I finally turned it in, and I put this road trip, and I put these, like, this fantasy series, and I put this grandpa, and I put all these characters, all these narrators, and all that stuff. And I was like, okay. Look. Here. Here. Take it. And I finally let it go. And when I I let it go, I was so scared of what my editor was gonna say because it was tied to so much, like, hurt. And my editor gets back, and I was so afraid what she was gonna say. And she responds, Pablo, this book is beautiful. And I felt like I was letting go of air for the time in five years. Like, I felt like, oh, it really and that's the thing that I like to tell kids when I'm when when, you know, when you're afraid to do something, when you're afraid to turn something in because you're afraid that it's gonna suck, oops, excuse me, or you're afraid it's not gonna be good or it's not gonna you know, that that there is something or someone out there, a teacher that that that will say, like, that will validate that, you know. And and for me, my editor validated the idea that this that this book was saying something. And that's kind of the process. And the drafts helped me to understand what the story really was. That was so beautiful. I'm so sorry for everything that happened. And I can only say that we have your beautiful book now, and that is kind of a miracle thing for us. And thank you. Thank you for writing. Thank you, ma'am. Thank you. So alright. Meg. Newbery medal winning Meg Medina. The most prestigious prize in children's literature, for Mercy Suarez changes gears. And I'm just gonna say that's that was a story that was at that was part of the flying lessons anthology that I edited. So I am particularly proud of Meg's Newbery win on this book. But can can you show us your medals? Yeah. It was in my living room, and the organizer said, make sure you have that medal around here. And, you know, Rita has one in there as well, but here it is. I'm gonna hold it up to the camera. Wow. What it looks like, and it'll say, most distinguished contribution, to American literature for children, Meg Medina and the year that you win it. And then on the back, it's John d Newbery, a a photograph of him. So that seal that you usually see, those stickers, the gold ones or the silver ones, they stand for real metals that sort of exist. Yeah. So cool. So cool. Thank you. Thank you. And a follow-up, Graciela and the abyss, your fantasy genre book, a book that by the way, I have been waiting from her forever, and I was so happy she finally, has it out. In your opinion, is it easier to write fantasy or realistic fiction? And which one do you prefer and why? Well, I would say that whether you're writing a book that's, like, real life or whether you're creating, like, a world under the sea or on another planet or in the future, you still have to do what's called world building, which means, like, you have to write it so that when someone is reading it, it feels like it could really be happening no matter what. For me, writing fantasy was harder, because it wasn't it's not the style that I usually write in. Mercy Suarez is, you know, a grade girl, like, I somebody that who feels like you you could know that person. So the trick for world building when you're writing something in the ocean, right, in the abyss is to create, like, what color are spirits? What jobs do the different spirits have? And if you called their sleeping is called somnus. Right? So if you called it somnus in chapter three, you better be calling it somnus in chapter 13. Like, keeping track of all of those little things. So one thing I did, which, some of you writers out there might use, it's like I created what we call a story bible. So whenever I used a new term for something or, like, when I said that pink was the color of whatever feeling, like, keeping track of it so that I could keep looking up what I had said and and making it true. But it was great fun. And like Grace and and Pablo, it took a long time. You know, like, this one started in 2010, so I don't even want to admit that. That's how long I've been writing it. And this one also is illustrated not in color, but I wanted to show you this thing. So here's the real cover, but look what happens underneath in the hard copy. And so I am not lucky to be an illustrator as as Grace is with who's a poor brilliantly talented. But we worked on this book with these two sisters named Elena and Anna Balduso, and they are illustrators. They live in Italy, and they created really spooky sort of scary pictures for the for the novel as well. And I I love illustrated novels, which is one of the reasons I so love Grace's new book. I I love it. Love seeing pictures. Yeah. Me too. Me too. I can't draw, but I love it so much. Well and I have great news. I have Rita back. We can have Rita join us. Come on, Rita. Drum roll. Come on. Come on. Come on, Rita. And Rita, when