Q&A with Teresa Robeson

 

 

 

Teresa Robeson is the author of the children's picture book Clear and Bright: A Ching Ming Festival Story. Her other books include Clouds in Space. She is based in Indiana.

 

Q: What inspired you to write Clear and Bright?

 

A: While there are a ton of books out there on the more well-known holidays in the U.S. (e.g. Christmas, Halloween), there are far fewer books on holidays celebrated by other cultures.

 

In addition, the holiday/festival books for Chinese cultures were only ever about New Year or the Mid-Autumn, or Moon, Festival (still is the case). That’s all fine and well, but they were never my favorite holidays.

 

My favorite memory of a holiday was the family gatherings at grave sites to honor our ancestors during the festival of Ching Ming. It wasn’t too noisy, like New Year, and I wasn’t forced to eat mooncakes, which I never liked. Instead, for Ching Ming, we had other delectable foods that I actually loved.

 

And I also loved listening to my elders recounting stories those who had passed away…I was always drawn to family gossip.

 

Plus, aside from New Year perhaps, this is the oldest Chinese festival, celebrated for probably over 3,000 years!

 

So when an editor at a conference mentioned that more books about holidays that weren’t the same-old-same-old were needed, I immediately set out to write about Ching Ming.

 

Q: How was the book’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?

 

A: “Clear and bright” is the literal translation of Ching Ming, and it also goes with the final scene I had envisioned, so I knew I wanted to use the phrase.

 

My editor was the one who suggested the subtitle to make it more obvious what it’s about, which was a great idea. I’m too close to it and couldn’t see that the allusion/word play would be lost on most people.

 

Q: The Kirkus Review of the book calls it a “solemn yet loving tribute to an important tradition.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I think that’s the nicest thing Kirkus ever said about any of my books. I almost fell out of my chair reading it. Hah!

 

Q: What do you think William Low’s illustrations add to the book?

 

A: Oh my goodness…I don’t have enough superlatives to describe William’s art. He captured not only the warmth and joy of family, but at the same time also the cool dampness of spring touched with a tinge of sadness at the hardships that the family had endured.

 

I was absolutely thrilled when the publishing team got him to be the illustrator! He used family photos and friends and their children as models. That makes me so happy. The book is all about family, after all.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I’m currently working on a picture book with the editor for my Bruce Lee graphical biography. It’s so fun to work with her again!

 

I’m also in the final edits for a book on the Chinese Zodiac with a publisher in the UK.

 

And, lastly, I’m revising and drafting four early readers on severe weather phenomena for MIT Kids Press, the publisher of my Clouds in Space: Stardust, Nebulae, and Us picture book.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: There was an editor who critiqued this story once and she told me, in so many words, that it would never be published because it’s about a holiday she had never heard of (even though she’s also Chinese-American) and because I’m not famous enough to sell a quiet story.

 

So, I just want to give a huge shoutout to Leonard Marcus who believed this story, helping it to win Silver in the Astra International Picture Book Competition and then publishing it. I owe him everything for bringing the story of my heart to the world. Sometimes, your biggest proponents are those not in your identity circles.

 

And I really appreciate you, Deborah, for helping to promote this book! I hope more people will read it and appreciate the fact that Chinese culture is more than just New Year and mooncakes.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Teresa Robeson.