Teacher Sees Lack of Asian American Authors in Children’s Books, Finds Genius Solution

Like a real-life Pepper Zhang, Angel Halo Chang celebrates her eccentricity. As a child, she preferred playing with a large cardboard box instead of dolls, collected cartoon lunch tins to use as purses, brought jump rope to play double dutch during the last month before high school graduation, and was even crowned Miss Congeniality in Miss Asian America Pageant 2009. Her imagination is as limitless as her ability to find inspiration in the everyday – which, perhaps not surprisingly, made her perfectly suited to write children’s books.

“I like books with pictures, so I made my own,” Chang says. “I’ve always thought of myself as a creative person, but I lacked formal skills training. So when I didn’t fit the qualifications for a creative job, I made my own role: Head of Storytelling.”

The 1st generation Chinese-American found her calling on a whim. “On December 2016, I was looking for a new side project and came across #The100DayProject, a commitment to practicing creativity for 100 days. I decided to create children’s books, because it combined my interest in illustration and my background teaching young children. 120 days later, I completed my 1st official collection with four books.”

And so, the Head of Storytelling created four books based off her life experiences and moments of inspiration (source: Kickstarter):

 

“My 1st book, Siris the Rhino, is about a green rhino who needs help seeing clearly. Siris (rhymes with “iris”) meets a friendly kiwi bird who gladly helps Siris and the rest of his family see better. (Fact: Rhinos and kiwi birds can’t see very well in real life.) It’s a delightful story that appreciates eye care professionals and befriends anyone who needs a glasses-wearing friend.”

 

“My 2nd book, Wedding Planning Galore, tells the silly story of a bride’s plan for an elaborate wedding until the groom thinks otherwise. Having planned my own wedding and formerly obsessed to become a wedding planner, I’m fully aware how indulgent weddings can be. I wrote this book to share that while it’s great to celebrate love, don’t forget that it’s the marriage and not the wedding that counts. Great to share with young readers and newlywed couples to-be!”

 

“My 3rd book, Today’s Lesson, imagines life as a Pre-K teacher to…Ronald K. Crump. It’s inspired by my Pre-K teaching experience, and I recount the popular misbehaviors of our Commander in Chief to that of a child. I highlight why it’s important to teach respect at an early age, so “Today’s Lesson” should really be an everyday lesson. Great for families with young children (and anti-Trump friends)!”

 

Chang’s campaign quickly became a Kickstarter “project we love” and has raised nearly 80% of its goal with one week left. Chang also promises to donate $1 per book to one of her favorite education charities, DonorsChoose.org.

Chang also notes that part of her inspiration for writing books comes from her desire to add her voice to a seemingly homogeneous pool of children’s book authors. “I asked peers to name 3 of their favorite children’s book authors without Googling. The answers spanned authors of children’s books and chapter books, and most authors they named were older, white, and/or male. (In fact, my favorite children’s book authors are Dr. Seuss, Shel Silverstein, and Eric Carle.) I’m hoping to make a presence as both a female and Asian-American children’s book author-illustrator. I was sad when I noticed the difference between me and a lot of my favorite and more well-known storytellers.”

Most importantly though, Chang just wants others to share the same love of life that seems to come so easily for her. “The reading level for my books is suitable for children between 6-9 years old, but truly I write to entertain friends young and old. I believe children’s books should be more inclusive and be called ‘everyone’s books.‘”