Recap - September 2024
Coughs, a lot of coughs and some dim sum and flies
Argh! What a month! I spend a half of this month in my bed due to coughs that seemed to never go away. Luckily, the timing couldn’t be better. No promo event was scheduled this month and my current book project was put on hold due to some delays from the publisher’s end (they pushed back the deadlines so it’s all OK). So I was pretty much unproductive except binging all 12 seasons of Trial and Retribution… Since there’s not much to report (unless you’d like to hear about T&R), I thought I’d share some books I read this months.
But first…
BBC 500 Words creative writing competition has returned for children across the UK! Just in case you haven’t heard of it, the competition is open to ages 5-7 years and 8-11 years. 50 finalists will be invited to go to a glamorous grand final at Buckingham Palace in February next year, where three winners in each category will have their stories read out by celebrities. Also, the winning stories will be illustrated by children’s illustrators, framed, and put into a 500 Words winners' book. AND one the illustrators is…ME!
When I said yes to this amazing opportunity, I didn’t know who the other illustrators would be, but I found it out when they announced the competition last week. They are Dapo Adeola, Rob Biddulph, Yasmeen Ismail, Lydia Monks and Nigel Parkinson…. My first thought was “You’ve got to be kidding me…” My imposter syndrome instantly flared up. I felt slightly nauseating. But I’ll ignore how big and famous the others are and just do my utmost best to illustrate one of the winning stories and make the author happy.
So, if you know any budding writers aged 5-11, get them enter the competition! The competition closes on Friday 8 November 2024 at 9pm. For further details, visit the BBC 500 Words website for everything you need to know about the BBC 500 Words competition for 2024/25.
OK…let’s talk about books.
History of Information by Chris Haughton (DK Books)
When my throat began to itching (not coughing at this point), I made a bad decision to attend Chris Haughton’s book launch party for this brilliant book. I couldn’t resist. The party was packed and buzzing. By the end of the night, my throat gave up… But it was worth it. I love history, and modern information technologies such as AI and misinformation are one of my biggest interests/concerns at the moment. The hefty book is Chris’ passion project (it took him 17 years!) and it’s packed with interesting information about information and communication, and as you can imagine from Chris, every single page is gorgeously illustrated with his signature style.
Lord of the Flies by William Golding, adapted and illustrated by Aimée de Jongh (Faber)
I confess. I know the original novel is a classic but I haven’t read the book; I haven’t even watched the famous film adaptation. I feel you need to be in a certain mood to face the daunting story and I’ve never been brave enough to pick up the book. But I saw this beautiful graphic novel adaptation in a children’s bookshop. I thought it might be manageable. And I was right. The beautiful, cinematic and brilliantly executed illustrations instantly drew me in and never let me go. I devoured the whole book in one sitting. Don’t get me wrong. Although this graphic novel is catered for YA, it’s still dark and pretty graphic. But I think this is a genius way to introduce challenging books like Lord of the Flies to young readers. This also renewed my admiration for graphic novel/comic illustrators.
Dim Sum Palace by X. Fang (Pushkin Children’s)
In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak (PRH Children's UK)
September happened to be the East & South East Asian Heritage month, and I finally got well enough just in time for the East & South East Asian Literary Festival hosted at Foyle’s flagship store on Charing Cross Road. All the talks by Asian authors I went to hear were so interesting and inspiring. It was also great to see the room packed with not just Asian but diverse audience. I thought hosting a book festival in a bookshop was clever and cunning. Naturally I didn’t come out the place empty handed. The festival definitely gave an Asia fever and I bought Elsewhere by Yan Ge and Butter by Asako Yuzuki.
Also, although the festival mainly focused on adult books, it reminded me of a book on my wish list - Dim Sum Palace by X. Fang. I bought a copy of the book as well as the book that had inspired Dim Sum Palace - Maurice Sendak’s classic, In the Night Kitchen. (Watch X. Fang taking about how In the Night Kitchen inspired her book.)
Like In the Night Kitchen, Dim Sum Palace is about a food-filled, bizarre adventure the main character has in her dream. In this book, Liddy and her family are going to a dim sum restaurant called Dim Sum Palace on the following day. She has never been there and she is obsessed with the place and she dreams about it. She is even turned into a dumpling in the dream.
By the way, did you know that In the Night Kitchen has been on lists of challenged or banned books in the US since its release due to the nudity and alleged sexual innuendo? I think some people read into things a little too much. I love the simplicity of both stories. To me, they are simply about our obsession and love for food and bizarre and imaginative nature of dreams. If you like dim sum, you will love this book.
The Truth about Max by Alice & Martin Provensen (Enchanted Lion Books)
Veronica by Roger Duvoisin (Bodeleian Library)
I was ill and my will power was low. When I got a discount code, I couldn’t stop myself from buying more books… So I bought books by my favourite mid-century illustrators. I just say both books are charming. What gems!
That’s it for this month. I definitely blew my monthly book budget this month. Probably I need to go to an AA meeting for book addicts. See you next month unless I bump into you at the AA (or BA?) meeting.
Momo x
UPCOMING EVENTS
Guest Talk at CLPE - October 3, 2024
I’ll be talking about my journey as an author-illustrator and my illustration process at CLPE London HQ as a guest author as a part of their Power of Reading training course for educators.
Shop Event at Nomad Books - October 12, 2024 11:00 am
I’ll be reading from my new book, Pearl and her Bunch, and running craft activities. Have a go at creating your very own fruit and veg family portraits! Age 4 plus.