Mother and Daughter Author/Illustrator Debut Children’s Book to Celebrate Asian American Culture and Pride

“If you don’t see the book you want on the shelf, write it.” Beverly Cleary

SAN DIEGO, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Author Christine Paik (https://www.christinepaik.com/) followed the late Ms. Cleary’s advice, after wishing there were more Asian American books for herself growing up and now, for her own children. With the recent rise in Anti-Asian rhetoric and hate crimes in our country, she felt an urgency to act. “I wanted to depict Korean American and Asian American stories in a beautiful, respectful, and educational way. It’s more important than ever to educate children about diverse cultures and backgrounds – that being Asian American is not something to be feared or hated, rather, to be embraced and celebrated.”

Books — The Girl in the Gold Dress. A children’s book by Christine Paik and illustrated by Jung Lin Park. “An engaging, accessible narrative of immigration, resilience, and connections between generations.”-Kirkus Review

Christine Paik, her daughter, and her mother, Jung Lin Park. Three generations with The Girl in the Gold Dress: a children’s book that is “an engaging, accessible narrative of immigration, resilience, and connections between generations.”-Kirkus Review

Written during the COVID-19 pandemic, this book is a collaboration between Paik and her mother, Jung Lin Park, an artist who immigrated from South Korea in the 1970s. The result is a beautifully illustrated children’s story that Kirkus Reviews calls “An engaging, accessible narrative of immigration, resilience, and connections between generations.”

About the Book

Hannah’s Korean name literally means “Gold Dress,” so why doesn’t she want to be seen wearing her gold hanbok dress?

10-year-old Hannah is facing a big performance for her school’s talent show. The trouble is, she’s ashamed of her dress, the dance, even the music – they’re too different, too Korean! Will Hannah be brave enough to perform, or will she run off stage like she did at rehearsal? First, she must learn about the gold dress she’s wearing and its mysterious connection to her name and her family’s past in Korea: starting with a desperate escape from war and a secret wish hidden for decades in an envelope. Can Hannah make that wish finally come true?

About the Author

Christine loves telling stories for a living, which started with a career in TV news and continues today in public relations. She is the winner of six news Emmys and multiple PR awards. As a 12-year-old growing up in Southern California and performing traditional Korean fan dances, she never dreamed that she would one day be channeling her inner fan dancer to write Hannah’s story. Christine is a second generation Korean American wife and mother of two, living in San Diego. https://www.christinepaik.com/

SOURCE Imagilore Publishing