Teacher and Author Joanna Ho joined Cheddar News to discuss her latest children's book "Eyes That Speak to the Stars." Ho, who also wrote the New York Times Bestseller "Eyes That Kiss in the Corners," spoke about her creative process and her own journey to self-acceptance she hopes helps children who read her books. “I really hope that people who read the book feel a sense of power, that they look in the mirror and feel proud of what they look like and who they are," she said.

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Author Joanna Ho on Empowering Asian American Children Through Literature

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander heritage month celebrating the histories and achievements of Americans hailing from the Eastern Continent. But did you know that this group also feels the most invisible with almost 60% of Americans saying they cannot name a single famous Asian American. My next guest is on a mission to change that by telling a story about a little girl who wants to belong. Take a listen. Some people have eyes like sapphire lagoons, big eyes, long lashes, Not me. I have eyes that kiss in the corners and glow like warm tea. They are a revolution joining me now is author and educator, Joanna Ho Joanna welcome, welcome your first kiss your first book and I have it right here. Eyes that kiss in the corners. This is a new york times bestseller. I read this my team read it and it brought a lot of us to tears. The illustration is gorgeous and of course it addresses a deeply personal issue. Tell us more about this. Sure, thank you so much. It's a pleasure to be here. Um I wrote Isaac kiss in the corners because when I was a child I didn't have any examples in movies or books of people who look like me. All the girls or characters in anything that were beautiful um were blond, they were blue eyed. They had huge eyes and long lashes which is you know not me and I really grew up wishing that I looked different, wishing I had bigger eyes and it wasn't until I was an adult that I really started to understand one that people who look like me are beautiful and can be beautiful and to that um this all these things that I had internalized as a child really was a result of being so invisible in everything in school, in curriculum, in movies and books. And I was pregnant with my daughter at the time. She's my second child and I did not want her growing up wishing she looked different. I think at that time I had understood, you know, our features really come from our families which come from our ancestors, which represents so much more than just physicality and they really highlight our history and our culture um, and who we are. And so I want, I wanted her and all Children to grow up feeling really proud. Not only of how they look but of who they are and where they're from and with a sense of power to change. Um common narratives. We also have a clip of you reading to a very engaged audience. We're going to take a listen and I'll talk to you on the other side. I have eyes that kiss in the corners and glow like warm tea. My eyes are just like mama's, some people say that I look like my mom. I'm proud to look like my mom mama's eyes that kiss in the corners and glow like warm tea crinkle into crescent moons when she comes home from work. That is such a captivated audience. What do you hope your readers take away from this book, Joanna, I really hope that people who read the book one um you know, feel a sense of power that they feel they look in the mirror and they feel proud of what they look like and who they are. And I also hope that, you know, as I mentioned before, that they come away questioning why we consider certain things normal and why we have certain dominant stories and um that they hope that readers really come away knowing that they have power to be a revolution in the world, to create change in positive ways as an asian american woman, Was it hard for you to get your manuscript accepted by publishers? Um yeah, it was actually, so this this the story was on submission for over a year and a half. Um so it was, you know, out to several publishers, my agent was in touch and I was just getting rejected, like over and over sometimes, you just don't even hear back and um you would, I would get really different feedback. This is too serious, This is not serious enough. That should be more upbeat. This should be more, you should have more obvious like social justice, um references and so it was, and it was discouraging it's also part of publishing to just be rejected a lot of times and hopefully you believe in your story enough to keep to keep pushing and keep revising and improving and um you know and finding the right person who really believes and understands the stories that you're telling, Joanna like I said before me and a lot of our team members read the book and were blown away so we think it's only fitting if you don't mind reading a few words from the book for viewers. So please Joanna take it away for us. Sure I'm actually going to read from the companion book to Isaac kiss in the corners. This is eyes that speak to the stars so it follows Isaac is in the corners follows a young girl and this follows a young boy like this. You can see it. Eyes that speak to the stars by Elena Ho illustrated by young Ho Beautiful. The illustrations are so gorgeous. She's so talented. Okay the other day when papa picked me up from school, I didn't run in for a hug the way I usually do, I stared at my toes for it was safe. What's wrong, papa asked and all my heart tumbled out. Kurt drew a picture of our friends. I said, he pointed at a person with eyes like two lines stretched across his face and told me that one is you but it didn't look like me at all. When we got home, papa stood with me in front of a mirror and said, your eyes rise to the skies and speak to the stars. The comments and constellations show you their secrets and your eyes can foresee the future just like money. I actually have that book right here. I haven't been able to read this just yet, but I'm excited to thank you for this. This is so incredible. This is exactly what the world needs Joanna Ho, new york times, best selling author and educator. And if you want to find out more about Joanna's work, check out her website. I really implore that you do Joanna ho rights dot com.