As managing editor of the PaperTigers website, I should start my journey into bloghood by expressing infinite amounts of gratitude and appreciation to all writers, illustrators, publishers, librarians, teachers, parents, readers, bloggers: all weavers of the essential threads in the colorful quilt of children’s and young adult literature. We couldn’t have a thriving kidlit and ya lit scene if it weren’t for all their–and your!–contributions.

This reminds me of the ‘Stone Soup’ tale… Whatever the version, we all know the idea behind it: stones make good soup, but carrots and potatoes make it so much better! Jon J. Muth’s retelling, set in China, is my all-time favorite. Muth says of his work as a writer/illustrator: “I am interested in that ‘third thing’ that happens when you connect words and pictures.” So here is where I put my stone into the pot, interested in that ‘third thing’ that happens when you add your offerings to it… Welcome to the melting pot (or should I say “posts”?). May our shared meal prove to be enjoyable.

In Amelia Lau Carling’s Sawdust Carpets, a Chinese-Latino family drives to visit their (also Chinese) relatives in Antigua, Guatemala, where a little cousin will be baptized during Holy Week, and where Quan Yin and the Virgin share space on the family altar, “like friends.” Carling illustrates her own texts, bringing this Chinese family’s life as Guatemalans vividly to the reader in softer pastels than we usually see in stories set in tropical countries. The reference in the title is to a tradition shared by cultures around the world: making art that is destroyed in the process of an annual celebration. Carling’s young characters learn a deep lesson in observing their carpets trampled upon. And Chinese tamales? That’s how this multicultural family refers to the rice dumplings, wrapped in bamboo or lotus leaves, that they made back in China. The comparison is an imaginative stretch, unless you grew up, as Carling did, “learning about Chinese, Mayan and Spanish cultures.”

PaperTigers is all about such imaginative stretches. The blog stretches the website’s field of interest to include all multicultural children’s books in English. Our topics will evolve as we explore. For today, Chinese tamales are our motif for reflection.

Picture the ideal, smooth-running bedtime where the children come when they’re called, vacate the bathroom efficiently and, all clean and rosy, snuggle down for a bedtime story. Now picture the other side of the coin where, yes, they emerge all clean and rosy but the bathroom floor is awash and Mum (that’s me!) is sounding more and more like Horrid Henry’s mother and follows the marauding pirates (or whatever else it is they’ve chosen to be that evening) through to their bedroom with nerves jangling and a keen desire to volunteer to walk the plank… and then all snuggle down for a bedtime story. In our household, bedtimes vacillate between the two scenarios and are usually somewhere in between – but the final outcome is always the same and we do always snuggle down for a story. In fact, my two now can’t get to sleep without one – and it’s our special time at the end of a busy day when we can journey together into someone else’s world.

We’ve just read a lovely book called The Elephant’s Pillow by Diana Reynolds, illustrated by Jude Daly (Frances Lincoln, 2004) which went down a treat all round – with me too (I love elephants): lively, colorful illustrations and an imagination-catching story about generosity and kindness. There are lots of children’s stories around that end with the main characters going to sleep – and if that subliminal message is needed at the end of the day, this title can be recommended! It was actually told to the author as a bedtime story by her father “after his travels in the East”, so is serendipitously fitting for my first entry here for PaperTigers’ Books at Bedtime.

So what about you – what’s your family’s favorite story at the moment? What do your children love listening to? We’d love to hear from you…

As MC for this blog (your Master of the Calendar, without ceremony) I would like to welcome and nudge you toward our calendar of children’s book-related events. Please join us as we hop and skip around the world. From the United Sates to Canada to New Zealand to the Philippines, there are lots of events to attend, vicariously enjoy, or simply be inspired by… so click away and click often! Tips and word-spreading welcome.