you come on up, we're gonna want you to talk about your book right away. Here she comes. So exciting. Yay. Hi, Rita. Is there sound? Oh. Oh. It's like like a like a true like a true rock star. Yes. Like a true rock like, you know. She's gonna keep us waiting. You know, the band has already started playing. I adore her. And you know what? I have a Rita Williams Garcia shelf right here next to me. These are the Oh, yay. Rita, Helena. You just get here. Yeah. I have finally I have made it. I can join you. I have reached the other side. The tech gods wore me down, but I grew stronger. Okay. I'm gonna have to talk fast because I don't know how how much longer they're gonna give me mercy, you know. So okay. So let me tell you about my new book, which is kind of a old friend. What Crazy Summer. It's a graphic novel, y'all. Anyway, but let me tell you what it's about. It is set way back in 1900, hundred, hundred and sixty eight, 08/08, long, long time ago. And it's about three sisters who get on a plane in New York to, to fly across the country to Oakland, California so they can spend a crazy summer. Well, they don't know it's gonna be crazy, but a crazy summer with their mother who abandoned them when they were really, really young. And so, so they're expecting, you know, they're expecting her to be sorry, to make up for all the times that, you know, that she has that she has left them and and all of that. You know, they're expecting that. That's not exactly what they get. In fact, she acts like she doesn't even want them around. Anyway, so they get this crazy mother, but they also get, they they're also, if, they're introduced to the uh-oh. Uh-oh. Am am I, am I frozen? Can you hear me? Can you hear me? Okay. Great. Okay. So, yes. They are introduced to the Black Panther party, and, and so, yes, it is gonna be a crazy summer. So, fun fact about me or fun fact or secret fact? One of those facts. Okay. So, I think I think mostly what what what what what? No. No. Go ahead, Rita. Go ahead. Okay. So, I I think most people know that know that I box and I train as a boxer. But what you don't know is way back in 1980, I auditioned to be a dancing girl at the, with the Barnum and Bailey Circus, not to just dance, but to dance with elephants. So they would roll me up in their trunk. Well, I would look like, oh, yes. This is normal. I can do this. I'm graceful. Uh-huh. In this trunk. And, but once the splat of elephant poop hit the floor, oomph, that was the end of Rita's, circuitous career because I could not do it. So there you go. Okay. I was not expecting this to have a new story, but that was so awesome. That was worth waiting for, people. Right there. That was worth waiting for. Rolled up in a trunk and elephant poop splat. Yeah. Alright. We are going to now. Question. This was you know, I love this book, and you had to basically rewrite it into a graphic novel format. How hard was that? And how different was it actually? Oh, okay. Well, let's go with the how hard was that because I didn't know anything about no graphic. You you know that, when when they say, I don't know nothing about birth and babies. I don't know nothing about writing a graphic novel. Even with my grandson giving me direction, I I what did I know? So I went to the library. I checked out books. I bought books. I read articles online. Don't you know? Everything about graphic novels is for the illustrator who already has the talent and already pretty much knows what they are doing, but not for the writer who only instrument our words and her fingers to type those words. So, I had to, I like, it was frustrating because I didn't know what I was doing. As a matter of fact, when I finally submitted my, when I finally submitted my manuscript, which is actually a script. It's not a manuscript. It's a script. I would suggest all of these panels and things like 50 panels on a page. And then when I finally saw the finished product, oh, just two. Okay. What did I know? So, so it was a huge learning curve. But one of my I think my biggest challenge in writing the graphic novel is not leaning on the thing that I that is, familiar to me, the words, because you don't need all of those words. You know, like so anytime Delphine in the novel would describe something, use a metaphor or simile or any kind of literary device, well, who needs that stuff in a graphic novel? Because the artist is right there with the picture that expresses those very the very setting and and the feelings, and you see it in her face. I don't have to describe what's going on in her face. We see it. So so it's a whole lot more direct contact between the, between the artist and the reader. And me, the author, I have to learn to find my place, which, you know, it took me a while, but, it took me I think it took me about two years, but, eventually, I got there with the help of my editors because they knew exactly how