Southeast Asia’s literature is as rich and diverse as the region itself, but unfortunately, there’s still a dearth of books for children by Southeast Asian authors translated into English. Even when they are written in English by Southeast Asian writers, such as the books by Singaporean Shamini Flint and Malaysian Margaret Lim, they rarely find their way into the US or other English-speaking countries. It’s fairly easy to find factual books or folktale retellings, but the majority of the books in English related to the region are written by European or American authors.

PaperTigers this week joins many other bloggers on a virtual tour of children’s literature from/about Southeast Asia by pointing readers to reviews and blog posts written by our team:

Former PaperTigers blog contributor Janet Brown has looked closely at the book Happiness of Kati, by Thai writer Jane Vejjajiva. Aimed at 12+ year-olds, the book was the first children’s book to win the S.E.A. Write Award, given to the best literature by Southeast Asians. Read Janet’s three posts about the book (1, 2, 3), as she gets deeper into this beautifully layered story of a Thai girl and her family. And for an interesting look at the world of children’s books in Thailand, read the transcript of a paper by Jane Vejjajiva, presented at the IBBY Congress, in 2008.

Reviewed by Charlotte, The Killing Sea (Simon & Schuster) by lifelong Bali resident Richard Lewis is a fictionalized account of the impact of the 2004 Tsunami in Aceh, Indonesia, particularly on the lives of two teenagers caught up in the tragedy. Lewis’ The Flame Tree, also set in Indonesia in post 9/11, is another important title, as it helps dispel stereotypes, especially common since then, about the Islamic world.

The Bee Tree, written by Stephen Buchmann and Diana Cohn, illustrated by Paul Mirocha (Cinco Puntos), is a coming-of-age story that blends “myth, geography, and harvest and Islamic rituals to create a rich tapestry of multicultural experiences”.

The round-up of the Southeast Asia blog tour, with links to all participating posts, will be posted at Chasing Ray on Wednesday, August 12th (which means bloggers still have time to send in their posts!). We are looking forward to finding out what others have contributed to the feast!

“What do you all say to the idea of some sort of international campaign to encourage reading aloud to kids? A campaign for literacy, if you will, but one focused specifically on the benefits of parents and teachers reading aloud to kids.”

These are the words of Jen Robinson, from Jen Robinson’s Book Page, that I just read about five seconds ago and had to quote immediately. Please go to her blog and read this post for yourself–right now. Then let’s start talking about how this important work can begin.

This is the right time. In the United States, my home country, we have a president with two young daughters. In Thailand, my country of residence, we have a Prime Minister whose sister wrote the international best-selling children’s book, The Happiness of Kati. And in your corner of the world?

I’m sure there are events happening all over the globe that point to the Year of the Ox launching the Era of Reading Aloud to Children–let’s talk about this. Let’s make this happen.

We have deeply enjoyed hosting the Tiger’s Choice, the PaperTigers’ online bookgroup, over the past year–it introduced us to a number of interesting books, a group of authors whom we hadn’t read before, and a collection of new friends from around the globe who joined in our discussions.

Nancy Farmer, Uma Krishnaswami, Ken Mochizuki, Minfong Ho, Jane Vejjajiva, Julia Alvarez, John Boyne,  Katia Novet Saint-Lot are all authors whom we plan to return to again and again for reading that expands our cultural horizons. As their body of work increases, the Tiger’s Bookshelf will be there–to read, to praise, to cheer them on.

We will however be doing this in another form rather than through the Tiger’s Choice. As exciting and rewarding as it has been to explore books through this avenue, we have new plans for the Tiger’s Bookshelf that do not include our bookgroup. We thank all of you who have read this portion of our blog, and who have joined in the discussions, and hope that you will continue to be part of the ongoing conversation that will take place on the PaperTigers Blog, and through the Tiger’s Bookshelf!

As I finish my preparations to return to Bangkok, I find myself thinking about this month’s Tiger’s Choice. The Happiness of Kati depicts a lifestyle that I have never seen in Thailand, and I find myself wondering if it is a realistic depiction.

Kati and her grandparents live as people in Thailand have for centuries–up until the present day. Their world is clean and quiet and filled with the blessings of nature. When Kati and her grandfather go out in their boat, they row through unpolluted waterways that Kati can dabble her toes in after she and her grandfather finish their picnic lunch. They live in a world untarnished by satellite dishes, cable TV, or mobile phones. There’s not a fast food venue or a 7/11 convenience store in sight. It is a world of the past that all Thai people yearn to return to, and it is portrayed in loving and idealized detail in Jane Vejjajiva’s novel.

And yet within this ideal world, harsh truths intrude and are handled fearlessly. Death, disease, desertion–these are examined carefully and unshrinkingly, through the eyes of a little girl and the family who loves her. It is the softened world that Kati lives in that makes it possible to look at grief and loss with a feeling of acceptance and hope. And it is the well-constructed characters who take life within a matter of sentences who take this book well beyond the realm of moral instruction into the enduring community of classic children’s literature.

