#robin ha

Happy Asian Pacific American Heritage Month 2024! And if you’re Canadian, Happy Asian Heritage Month! Come celebrate with all the books! (And get even more recs from past years’ posts!) (Note: not all of the Asian authors or characters in these titles are specifically American. I thought it was worth highlighting more books than that specific title allowed.) Picture Books I Am a Rainbow! by Mark…

robin: your face looks like a don't walk signal

grape: your face looks like a photo negative for the hamburger helper box

robin: a palm reader could tell wolf's future by looking at your face

grape: the phrase 'talk to the hand cause the face ain't listening' doesn't work for you, because the hand is your face

book review | Almost American Girl

Author: Robin Ha

Genre: Graphic Novel, Memoir, YA

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

A teen graphic novel memoir about a Korean-born, non-English-speaking girl who is abruptly transplanted from Seoul to Huntsville, Alabama, and struggles with extreme culture shock and isolation, until she discovers her passion for comic arts.

In case you missed it live: watch the recording of the 2021 Walter Awards on YouTube!

Congratulations to:

✨ Ibi Zoboi ✨ Dr. Yusef Salaam ✨ Robin Ha ✨ Traci Chee / @tracichee ✨ Victoria Jamieson ✨ Omar Mohamed ✨ Daniel Nayeri ✨ Kacen Callender

Many thanks to our co-host The Library of Congress, emcee Laurie Halse Anderson, moderator Deb Taylor, & sponsor BookBub!

Reluctant Reader Wednesday: Almost American Girl: An Illustrated Memoir by Robin Ha

A girl and her mother travel from Korea to Alabama to visit friends. The girl doesn’t realize until later that her mother is planning to get married, and that this vacation is a permanent move. The girl chooses Robin as her American name, and tries to fit into life in this strange new country. Everything is a struggle for her -- missing her old friends, trying to make new friends, and trying to understand English. It isn’t until she starts taking a class about drawing comics that her new life finally starts making sense.

Debuting at TCAF 2020 - Almost American Girl by Robin Ha 

240 pages, CDN $15.99, published by Harper Collins Canada

A powerful and moving teen graphic novel memoir about immigration, belonging, and how arts can save a life—perfect for fans of American Born Chinese and Hey, Kiddo.

For as long as she can remember, it’s been Robin and her mom against the world. Growing up as the only child of a single mother in Seoul, Korea, wasn’t always easy, but it has bonded them fiercely together.

So when a vacation to visit friends in Huntsville, Alabama, unexpectedly becomes a permanent relocation—following her mother’s announcement that she’s getting married—Robin is devastated.

Overnight, her life changes. She is dropped into a new school where she doesn’t understand the language and struggles to keep up. She is completely cut off from her friends in Seoul and has no access to her beloved comics. At home, she doesn’t fit in with her new stepfamily, and worst of all, she is furious with the one person she is closest to—her mother.

forrest: how did you LOSE grape?!

forrest: oh yeah? you're the idiot that thinks you can get away with everything you do, WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD!

robin: i'm leaving and i'm taking grape with me!