to help, help me really see frame by frame what a graphic novel page would look like and and and what was needed, on the page, visually as opposed to when I write with all of my hundreds and thousands of words. So great learning experience. And I love graphic novels. And now that you've had one under your belt now, how you know, it's such a different way of reading. Right? And there are people out there who who just don't see it. They don't, like, consider it reading. What would you say to them? I mean, like, it seems like a bizarre, attitude to take towards graphic novels, especially because creative process is so different. Well, of all, I would tell them to open their eyes and open their minds because, you know, the one thing that a graphic novel is, it's an open, it's a open and instant invitation turning the pages. And even if you don't read a word of English and you're just getting used to the language, you're turning, you're seeing the emotion, you're seeing the action. You can you can see what's funny. You can laugh along. And then bit by bit, the words come, you know, they, they you you get that familiarity with the words. But, let's say for someone who's just new to reading or maybe they're struggling with reading for whatever reason, that graphic novel really just opens up the world, and it makes it puts us all to I think it puts us all on equal footing because you can begin to join in with the story and the discussion. And and so there there's just so much that, that I saw what, Sherry Miller, our illustrator, did, that I said, oh, wow. That really opens this this whole experience up for someone who has never seen any of this, which is, you know, which was really great for me because I'm translating something from from okay. Yes. From fifty years ago, you know, to to people who weren't even born. Their parents weren't even born then, you know, and so they can if they don't have to Google to see what is a telephone booth, What is it this? What is it that? You know, they can actually see it, you know? And so I think it's the great thing about the graphic novel. It's it is such an equalizer, you know, and and it and it's such an open invitation. And then you're having that you're having both the emotional experience and the adventurous, you know, experience, with reading, that that you that would you could get that from a book. Okay. I'm not talking against books. I'm not. I write books. But there's something so instant about that that is so gratifying. Oh, absolutely. That was actually brilliant, Rita. I would, like, use your argument right now against anyone who would dare say that graphic novels aren't reading because you put it so perfectly. Alright. And so now I have a question for all of you, and I'll start with Grace. Please name a childhood book that made you fall in love with reading. And what was it that spoke to you about it? Okay. So, I get this question a lot, and I always say Anne of Green Gables. And the reason why is because I it was the character of Anne. I just felt like she was my best friend in the whole world. She was always so cheerful. She gave me such a optimistic viewpoint of life, and I just remember just whenever things were kinda glum or whenever I was feeling bad, I was always, like, read one of the Anne of Green Gables books, and I just felt like, I was I was hanging out with a friend. So that's probably one of the books that, I that really made me fall in love with reading. Oh, and, you know, Anne of Green Gables, we got to actually watch her grow up and get married, like, in all her Yeah. Pablo, what was your favorite childhood? Okay. So I I I mean, this is not the place to say this, but I I didn't really I I wasn't a big reader when I was a kid. I'm so sorry. What I did was I got the I read the books that my teachers assigned me. I read Fahrenheit four five one. I read, Roald Dahl's The BFG. I read, Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth. You know, I I the just basically, the books that my teachers gave me, those are the ones that I read. I didn't seek them out. I was an athlete. I played I played a lot of sports, and I didn't you know, there was a time where I didn't think that those things really could match, like like, oh, I don't wanna read. I don't wanna be caught reading. I was, you know, I was I had a ball in my head all the time. And then it wasn't until later when I was in college that I I really connected with this idea of, like, wait. You can do these things. You could be a great reader. You could be a a writer. You could love sports. You could love the like, you know, I did musical theater, and then I I love the Miami Heat. Like, I watch the Miami Heat. That is my team. You know what I mean? So it's like like, just kind of shedding that sort of expectation of, like, why I'm I'm an athlete. I'm not supposed to read. But, like and so, like, I wish that when I