Creating a book is always a journey full of surprises, challenges and rewards. For Vancouver, BC-based Karina Zhou, the process of creating her debut picture book Kai’s Tea Eggs (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2023) was no different.
The 19 year-old multidisciplinary artist has worked across various media, including animation and illustration, and she is currently studying animation at the California College Of The Arts in San Francisco. But Zhou first developed her passion – and her adventurous spirit – for art when she took her first art class at nine years old: “Staring nervously at my blank canvas, I felt both riveted and terrified at the endless possibilities ahead, but my art teacher reminded me, ‘Be bold! Be courageous! There are no such things as mistakes’. I still apply that mindset into the work that I do today.”
Kai’s Tea Eggs follows a young girl named Kai who discovers the value of her cultural heritage and family customs through food. As Multicultural Day approaches at school, Kai is apprehensive about sharing her family’s Chinese cuisine with her classmates. She wishes to blend in like everyone else. Despite her mother’s enthusiasm about preparing special dishes, Kai is so uneasy that she ultimately runs off, whereupon she encounter a dragon named Ming. Together, they embark on a magical adventure to discover various aspects of Chinese culture – most notably, its delectable cuisine. And through Ming’s guidance, Kai learns to embrace her family roots and appreciate her uniqueness.
Kai’s Tea Eggs is a heartwarming and sumptuously-illustrated story that will resonate with anyone who has struggled to fit in . . . and eventually learned to appreciate who they really are. Zhou’s inspiration for the book was her personal experience of feeling “waves of embarrassment” about her culture while growing up. “I like to think that I made this story as a love letter to my younger self,” she explains. ”Rather than hiding away parts of herself, Kai learns to appreciate her culture and learns more about her family traditions along the way”.
Zhou hopes that her book can be used in classrooms to teach about identity, inclusion, belonging, and the power of curiosity: “As much as Kai’s Tea Eggs is about celebrating food and culture, a large portion of the story is also about overcoming our inner frustrations and being open to new experiences. When we’re faced with obstacles that appear daunting, it’s easy to want to run away and hide ourselves. If we can approach these situations with curiosity and kindness, who knows what we can learn along the way!”
As a student of animation who is both the writer and illustrator of Kai’s Tea Eggs, Zhou places significant emphasis on the flow of the story to convey both plot and emotion: “Both text and images hold immense power in shaping the tone of the piece. When there’s high energy, the texts and illustrations SPLASH across the page,” she explains. Likewise, the text and illustration are more subdued in the story’s quieter moments, such as when Kai and Ming return home at sunset. For eagle-eyed readers, Zhou also included a number of visual “Easter eggs” in the book, such as Ming’s periodic appearances among Kai’s toys (which suggests Kai’s imaginative nature). Zhou had the most fun of all drawing the various Chinese dishes, such as the ‘Zongzi’ – and she is excited to share with families the tea egg recipe located at the end of the book, so they can try their hand at this new dish.
When asked about her own favourite books and authors, Zhou enthuses about The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen, Mina by Matthew Forsythe, and the most recent picture book she has read: Love in the Library by Maggie Tokuda-Hall. In all of these cases, she lauds the creators for their experimentation with story and illustration styles. In addition to picture books, she also indulges in graphic novels and comics whenever she can. In this genre, she recommends The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui and The Sunny manga series by Taiyō Matsumoto.
For Zhou, the biggest – and most gratifying – surprise in the process of creating Kai’s Tea Eggs is how much Kai has resonated with readers: “Despite different cultural backgrounds or identities, people connect to the shared experiences at the school lunch table. I feel very touched by these reader comments because it means that Kai’s Tea Eggs can help create a safe space for everyone. It reinforces my belief in the power of stories and how they can recognize, represent and empower each of our voices.”
Kai’s Tea Eggs is a testament to Zhou’s love for art and storytelling – and an undeniable demonstration of her considerable talent. A rising talent and an author-illustrator to watch in the world of children’s literature, Zhou has crafted a debut tale that is beautiful and heartfelt, and will inspire readers of all ages to embrace their cultural heritage and welcome new experiences.
© Arpita Ghosal, SesayArts Magazine, 2023
