Erin Dealey

We are pleased to welcome Stephanie Wildman & Adam Ryan Chang to the blog today, in celebration of their new picture book, MIRI’S MOVING DAY. illus. Dream Chen (Kar-Ben Publishing).

About the book: Miri is Chinese American and Jewish; Miri is moving. She will miss the Chinese lions in front of her apartment building that have always watched over her. Luckily, Yeh Yeh and Zayde, Miri’s grandfathers, have surprises to help her feel at home in her new apartment, including a mezuzah.  

“A sweet story of a family blending traditions.”

Kirkus

Let’s ask some questions!

Q 1. What was the inspiration for Miri’s Moving Day? Is it autobiographical in some way?

Stephanie: I think it’s fair to say that champagne rejections inspired Miri’s Moving Day. Adam and I had written a story about a Chinese American, Jewish boy and his two grandmothers evolving a new holiday tradition for their multiracial, multicultural, multigenerational family. That story had been inspired by a question my grandson asked at dinner, when he said, “Can I be Chinese and Jewish?” “Yes,” his father told him, “Because you are.”

Multigenerational stories + Characters of Multiple Heritages

We realized that children with multiple heritage backgrounds needed to see more of themselves in books. When our story about the young boy didn’t land, we decided to flip the characters, imagining a Chinese American, Jewish girl and her two grandfathers. We tried to figure out how she might engage with them and what she needed most.

Adam: Yeh Yeh and Mah Mah in the story are inspired by my own grandparents. Like Miri, my grandparents were my primary caregivers as my parents were both first generation and low-income immigrants who needed to work long hours to support their families. What I love about this story (and I hope others love it too!) is that Miri’s multigenerational family is her lived experience, and part of the “big feeling” moments is a result of how close Miri is to her (Chinese and Jewish) grandparents.

Q 2. How did you end up collaborating on this project? What was this process like? 

Stephanie: Adam and I had worked together before. I have written primarily in Word documents, but Adam dragged me over to Google.Docs. Often, we each write our own version, like we are doing in these answers. Then we meld ideas together in the same document.

All Picture Books Are Collaborations!

It is certainly a fair question to be curious about collaborative work, but I find it so interesting that I’m often asked that question. I have worked on many collaborative book and article projects where I often have had to defend collaboration as a form of authorship. 

Solo authorship is so inscribed as the industry norm, when I believe one often gets a better product through collaborative effort. And, of course, picture books really have always been a collaboration – between author, illustrator, and the publisher’s team. The publishing world is only beginning to acknowledge the importance of that collaborative effort, especially the role of illustrators as really co-authors of picture books. Shout out to our illustrator, Dream Chen!

How the Team Began

Adam: Before Stephanie and I were co-authors, she was my law school professor in a course aptly titled “Social Justice and the Law.” It was a summer course after my first year in law school, and her personal journey, approach to activism, and critical thinking had me “fangirling.”

Over the next fourteen years, we’ve presented on panels together, traveled to conferences, and written several picture book manuscripts (sometimes during or on the heels of dim sum dates). She’s become a member of my chosen family. We try to meet at least twice a month to pitch new ideas, write, and with our first ever co-authored picture book, these meetings now involve book publicity! At the end of the day, this is work, but in our case, time really does fly when you’re having fun.

Surprises and Discoveries

Q 3. Were there any surprises or discoveries as this project went from idea to published book? 

Adam: Stephanie and I have participated in several writing competitions as co-authors. At least one of those competitions has since dis-allowed co-authors from submitting pieces together despite the two of us having received an honorable mention (the irony!).

I think it’s still hard to pinpoint whether our co-author strategy is helpful or a hindrance as it took three years for one of our manuscripts to get picked up. But reflecting on it all, I could never imagine us not writing together and I am grateful for all the characters that have sprung up over the years.

Stephanie:  I share Adam’s enthusiasm for our writing time together – it is so special. And further, on the discovery point, as so often happens, my understanding of Miri deepened as the writing and editing progressed.

We gave Dream Chen, the illustrator, feedback about the toys Miri had in her bedroom. We felt that one of the stuffed animals looked too sad for Miri’s personality. And, later, we even wrote a story about a college-bound Miri on her next moving day. We weren’t ready to give her character up.

Takeaways

Q 4. What do you hope readers will take away from reading Miri’s Moving Day?

Stephanie and Adam: We’ve been pleased that several of the reviews have noted that Miri’s family is supportive of each other across their lines of difference. They have been willing to learn from each other and keep all the customs and rituals alive, seeing value in them all.

What’s Next?

Q 5. Please tell us about your other projects in the works. Are there more stories about children with multiple heritages?

Stephanie: Adam and I continue to write together about children who are Chinese and Jewish, as well as children who might face marginalization for other reasons.

Also, I’m excited about my next book, under contract — the fourth in the Flor, Roberto, Luis series, illustrated by Estefania Razo from Lawley Publishing. It’s called Story Power! and my co-author is my grandson Simon Wildman Chung. He’s the co-author because the story was his idea. He liked these characters, so he wanted to create a new story for them. Simon is definitely the youngest co-author I have worked with. He will be nine when the book comes out in 2025.

Adam: I’m currently working on a fiction novel for adults touching on themes around coming of age, the Asian American experience, and generational trauma. I also have other picture book manuscripts that address family dynamics within a modern approach to folklore and myths that I hope to share with the world one day. 

Thank you both for joining us on the blog today–

and Happy Book Birthday to MIRI’S MOVING DAY!

To learn more about the authors and their work, check out their web sites:

www.stephaniewildman.com www.adamryanchang.com

and follow them on social media:
Twitter/X: @SWildmanSF    @adamryanchang

Instagram: stephanie_wildmansf adamryanchang

Bluesky: @swildmansf.bsky.social

Next on the blog–> Books that remind us to be #Thankful:

LISTEN, WONDER, ASK (Elly Berke & Luciana Navarro Powell  / Tilbury House)

ONE SMALL KOALA AND THE BIG BLUE EARTH (Tory Christie & Luciana Navarro Powell / Amicus)