was younger, I would have not had that sort of barrier that I set up for myself thinking that that's what it was. You know what I'm saying? So, like, I just I wish that I would have, explored more, more stories because I just read these books in my teacher's game. I know that's not the right answer for this wonderful organization, but I'm sorry. This is just the truth. No. I actually think that you're bringing up a very important point, which is that you weren't directed to books that would speak to you. I mean, think about it. If you had the ability to read your books back when you were a kid, I feel like, athlete or not, you'd be like, wait. This is the book that that Yeah. I think for sure I think for sure if I would have had more books like that, you know, that that kind of represented the cultural, like, my Cuban heritage or even, like, you know, like, any any other heritage besides the ones that were just presented in the books that I had, I probably would have wanted to explore more. For sure. Yeah. I can't know for sure, but I I think that that makes a lot of sense. I mean, statistically, they say that, you know, kids, when they have the chance to find themselves in books, they are way more likely to read those books and to enjoy reading. Well, that's why your organization is so incredible. We need diverse books because it really just sheds a light on those things. You know? Like like, little obnoxious sports kids like me in middle school, it's like, no. No. Read this. This is a good one. And and you would have read books about little obnoxious sports kids too. That would have been a great book too. Sure. I would have. Yeah. 100%. Meg, what about you? So as a kid, I loved, like, the Nancy Drew series. I read that those. I just loved, like, familiar characters that I could come back to. And, also, at the time when I was young, like, this idea of this young woman in a sports car doing whatever she felt like doing, and her every adult in her life trusted her to solve these major crimes. Like, it was delicious. So I loved that, but I would say the book that that opened my heart the most was Charlotte's Web. And the reason I loved it is that it was about friends, ultimately, right, about friendship. And it was also, like, what you guys have been talking about, like, very different from my life. I grew up in the city. I grew up in New York City in an apartment. I was nowhere near a farm, didn't know a thing about pigs or buttermilk bats or any of that. So when I was reading when I would read books like that, very different from my own life, it felt like I was, I don't know, transported and seeing something new, and I still like to do that. I love to read books now that I mean, I like books that sound like people I know, certainly, but I also love to read books that are about people and places that are completely different than than my life. It just I don't know. It feels exciting. Yeah. And you learn you know, it's like reading is always an adventure because of that and just Yep. I I tell all kids reading is a superpower, and I stand by it. Rita, what about you? That's true. What is Well, okay. So I was a little different. I I read early. I read very early before I went to school, and this is before pre k and all that stuff. And so I always had the love of story and, and turning the page and and all of that. I always have that. But I have to say, that one of the books that just really stays with me is called, 31 Brothers and Sisters, and it, by, Reba Pape Mirsky, and it was written in, like, back in the fifties, but it was about this Zulu girl and her father what she's a daughter of the chief, and the men are getting ready to go on the hunt. And, of course, she wants to go on the hunt, but her it's her brother who is supposed to go, but he just really wants to write poetry, really, you know, and so she lobbies hard to go on the hunt, and, and her father, really does not want her to go, but she gets her way and she goes. And she ends up, killing the, you know, she, she ends up, killing the, the the prey. I won't say what it was. But, but, yes, she with she is with her spear and she is ready. And, it it meant so much to me because, like, around, 12 years old or so, my my father was a coach of a Pop Warner, football team, and and he made my brother join. And, whereas I I wanted to suit up and, I there was a running back in here, you know. And so I wanted to, I wanted to, you know, run out on the field, you know, for for a play. And, like, my father was like, get that girl off the field. I was not even his daughter. Get that girl off the field. Anyway, so, I wish my father was like the Zulu chief and gave, and and gave me, like, a try, you know, just so that I could get one play in there. So it was it. It and, also, you know, she was a Zulu girl. She was, dark skin, and she had very short hair, which which, was how I would have