And finally, knowing both of these things, I hope students will come away with a renewed determination to create a world where every person is valued and treated with dignity. #ncte #orbispictus #picturebooks

First, that all humans are individuals with inherent value, with hopes, dreams, and lives they wish to live. Second, that humans from all walks of life are sadly capable of cruelty and evil under the right circumstances. (Hopefully not every single person, but more than we'd hope.)

Because this award is given my educators and focused on books that can be used in schools, I've been thinking about the takeaways that I'd like for students to get from Dreams to Ashes. And I think the message that I arrive at comes in three parts.

Writing and researching it over the past 6 years has been painful at times but also incredibly meaningful. I can’t wait to share this book of my heart, and my middle grade debut, with all of you. #bookstagram #taiwan #middlegradebooks

A huge thank you CRA and the Eureka award committee. #picturebooks #losangeleschinatownmassacre #dreamstoashes

A heartfelt thank you to all the organizers of this event. #chineseamericanhistory #camla #chineseamerican

To me, this is all the more reason we need to keep telling these stories, past and present. If we, as a country, have fallen short of its ideals, it would be disastrous to look away. Change is only found when we meet the ugliness head on.

it makes sense that those in power would want us to forget the ugliness in our nation’s past as well. “Keep looking the other direction. We are not racist. We are still the land of the free and the home of the brave.”

Indeed, in a time when people of color, even legal residents and citizens, are being detained and deported with little regard for their rights, and when the administration blatantly ignores court orders requiring due process,

One speaker said that stories like these are the ones that our country’s leadership would like us not to tell, and that has stuck with me.

Thanks to Julia again for tracking down this fascinating tidbit of Asian American history, and I'm thrilled to share this story with you in 2027.