National Grandparents Day is observed annually on the first Sunday after Labor Day. What better way to celebrate than to share intergenerational picture books with the grand people in our lives? There are many wonderful picture books that feature the special relationship between children and their elders. Some of my favorite ones published in the past few years include “Broken,” written and illustrated by X. Fang, “Gaga Mistake Day,” written by Emma Straub and illustrated by Jessica Love, “Ritu In the Sun,” written by Moniza Hossain and illustrated by Mercè López Arnabat, “The Sweetest of Lemons,” written by Daniel Nayeri and illustrated by Rahele Jomepour Bell, and most recently the forthcoming “Habbi’s Treasures,” written by Yoojin Grace Wuertz and illustrated by Dung Ho.
Author Yoojin Grace Wuertz lives in Princeton with her family and will appear at the library on Sunday, Sept. 13, this year’s National Grandparents Day, for a special storytime featuring a reading of “Habbi’s Treasures.” Having previously written the acclaimed novel for adults, “Everything Belongs To Us,” Ms. Wuertz makes her picture book debut with “Habbi’s Treasures.” In anticipation of her storytime event, I asked her about writing her first book for children and its inspiration.
Q. You’ve written previously for adults. How was the experience of collaborating with an illustrator on a children’s picture book for the first time?
A. Working on “Habbi’s Treasures” with New York Times bestselling illustrator Dung Ho and the team at Rise x Penguin Workshop was a dream collaboration. Since this was my first picture book, I was eager to learn about each step, and the discovery process did not disappoint! The art department works with the illustrator to create rounds of character sketches, illustration drafts, color drafts and so on. Being behind the scenes was so much fun, and the amount of editorial intention that goes into each step was impressive.
Dung poured so much care and cultural detail into her illustrations; I’m in awe of how much history, emotion and movement she captured on each page. And I learned so much working with my editor, Nicole Fox, and art director, Mary Claire Cruz. Their deep respect and ambitious vision for young readers makes me feel very hopeful about the future of books and early literacy.
Q. In “Habbi’s Treasures,” a young boy, Caleb, discovers a box full of his grandfather’s old clothes. His grandfather says that they may look like old clothes, but they are really stories. Does your family have a “clothing story” that inspired writing this book?
A. “Habbi’s Treasures” was inspired by a conversation I overheard between my son when he was six, and my dad whom my kids call “Habbi.” Habbi is a nickname that’s a shortened version of “Halabeoji,” grandfather in Korean. I had just asked my son to try on some back-to-school clothes to make sure they fit, but he was playing with Habbi and wasn’t interested in the clothes. To try to convince him, my dad said, “You’re so lucky, Emmett! When I was young I didn’t have all these new clothes. Actually I had one pair of pants—my school uniform—and that’s what I wore every day.”
Q. Do you have a favorite memory from your childhood about a grandparent (or another member of your family from an older generation)?
A. I was lucky to spend a lot of time with my grandparents when I was very young. Until my family moved from Seoul to New Jersey when I was six, I lived in an intergenerational household with my paternal grandparents, parents, younger brother and my youngest uncle, who was not married at the time. I remember the storytelling—my extended family are a loud, boisterous bunch who love to talk, eat and plan our next meals while we’re still eating.
My childhood food memories are visceral enough that when I was in Seoul this summer, I tried an artisanal gelato in a misugaru (roasted grains) flavor that was so reminiscent of the drink my grandmother used to make me that it brought tears to my eyes. Since then, my six-year-old daughter likes to periodically troll me about the time I cried in the ice cream shop because I was waxing nostalgic about the “flavor of my childhood.” My childhood was indeed flavorful!
Storytime with Yoojin Grace Wuertz on this year’s National Grandparents Day will also include book sales provided by our partner, Labyrinth Books, and a book signing by the author. Following the storytime, attendees are invited to participate in a scavenger hunt on the third floor, searching for Habbi’s treasures. There will also be a simple craft activity for children to create a home-made gift for a grandparent or another special elder in their life. For more details, visit the library’s online calendar.
For more intergenerational picture books, as well as grandparent-themed songs, rhymes and activities, check out the library’s Storytime At Home: Grandparents resource.
Image credit: Dung Ho, from “Habbi’s Treasures” (Rise X Penguin Workshop)