described myself as a 12 year old. So I thought, wow. Look at this. You know? At at West, this is someone who actually does look like me. And, and she has desires to do things outside of, outside of, her the the norm. You know? So, having having a character that that, perseveres and wants, and gets what she wants, and excels is that was that was huge for me. Oh, and, Mida, I would've totally bet money on you, going out there and just tapping on everybody. So alright. Well, we've been monitor monitoring the chat, and we have a bunch of submitted questions. So I'm going to read a couple of questions now, and I haven't have several that are specifically for each author. So of all, Meg, the question is, I loved reading your book, Mercy Suarez changes gears for battle of the books this year. Do you relate to Mercy, and why or why not? I do relate. Thank you very much. Thank you for reading it for the Battle of the Books as well. I do relate to Mercy. I I come from a Cuban family just, the way Pablo does and the way Merci and the Suarez's, do are Cuban. I think she was I that you know how she's a little sarcastic inside her own head? I am the same way. Not often coming out of my mouth, but in my mind, I'm thinking, this whole running conversation, and so I can relate to that. And just like the fact of how hard being in the grade was, fitting in with friends and, like, all the crushes that start to happen and people's relationships start to change, and it's just bananas. And so I it was a good way to go back and sort of remember that and and remember you know, imagine it inside this big Cuban family. So thanks for your question. Love that. Love that. Okay. Pablo, you write books that young people can put themselves into, like the epic sale of Arturo Zamora. Where do you get your creative inspiration? Well, it's it's I just kinda think of, like, living like, growing up, being in middle school and how awkward I you know, like, I I had these, like, like, dualities. Right? You know, like, I had, you know, I I was I was an athlete. I played sports. I had crushes, you know, you know, like, the the I was, like, the most awkward, like, dude just, like, try to, like, you know, like, I would write I I would, like, try to write these, like, like, poems, these girls that I liked, you know, but they would but I never I I like, they were so bad. You know? It was like, your eye is like the sky in July and, you know, like, you know, like, you know, it it's it was just, like, ridiculous. And and so, like but I never so I had this kind of, like, like, these things, like, toggling between, like, what what, you know, like, what I wanted to be, what kind of person I wanted to be. And so, like, when I when I set out to writing, those are the things that I started thinking about is, like like, this kinda awkwardness. You're trying to figure stuff out. You're trying to figure out who you are. And then kind of putting my my abuela at the center of everything. Because my abuela, my grandma, was, like, my person. She was, like, the one that protected me from my mom. You know, when my mom would come after me with a chancla, like, I'd be like, abuela, you know, and, like, she she would protect me. And so, like and she was my storyteller. And so, like, all my books all my books are in honor of my grandma, who I lost right before I started middle school. Mhmm. And so, like, all of them sort of, like, have a reflection of her in in all of my stories, whether they're, you know, memories or they're alive. And so, like and that's what it is. It was kinda like just, like, the the awkwardness, the heart, the the the ridiculous, you know, epic failures and, like, everything that makes up this crazy wonderful life. Yep. Mhmm. Although, like your books, you have the incredible ability to make me laugh and cry at the same time. So thank you very much for that. You're great. Thank you, Ellen. Question for Rita. We enjoyed reading One Crazy Summer last year as a family. How did you select the time period for this book? Oh, repeat, please. Oh, I'm sorry. Okay. I'm, like, staring at Rita. Repeat, please. Okay. We enjoyed reading One Crazy Summer last, last year as a family. How did you select the time period for this book? Oh, so, this is really an easy answer. Why can't I, make it make the words come out my mouth? Okay. So I am, so I was the same age as Delphine in 1968. And like the main character, I was very much interested in what was going on in the world. I read newspapers, and I watched the news, and, and I had my own opinions about things. But, even, even more so, I kept a diary, which I still have. I was looking for it. I I think my diary is embarrassed, and so it just kind of got up and walked away. Stop showing me to people. Anyway, so I had a whole lot of, I had a whole lot of material to kind of draw from. of all, just remembering what I was like at that age, so to