When Jane Vejjajiva won the S.E.A. Write Award for The Happiness of Kati, it was quite a bit as though J.K. Rowling had won the Man Booker Prize for Harry Potter. This is a highly prestigious award given for extraordinary literature written in Southeast Asia, and it isn’t usually bestowed upon a children’s book.

And yet this isn’t a book that is read exclusively by children. I received it as a Christmas gift from my good friend Yui, who is younger than I am but is certainly no longer a child. We both count it as one of our favorite books–and here are some reasons why.

From the opening sentences of this book, Kati’s life is described simply and yet in wonderful detail. Her grandparents, her school, her chores, her meals are all real to the reader well before the first twenty pages have been devoured. And yet, a sadness is slowly delineated in every chapter subheading–Kati’s absent mother takes on a phantom’s shape long before Kati is taken to be with her.

It is here that this book blossoms into a strength and beauty rarely found in a children’s novel. Kati’s time with her mother is brief, but their relationship has depth, sweetness, and a life of its own. The importance of family within Thai culture is made beautifully clear, and the respect given to a child’s decision offers an ethical guideline without moralizing.

Best of all–for me at least–is the masterful depiction of each person in this story. With a minimum of description, Jane Vejjajiva makes every one of her characters come to life, fully equipped to live on in the imaginations of those who savor this book.

If you agree–or perhaps disagree–please let us hear your comments before our final discussion next week.

Books that tell me what people wear, what they eat, and how they spend their time have delighted me since I first began to read, so perhaps this is why I love The Happiness of Kati. Like The Wind in the Willows and The Little House in the Big Woods, this small novel about a small Thai girl and her family has enlarged my world by describing a different way of living.

And yet in the descriptions of a rural Thai childhood, there are hints given at the beginning of each chapter that there is a sorrowful mystery at the heart of Kati’s seemingly idyllic life, and when that mystery is divulged, the story carries the weight of loss and sorrow.

As the jacket flap informs readers, Jane Vejjajiva is the daughter of a doctor who researches Lou Gehrig’s disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), and this knowledge informs much of her story. In addition to this, Jane Vejjajiva was born with cerebral palsy, building a career as a writer, translator and publisher, traveling and studying abroad, and living a life filled with accomplishment and challenges. When she writes about disease and disability, she is well acquainted with these subjects, and depicts them without sentimemtality or mawkishness.

I am always struck when I read this book by the sensitive and skillful treatment of themes not usually found in middle-grade fiction in the United States. What do you think? Is this a book you would share with your child, your classroom? Tell us why–or why not!

This month on PaperTigers, the question was posed, “And what better way to become globally literate than by exploring stories set in different cultures, whether next door or on the other side of the globe?”

This is a haunting question, especially when considered with the remarks made earlier this year by writer Lara Saguisag.

She pointed out that books written for children contain the values of the culture in which they were written, and that these books are often viewed through the prism of Western values and Western cultural norms.

Our current Tiger’s Choice, The Happiness of Kati, was rejected by a smart champion of middle-grade fiction because, she said, “It just didn’t grab me.” Her remark made me wonder how many books are cast aside because the unfamiliar cultural values made the characters seem too simplistic and the story too laden with a moral message that in American culture seems too heavy-handed.

If we in the world are going to understand each other, then we must do our very best to understand our different cultural values–and what better way to do that then through literature? And what better time to do that than in childhood?

Children need books that are windows and books that are mirrors, as Patsy Aldana was quoted as saying in a recent PaperTigers post. It would be a great mistake to dismiss a book because its cultural values are distant from our own. The adventure promised by reading is not only that of enjoying the delights of a well-told story, but also of increasing our empathy and understanding, as our world draws closer together and becomes more intimately acquainted through the pages of a book.

Nine-year-old Kati lives an idyllic life in rural Thailand, cherished by her grandparents, surrounded by people who care about her, a modern girl whose days are shaped by customs that are steeped in tradition. Her world is secure and she is happy, except for the nights when storms blow in, lightning fills the sky and following the rumbles of thunder, Kati can hear cries of “heart-stopping despair” mingled with the sound of the rain.

Nothing in her life has ever been tinged with the sadness Kati hears in these cries–or has it? Is her imagination playing tricks on her or are these sounds emerging from forgotten memories? When Kati discovers the answer to these questions, she also discovers joy and the true meaning of family, as well as grief that few girls her age have to face.

In this slender little book, Jane Vejjajiva illuminates another culture while exploring the universality of love and loss. The 2006 winner of Thailand’s S.E.A. Write Award that is given annually for outstanding Southeast Asian literature, this is a novel that celebrates life’s everyday pleasures as thoroughly as it examines some of its deepest questions.

Please join us in reading and discussing The Happiness of Kati.