I have long been a fan of the writing duo (and twin sisters) Ming and Wah Chen and their pal, the illustrator Mariko Jesse. Their first children's book, Sasparilla's New Shoes, is still a favourite in my house since it was published eight years ago (my daughters are now six and eight years old). I had heard that they had big plans for Sasparilla -- a series of books about this smart and spunky "girl-power" girl -- and I was waiting to see the results in print. But such are the vagaries of the publishing world (especially when you are based in Hong Kong): their US publisher went out of business a while back, and it was back to the slush piles of New York City publishing houses for Ming, Wah and Mariko.

So I was very please to discover that they had recently launched another children's story, Ling Ling Looked in the Mirror, with a Hong Kong publisher, and with deserved support from the Hong Kong Arts Development Council. Having read Ling Ling's story and seen Mariko's vibrant and quirky illustrations, I have a hunch that here is a version of one of their Sasparilla sequels. The spunky Sasparilla has been resurrected in the form of smart and sassy Ling Ling, especially written and illustrated with Asian readers in mind.

Ling Ling Looked in the Mirror is the story of a feisty girl who knows she can be anything she wants to be. The artwork on each page pops out at you, and the text delights with rhyme and rhythm. The actual language content provides a great lexical set (that's learning parlance for a group of like objects, such as colours and shapes). This story provides a lexical set of occupations, but in this case everything is a step up from the basics, and is not your tired old list of nurses and teachers ... Why be a doctor when you can be marine biologist? Why be a waiter when you can be mechanic? Beekeeper... paleontologist... It's so refreshing -- and just what we need… to show our kids, at a very young age, that they have options! All kinds of options! And that there is no point limiting yourself! THINK BIG AND WIDE!

You and your child will enjoy repeated flips through Ling Ling Looked in the Mirror-- and check out Sasparilla's New Shoes if you are lucky enough to find it. These are both "hidden gems" from authors who gave up the wait for a callback from a multinational publisher... Too bad... for everyone else, that is.

Karmel Schreyer
15 April 2008

Karmel Schreyer writes educational materials for Asian children and is the author of the young-adult novels, Naomi: The Strawberry Blonde of Pippu Town and A Singing Bird Will Come: Naomi in Hong Kong.