Kao Kalia Yang ist eine gefeierte Autorin, deren Werk tief in die Erfahrungen der Hmong-Diaspora eintaucht. Mit einem kraftvollen, intimen Stil erforscht sie Themen wie Identität, Verlust und Widerstandsfähigkeit angesichts kultureller Umwälzungen. Ihre literarischen Werke, die oft auf persönlichen Erinnerungen und Familiengeschichten basieren, bieten den Lesern einen tiefen Einblick in die Komplexität des Lebens als Flüchtling. Yang schreibt auch Kinderliteratur, in der sie jungen Lesern behutsam wichtige Themen vermittelt.
The narrative centers on a refugee family and a young girl guided by her grandmother, who teaches her to discover beauty amidst adversity. Their journey highlights resilience and the power of familial bonds, as the girl learns to appreciate the world around her in unexpected ways. This heartfelt tale explores themes of hope, love, and the transformative nature of perspective, making it a poignant reflection on the human experience.
A young girl navigates the challenges of a bustling world in her quest for beauty and meaningful connections. Through her journey, she discovers the importance of relationships and the simple joys that life offers, highlighting themes of love, friendship, and self-discovery.
A father's unwavering love serves as a beacon of hope for his daughter, inspiring her to envision a future beyond their refugee camp. This poignant true story captures the struggles and dreams of a family facing adversity, highlighting the transformative power of love and resilience in the pursuit of a better life. Through their journey, themes of hope, determination, and the bond between parent and child shine through, offering a heartfelt narrative that resonates with anyone who has dared to dream.
A family gradually moves forward after the loss of a child—a story for readers of all ages When someone you love dies, you know what doesn’t die? Love. On the hot beach, among colorful umbrellas blooming beneath a bright sun, no one saw a little girl walk into the water. Now, many months later, her bedroom remains empty, her drawers hold her clothes, her pillows and sheets still have her scent, and her mother and father, brothers and sister carry her in their hearts, along with their grief, which takes up so much space. Then one snowy day, the mother and father ask the girl’s older brother, “Would you like a room of your own?” He wants to know, “Whose?” They say, “Your sister’s.”Tenderly, and with refreshing authenticity, beloved Minnesota writer Kao Kalia Yang tells the story of a Hmong American family living with loss and tremendous love. Her direct and poignant words are accompanied by the evocative and expressive drawings of Hmong American artist Xee Reiter. The Shared Room brings a message of comfort and hope to readers young and old.
"I no longer have my most cherished cultural artifact, but its story lives on inside of me. Today I share it with you, along with the voices of these young writers, so that you, too, can hold close and remember the things that made you who you are in the story of your life." -from the foreword by Kao Kalia Yang, award-winning author of The Latehomecomer and The Song Poet .Adventures Within Another is a collection of writing by ninth-grade students from Como Park Senior High School who spent six months crafting these original works with guidance from the Mid-Continent Oceanographic Institute. This anthology spotlights the next generation of writers whose poetry and prose explore the people, places, and things shaping their burgeoning personal and cultural identities.
The story follows a Hmong American boy navigating his identity and belonging in both contemporary America and his ancestral heritage. Through his journey, he grapples with cultural challenges and personal growth, reflecting the complexities of growing up between two worlds. The narrative highlights themes of family, tradition, and self-discovery, showcasing the author's unique perspective as a Hmong American.
Winner of the 2017 Minnesota Book Award in Creative Nonfiction Finalist for the Chautauqua Prize, the National Book Critics Circle Award, the PEN USA Literary Center Award, and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize In the Hmong tradition, the song poet recounts the story of his people, their history and tragedies, joys and losses. He keeps the past alive, invokes the spirits and the homeland, and records courtships, births, weddings, and wishes. Following her award-winning memoir The Latehomecomer, Kao Kalia Yang now retells the life of her father, Bee Yang, the song poet—a Hmong refugee in Minnesota, driven from the mountains of Laos by America’s Secret War. Bee sings the life of his people through the war-torn jungle and a Thai refugee camp. The songs fall away in the cold, bitter world of a St. Paul housing project and on the factory floor, until, with the death of Bee’s mother, they leave him for good. But before they do, Bee, with his poetry, has burnished a life of poverty for his children, polishing their grim reality so that they might shine.
A poignant picture book about a young Hmong girl born and raised in a refugee camp who imagines what lies beyond the bounds of its borders.
"In this moving true story, Kao Kalia Yang shares her experiences as a Hmong refugee child navigating life at home and school in America while carrying the weight of her selective mutism"--