not make her, more, more mature than and more knowledgeable than, than I believe she could be. But I really like 1968 because the, because this country was in such great flux. There was revolution and change coming from everywhere. There was women's liberation. There was because we can't, you you know, we can't always, imagine what it was like to, to go into the work workforce and have to fight for a position that you are educated for, that you are trained for. But, women were not as welcomed in the workforce. And so, and then there there was a civil rights, which was really kind of coming to a close. And so there, you had the, the Black Power movement that came and really took over and, and really pushed the agenda of of, of black communities. And so, you had the Vietnam War. There were just so much going on. And then you had you had, like, the hippies and flower power. You had, like, great music that you've never heard before. Actually, my mother ran away from home, so she could go to Monterey Pop. So that was a big music festival with all of, like imagine going to one place and seeing all of your all of your favorite, like, music acts there. You know? Well, that's what my mother did. She said, later, kids. And she went to Monterey Pop, and she saw, like, you know, like, okay. You can Google these. Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Country Joe and the Fish, you know, all of these different artists. And, we we eventually saw her, maybe a a day or so later. But those were the things that were that was going on. The music was changing, and, everything was either full of love or full of strife. But it was the the world was just changing, and, you know, and and my eyes were wide open at that time. So I figured, that would be a good time to talk about change in the world. Brilliant. That is so cool. And, basically, a small little history lesson in, like, one minute. So two minutes. Okay. So, Grace, last question for you. We are big fans of yours as Chinese Americans and love to see our culture reflected in your books. How do you come up with ideas for books, and what is your favorite Chinese food? Oh, okay. So, before I answer that question, because I was looking at the chat, and a lot of people are asking me, are there little stories in this book just like Where the Mountain Meets the Moon? So let me quickly answer that. This book is, very much like Where the Mountain, Smoothed? It has little stories mixed into to the big story. What is different, however, is Where the Mountain, Smoothed? Takes place in, like, ancient China, and this actually takes place in, like, contemporary, almost like, today time. So just answering that question in chat. Okay. Now back to your question. Sorry, Ellen. You were saying that, where do I get my ideas? Like, so I like to tell people that, I don't really get ideas. I grow ideas. So what happens is, like, I'll see something. I'll kind of plant it in my brain or plant it in my notebook and just hope given time that something will grow from it. And, that's what happened with this book. That's what happened with all of my books. Like, I'll get a little idea, and I'll just let it sit and sit, and hopefully, it grows into something. So for this book, I was visiting the Boston, and we went to the, with my daughter who at the time was four years old. And we saw the Chinatown Gate, and I was pointing out to her that, oh, do you see how the lion's in front of Chinatown Gate? One is holding a sphere, and the other is holding a lion cub. And she was four, so she went up to the lion cub, and she patted it, and she's like, oh, good puppy. And, even though it's not a puppy. I I was like, oh. And I remember thinking, oh, that that little lion cub should have an adventure of their own. And so that was kinda like one idea, and that's just one of the many that kind of grew into this book. So, that is, how I come up with my ideas. They all just kind of grow and grow and grow together. The part of your question, was it like Favorite Chinese food. Favorite Chinese food. Okay. My favorite Chinese food has got to be dumplings. I have a whole book called dumpling days. And so, I love dumplings. My favorite other soup dumplings. So I I like the old fashioned as well, which is like the potstickers. So I others I haven't really found a dumpling that I don't like yet. So, all Chinese dumplings are good. K. Now I'm hungry. But so we only have two minutes left, and I would like to ask each of you to give a very, like, important piece of advice to all the kids listening to you now. It can be writing related, or it could be whatever you would like to leave them with. Like your books, which are filled with threads of hope and kindness, I want you to leave a little message for all of them, as a takeaway from what you want your books to give to them. Mhmm. So I give you a mix. Like, you can give writing advice, or you