SATA
ENTRY TYPE: new
WORK TITLE: Outsider Kids
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: https://bettyctang.com/
CITY: Los Angeles
STATE:
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY:
LAST VOLUME:
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born c. 1971 in Taiwan; immigrated to United States, 1981.
EDUCATION:California Institute of the Arts, B.F.A.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Animation artist, filmmaker, illustrator, and writer. Worked for animation studios in Hollywood, CA, including Disney TV and DreamWorks Animation; codirector, with Sing-Choong Foo, of Chinese animated feature Long zai na li/Where’s the Dragon?, 2015.
AVOCATIONS:Aikido (fourth-degree black belt).
AWARDS:National Book Award for Young People’s Literature longlist, 2023, and Asian Pacific American Award Children’s Honor, Asian Pacific American Librarians Association, 2023-24, both for Parachute Kids.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
[open new]Betty C. Tang is an animation artist and illustrator who earned breakout honors with her autobiographically inspired graphic novel Parachute Kids. She was born in Taiwan and raised there for the first ten years of life, but then she was brought along with older siblings to live with family friends in California, without documentation, while her parents continued to work to support them in Taiwan. As a girl, Tang sometimes enjoyed playing video and computer games, including Game & Watch devices—early portable single-game consoles by Nintendo—and Myst. Graduating from the California Institute of the Arts, she spent her early career working in animation for major Hollywood studios including Disney TV and DreamWorks. After serving as a character layout artist for The Simpsons for half a dozen episodes between 1991 and 1992, she worked on feature films including The Swan Princess (1994), The Pagemaster (1994), and The Prince of Egypt (1998); straight-to-video sequels including The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride (1998) and Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp’s Adventure (2001); and TV series including X-Men: Evolution (2000). While living in Beijing in the mid-2010s, she codirected the Chinese feature film Where’s the Dragon? (2015).
Tang launched a new phase of her career in providing the artwork for graphic adaptations of James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein’s “Jacky Ha-Ha” middle-grade novels. Once describing her childhood as a “parachute kid” to an acquaintance, Tang realized that the term was little known outside the Asian American community, and she determined to create a story bringing experiences like hers and her family’s to life. Tang was amazed when the release date for her self-illustrated debut turned out to be April 4th, which is both Children’s Day in Taiwan and the very date she arrived in the United States in 1981.
Parachute Kids opens in February 1981, when the Lin family lands in Los Angeles for what the three children—aged ten to sixteen, with Feng-Ling the youngest—understand to be a California vacation. But a month later, with Mama denied a tourist visa extension, the parents inform the children that they will be left in the care of family friends while the parents return to Taiwan to work until able to rejoin them. The children face plenty of challenges, from culture shock to isolation to racism. As the only one already fluent in English, Sis must take on the role of caretaker; Bro is coming to terms with his queer identity, which runs counter to Asian culture; and Feng-Ling has trouble making friends. A scam, an accident, and bad influences bring the year’s drama to new heights. English-language dialogue is shown with black letters in white speech balloons, while Chinese dialogue is shown—as translated to English—with red letters in yellow balloons.
With Parachute Kids longlisted for the National Book Award, Booklist reviewer Bobbie Peyton affirmed that “Tang’s artwork clearly conveys the emotions of each scene, and readers will find this story hard to put down.” A Kirkus Reviews writer declared that the character development is “convincing and balanced,” while the siblings’ experiences are “relatable for anyone who has tried to fit in somewhere.” Further praising Tang’s “endearing artistic style and colors that pop,” the reviewer hailed Parachute Kids as “emotionally moving and beautifully executed.”
