A story about the power of sharing memories-including the painful ones-and the way our heritage stays with and shapes us, even when we don't see it.
While driving through Ohio in an old Pontiac, a young girl's Chinese immigrant parents spot watercress growing wild in a ditch by the side of the road. They stop the car, grabbing rusty scissors and an old paper bag, and the whole family wades into the mud to gather as much as they can. At first, she's embarrassed. Why can't her family just get food from the grocery store, like everyone else? But when her mother shares a bittersweet story of her family history in China, the girl learns to appreciate the fresh food they foraged-and the memories left behind in pursuit of a new life.Together, they make a new memory of watercress.Author Andrea Wang calls this moving, autobiographical story "both an apology and a love letter to my parents." It's a bittersweet, delicate look at how sharing the difficult parts of our histories can create powerful new moments of family history, and help connect us to our roots.
Muon Thi Van is the author of many acclaimed picture books. From her debut, In a Village by the Sea (2015), to her latest, If You Want to Be a Butterfly (2023), her books have earned many distinctions, including a California Book Award, an Irma Black Honor, and a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. Her recent book Wishes, with Victo Ngai, received the Margaret Wise Brown Prize and was named the #1 Best Picture Book of 2021 by BookPage. Her books have been translated into multiple languages, including Vietnamese, Nepali, Sepedi, and Tamil. Muon Thi Van lives and works in California.
Victo Ngai is a Forbes 30 Under 30 (Art and Style) honoree and Society of Illustrators New York Gold Medalist. She provides illustrations for newspaper and magazines such as the New York Times and the New Yorker; creates storyboards and art for animations with studios like NBC and Dreamworks; and makes books for publishers such as Scholastic, Penguin Random House, and Simon & Schuster. She lives in Los Angeles. Visit Victo at victo-ngai.com.