can give a message of what they should take away from your books. One or the other, you get to pick. And I'll start with Meg. Mine is gonna be very short and sweet, which is be good to each other. That is, I think, what is underneath Graciela and the abyss and what should be inside all of you. So be good to each other and, ask yourself every day if you're being the very best person you can be. Lovely. Lovely. Pablo? Well, I guess my my my book is about life, really. And sometimes life is sad, sometimes it's scary, sometimes you're angry. And I think that if you can just take those things in and not shy away from them, like, it's okay to be angry. It's okay to be sad. It's okay to be really happy. It's okay to be afraid, and to just kind of embrace those things as as they come to you and make them yours because that's how you get to control the narrative of your story. And then just one last thing that I will leave you all with. Also, yes, graphic novels are the greatest, and also, audiobooks is not cheating. If you have if you if audiobooks is something that you feel connected to because and then you feel you think like, oh, I'm not really reading. Yes. You are. You are 100% reading. So if audiobook is your jam, like, go for it. You are reading just like everyone else. Absolutely. Grace. Okay. So, I've I've been looking at the chat, and it seems like a lot of people, like read my books, Where the Mountains to the Moon and Starry of the Sky, When the Sea Tisha Silver, and I'm so happy to see that. And one of the things that, is really important to me in my books is that, you know, I love Marvel movies. I love all the things like that, but you'll notice the characters in my books, none of them have, like, super special powers. None of them are really strong or, like, you know, they all solve their problems just using their brain. And the biggest thing is that they all just are trying really hard to do the best that they can. And I hope that when people read my books, they realize that these are the heroes of the books, and the heroes are just simply characters who are just trying their absolute best to do make the best decisions they can and do what they can to to make the world better. And so that's what I hope that my readers get from it too. Beautiful. And last, Liza, please, let's finish this up with a big bang. Okay. I don't know how much of a bang it's gonna be, but this is it. My my answer is twofold. of all, you know, well, the three sisters, they are going out into the unknown. And so that's one of the things that, and and they're experiencing new things, new people. That's one of the things that I want to leave readers with, to know that the world is a lot bigger than where you live, and that, and that you become a better citizen when you step out of where you live, and and that you see other places and see other people. And from that, you know that you can you can enjoy their otherness, but you can also see what's also in yourself, and that you will that you can be a part of something. You can be a part of something big that, has meaning to your community, to your family, to to even to the world. Think big, and don't be afraid to step out there. The the part is, getting to know someone who is hard to understand. Inch by inch, these girls, try to forge some kind of relationship or understanding with their mother, and she's not very easy. This is the way of the world. Mhmm. A lot of people that that are out in the world, you don't know, you don't understand, but inch by inch, you might see something that you can connect with. And that's what I want, us to think about, that we can step outside of ourselves into another, you know, into another world, into another experience, and just to see and to understand that we're all a part of this great big picture and that we don't have to tear each other down in order in in order to exist. So, treat each other with kindness, be curious, and just know that it's not easy to get to know people. It's very it's inch by inch. Beautiful. Thank you so much. Thank you so much to everybody. This has been so fabulous, and I'm now gonna bring Andrea back to close us up for the evening. Thank you. Wow. Thank you so much, Ellen. What an amazing event. What a fabulous conversation. Thank you so much to our authors and everyone who joined us for this inspiring evening. If you missed any part of tonight's event or you wanna share it with a friend, you'll receive an email with a link to watch the recording. It will also be posted to YouTube. And you can get our book list at the link we shared earlier tonight. It's theweekjunior.com/summerofreading. You can also use that link to enter our summer of reading challenge for a chance to win a copy of each of the fantastic new books that were discussed tonight. On behalf of the entire team at The Week Junior, I wish you all a wonderful book filled summer.