Children's Books nominated for Minnesota Book Award
Minnesota Book Awards finalists include four books in the Children’s Literature category. Here’s what the authors and illustrators have to say about the inspiration behind their works, and their hopes for the children and families who read them.
A Different Pond – written by Bao Phi, illustrated by Thi Bui
Written as a first-person narrative, Phi tells the story of himself as a young boy going fishing with his father from a pond in Minneapolis for food. It was during these times when his father told him stories about a pond from their homeland of Vietnam.
A Different Pond written Bao Phi, illustrated by Thi Bui
What inspired you to write this book?
Phi: I’m a father now and I’ve been reading books to my daughter since she was a baby. I really wanted her to have an Asian-American refugee story. Not just for her, but for her friends and other kids.
How much of this story is based on true events?
Phi: It’s very loosely based on my childhood. As a kid, I was much less enthusiastic waking up when the sun had not come up to go fishing in the dark.
What is the significance of fishing for food in this book?
Phi: Very seldom do we talk about it as a form of sustenance. You seldom see stories about Vietnamese refugee kids and you seldom see stories about fishing for food, and I guess with every writer, the question becomes what story do you have to tell.
What do you hope young readers will take away?
Phi: The importance of family and struggle and also the importance of telling your story. I truly believe that there are so many stories to hear and read in the world. I just want to add to it.
Mighty Moby – written and illustrated by Ed Young, co-written by Barbara DaCosta
This classic tale by Melville gets a new twist and appeals to both children and adults alike. Captain Ahab and Moby find themselves engaged in a battle, but things may not always be as they appear as readers find out at the end of this gripping story.
Did you set out to rewrite the story of Moby Dick?
Young: Well, I have not even read Moby Dick myself. I just know the story, and I’ve seen many films on it. But it happened to be Barbara DaCosta’s favorite novel. She researched beyond what she already knew, as well.
Children's Book "Mighty Moby"
Why do you think it’s important for young readers to be familiar with classic literature?
DaCosta: Moby Dick is so thoroughly part of American culture that we’re all familiar with Moby and Ahab even if we haven’t read the book. Part of that is because of the movie, which is also just a classic in itself. These stories, I think, touch us on some kind of emotional level … There’s something about classics that transcends the everyday.
What do you hope young readers will take away?
Young: This particular story does not really have a moral to it. It’s just pure fun. I think that for young readers, their job is having fun. And my advice for the parents is to encourage children to have their own time for imagination.
DaCosta: I think there’s a couple things. One is the people reading to the kids, I’m finding it’s stimulating them to read Moby Dick if they haven’t or to go back and read it again. For little kids hearing this story, my hope is that when they get to be high school or college age, they’ll look forward to reading Moby Dick instead of being afraid of it.
Round – written by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Taeeun Yoo
This poetic book explores all things round with imagery of seeds, flowers, rocks, and everything circular in shape. Aimed at young kids who are just starting to explore the world, it teaches them to watch for this shape as they go about their own day, just like the girl in the story.
Photo courtesy of Joyce Sidman
Local author Joyce Sidman's latest book, Round
How did you come up with the idea for this book?
Sidman: I’ve always loved round things; I love full moons and bubbles and planets and water drops. So I was interested not only about why we humans loves that perfect shape of a sphere but also why it might crop up in nature over and over again. Why it’s a successful shape in nature.
What do you think is the importance of round shapes in nature?
Sidman: Well, I think it’s got a lot of different things going for it … For a lot of different physics reasons and also reasons of success in the Darwinian sense of seeds being scattered and stuff like that, it’s an important shape. And I think for us as humans, the reason we love it is that the sun and the moon are round and the faces we see everyday—the eyes and the face as a whole—are a round shape and we naturally seek that out.
What do you hope young readers will take away?
Sidman: I think it’s important for kids to really watch the real world around them and notice things in it. And that’s what I’m always hoping will happen after kids read my book, that they will become watchers and observers and noticers of the world around them.
The Shape of the World: A Portrait of Frank Lloyd Wright – written by K.L. Going, illustrated by Lauren Stringer
Written as a colorful biography of Frank Lloyd Wright’s life, this book shares how he viewed the world as an artist in a way that young kids can easily understand.
The Shape of the World Children's Book
What inspired you to write a biography about Frank Lloyd Wright for kids?
Going: My dad has always just loved the work of Frank Lloyd Wright. He is a biologist and he has always appreciated the way his architecture really just makes the natural world shine, so I was inspired by my dad’s love of his work. The book is dedicated to my father.
Why do you think it’s important for children to read nonfiction?
Going: For one thing, I think nonfiction really interests children, and I think it’s great to give kids things that are of high interest. I also really love the idea that teachers can use a book in their classrooms as part of their curriculum. Finally, I really like the idea of showing kids the way different kids see the world, and especially great artists, because I think that will inspire them to want to do that themselves.
What do you hope young readers will take away?
Going: I hope that they will be inspired to see the world around them—the natural world—in a different way, so that they’ll see it through a new lens. I hope that they might become inspired to, first of all, know what an architect does and maybe some child will be inspired to make that their life career.
The Minnesota Book Awards will be held on Saturday, April 21 at InterContinental Saint Paul Riverfront.
