From the Stars in the Sky to the Fish in the Sea

by Kai Cheng Thom, Kai Yun Ching, Wai-Yant Li (Illustrator)

Overview

A children’s picture book that incorporates lush visual storytelling with poetic language to tell the tale of a magical gender variant child who brings transformation and change to the world around them with the help of their mother’s love. This unique children’s book honors timeless fairy-tale themes while challenging gender, racial, and body stereotypes.

This publication meets the EPUB Accessibility requirements and it also meets the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG-AA). It is screen-reader friendly and is accessible to persons with disabilities. A book with many images, which is defined with accessible structural markup. This book contains various accessibility features such as alternative text for images, table of contents, page-list, landmark, reading order and semantic structure.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781551527109
Publisher:	Arsenal Pulp Press, Limited
Publication date:	10/16/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	40
File size:	33 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 8 Years

About the Author

Kai Cheng Thom: Kai Cheng Thom is a writer, performance artist, and psychotherapist based in Montreal and Toronto. Her first novel, Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars, was released by Metonymy Press in 2016, and her first poetry book, a place called No Homeland, was published by Arsenal Pulp Press in 2017.
Kai Yun Ching : Kai Yun Ching is a community-based organiser, educator and illustrator based in Montreal. They edited and published Children’s Stories, a collection of tales written by children, with the publishing collective Quilted Creatures in 2016.
Wai-Yant Li: Wai-Yant Li is an artist who specializes in ceramics and illustration. For the last 13 years, they have been presenting and selling their work and various major craft fairs, galleries, and museums.

Editorial Reviews

2017-07-17
A fantasy-inspired story of gender and identity told by trans writer Thom.Miu Lan can't decide if they are a "bird or fish," "cat or rabbit," "tree or star." They were born "when both the moon and the sun were in the sky," so their identity shifts with the games they play and the time of day. In charming, fancifully childlike illustrations pitched to a young audience, readers see the Chinese child swim, fly, prance, and run in different animal guises. Their mother constantly assures them of her love in a song repeated throughout. Of course, when Miu Lan goes to school in "a tail of peacock feathers and a coat of tiger stripes," their classmates are not so accepting. Exclusion and mild bullying commence as Miu Lan tries to figure out how to fit in, but their mother continues to reassure them, and of course the story ends with full acceptance: "i was a little jealous," one boy even admits. (The unconventional use of lowercase letters reinforces the sense of Miu Lan's fluid identity.) The story is somewhat long-winded and predictable, but the traditional arc and themes can resonate with any child who feels excluded (or excludes others) and can also open up conversations about nonbinary gender identities. A relevant tale of love and acceptance that can find a home in any children's collection. (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews