GENRE: **Diverse, Character Driven
WORDS: 492
Query:
Dear Agents and Editors,
Thank you for taking the time to read Words As Wings, a 492-word picture book.
Owning no books and without a library, a four-year-old Chinese girl is desperate to learn to read and write to stay in touch with her cousin. Word cards made by her dad help her appreciate the power of words, giving her wings to connect to her cousin far away.
Like My Papi Has a Motorcycle by Isabel Quintero and Zeke Pena, and A Different Pond by Phi Bao, Bui Thi, Words As Wings celebrates a special bonding of a father and his child, as well as their unique cultures.
This story is based on a fond memory of my father, my first teacher. Growing up in a small town in China without a single library, I never saw a picture book until I was in grammar school. I learned to read from my father’s handmade word cards. This is truly a story from my heart.
I grew up in China. As a former engineer and a mother of three, I love to share China’s rich cultural heritage and my STEM knowledge with young readers. When I’m not writing, I love attending to my garden, hiking, and shooting my next special photograph.
My publishing credentials include: Grace Lee Boggs – Gardens of Hope (Albert Whitman & Co., March 2025), Our World: China (Barefoot Books, 2023), Tu Youyou’s Discovery: Finding a Cure for Malaria (Albert Whitman & Co., 2021), Cao Chong Weighs an Elephant (Arbordale Publishing, 2017), and A Case of Sense (Arbordale Publishing, 2016)
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Excerpt:
Hi Ju, Took us two days by train to get to Shanghai from Jilin. Have our tree eggs hatched yet? Miss you. Mei
I want to tell my cousin that our tree eggs are tree birds now!
“Baba, will you teach me to write a letter to Mei?”
“No kids books to teach you with. Or a library… Let’s try a newspaper,” Baba says.
“Looks like wiggling worms!” I say.
What inspired you to write this story & what do you have in common with it:
This story is based on a fond memory of my father, my first teacher. The main character is me! Owning a book is a privilege. Growing up in a small town in China without a single library, I never saw a picture book until I was in grammar school. I learned to read from my father’s handmade word cards. I loved to spot words on our kang (a bed and stove made of adobe bricks), my dad’s newspaper, and stores’ signs. This is truly a story from my heart.
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