Watercress

　　小女孩一家開車行經俄亥俄州，爸媽發現路邊田野長著水茼蒿而停下車，拿起袋子和剪刀就這樣開始採摘水茼蒿。這樣的行為讓小女孩覺得尷尬，晚上面對餐桌上的一盤水茼蒿一點也不想吃。可是當她媽媽將生長在中國的兒時記憶娓娓道來，小女孩開始對水茼蒿有了不同的想法和情感。透過水茼蒿，他們和遙遠的原鄉產生連結……
 
　　作者 Andrea Wang 以移民後代的身分，訴說動人的自傳故事，搭配2018年曾以《大峽谷》（Grand Canyon）一書獲凱迪克榮譽獎的美籍華裔作家陳振盼（Jason Chin）的水彩插圖，與讀者分享這段深刻的移民故事。　

Caldecott Medal Winner
Newbery Honor Book
APALA Award Winner

A story about the power of sharing memories--including the painful ones--and the way our heritage stays with and shapes us, even when we don’t see it.

While driving through Ohio in an old Pontiac, a young girl’s Chinese immigrant parents spot watercress growing wild in a ditch by the side of the road. They stop the car, grabbing rusty scissors and an old paper bag, and the whole family wades into the mud to gather as much as they can.

At first, she’s embarrassed. Why can’t her family just get food from the grocery store, like everyone else? But when her mother shares a bittersweet story of her family history in China, the girl learns to appreciate the fresh food they foraged--and the memories left behind in pursuit of a new life.

Together, they make a new memory of watercress.

Author Andrea Wang calls this moving, autobiographical story ＂both an apology and a love letter to my parents.＂ It’s a bittersweet, delicate look at how sharing the difficult parts of our histories can create powerful new moments of family history, and help connect us to our roots.

Jason Chin’s illustrations move between China and the American Midwest and were created with a mixture of traditional Chinese brushes and western media. The dreamy, nostalgic color palette brings this beautiful story to life.

An endnote from the author describes her personal connection to the story, and an illustrator’s note touches on both the process of the painting, and the emotional meaning brought to the work.

New England Book Award Winner
A New York Times Best Children’s Book of the Year
A Wall Street Journal Best Children’s Book of the Year
A Boston Globe Best Children’s Book of the Year
A Washington Post Best Children’s Book of the Year
A Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book
One of Kirkus Reviews’ Best Books of the 21st Century (So Far)
Winner of the Cybils Award
An SCBWI Crystal Kite Award Winner
A New York Public Library Best Book of the Year
A Chicago Public Library Best Book of the Year
An ALSC Notable Children’s Book
Named a best book of the year by Publishers Weekly, BookPage, School Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Lunch, Shelf Awareness , and more!
A CBC/NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book
An NPR ’Book We Love!’
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection!

Andrea Wang is the award-winning author of The Nian Monster and Magic Ramen: The Story of Momofuku Ando. She was inspired to write Watercress by her experience growing up in rural Ohio as a child of Chinese immigrants. Andrea holds an M.S. in Environmental Science and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing for Young People. She lives in Colorado with her family.

Jason Chin is a celebrated author and illustrator of children’s books. His book Grand Canyon was awarded a Caldecott Honor, a Sibert Honor, and the NCTE Orbis Pictus Award. He is the author and illustrator of Your Place in the Universe, which Kirkus called ＂A stimulating outing to the furthest reaches of our knowledge＂, as well as other acclaimed nonfiction titles--Coral Reefs, Redwoods, Gravity, and Island: A Story of the Galapagos-- which have received numerous starred reviews and other accolades. He is also the illustrator of Stephanie Parsley Ledyard’s debut title Pie Is for Sharing and Miranda Paul’s Water is Water and Nine Months: Before a Baby is Born, the latter, a Boston Horn Globe Honor Book. He lives in Vermont with his wife and children.