Outsider Kids, the sequel to Parachute Kids, finds the Lin children getting closer to fitting in with their American peers, with their names Americanized from Feng-Ling to Ann, Ke-Gāng to Jason, and Jia-Xi to Jessie. Now in sixth grade, Ann appreciates her friends’ patience with her developing English as they go trick-or-treating on Halloween. She looks forward to the arrival of her aunt and eleven-year-old cousin Josephine, who is enrolling at an elite L.A. music school. Yet as a violin prodigy who speaks four languages, Josephine is full of self-importance and antagonistic. Meanwhile Jessie must deal with being cheated out of wages at her restaurant job, owing to her undocumented status, while Jason enjoys an advancing relationship with Alex, brother of Jessie’s best friend. Eventually Josephine betrays the Lin siblings, manifesting a crisis.
Reviewers admired Outsider Kids as well, with a Kirkus Reviews writer proclaiming that Tang’s “brisk, well-crafted dialogue and attractive, comic-style drawings support the narrative flow, weaving in intercultural perspectives that are at once humorous and relatable” while also “candidly addressing” challenging topics. In School Library Journal, Jenny Arch appreciated how the Lin siblings “face real challenges and subsequently show real growth … as they band together to overcome every obstacle.” Arch deemed Outsider Kids “as powerful and triumphant as the first book.”
Tang’s other illustration efforts include Brayden Speaks Up, an autobiographical picture book by Brayden Harrington. While dealing with a stutter, Harrington enjoyed speaking up even as a youth, and his confidence was greatly bolstered when at age thirteen he met presidential candidate Joe Biden, who overcame a stutter of his own. A Kirkus Reviews writer observed that in Harrington’s story, “with rare exceptions, Tang depicts him as a wide-eyed, confident-looking lad,” making for a “sunny, affirmative testimonial to the power of positive thinking.” Mónica Mancillas wrote The Worry Balloon, a picture book in which young Isla is taught by her mother to deal with first-day-of-school anxiety by putting her worries in an imaginary balloon and letting it drift away. A Kirkus Reviews writer observed that Tang’s “inviting illustrations include powerful visual representations of what it feels like to be frozen in fear … in addition to cheerful, reassuring scenes.”[close new]
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, April 15, 2023, Bobbie Peyton, review of Parachute Kids, p. 37.
Kirkus Reviews, June 15, 2021, review of Brayden Speaks Up; February 15, 2023, review of Parachute Kids; June 1, 2023, review of The Worry Balloon; March 1, 2025, review of Outsider Kids.
School Library Journal, May, 2020, Steven Thompson, review of Jacky Ha-Ha: A Graphic Novel, p. 61; March, 2025, Jenny Arch, review of Outsider Kids, p. 83.
ONLINE
Betty C. Tang website, https://bettyctang.com (November 4, 2025).
Comics Beat, https://www.comicsbeat.com/ (April 7, 2023), Avery Kaplan, “Interview: Betty C. Tang Opens Up about Parachute Kids.”
Kirkus Reviews, https://www.kirkusreviews.com/ (April 16, 2025), Maggie Reagan, “Betty C. Tang Catches Up with the Parachute Kids.”
Betty C. Tang is the creator of Parachute Kids, a 2023 National Book Awards Longlist title and an ALA Asian/ Pacific American Award Honor Book, among its many distinctions. She illustrated the New York Times bestselling Jacky Ha-Ha series of graphic novels by James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein. Before becoming a full-time graphic novelist, Betty worked for various Hollywood animation studios, including Disney TV and DreamWorks Animation, and codirected an animated feature called Where’s the Dragon? She is also a fourth-degree black belt in aikido. Betty immigrated to California as a parachute kid when she was ten and currently lives in Los Angeles. Learn more about her work at bettyctang.com.
Betty C. Tang is the author and illustrator of the graphic novel, Parachute Kids—a National Book Award Longlist Selection and an Asian/Pacific Librarians Association (APALA) Honor Book—and its equally highly praised sequel, Outsider Kids, an instant Amazon and Indie Bestseller. She is also the New York Times bestselling illustrator of the Jacky Ha-Ha graphic novel by James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein. She has worked for various animation studios including Disney TV and Dreamworks Animation, and co-directed the Chinese animated feature, Where's the Dragon? Born in Taiwan, she now lives in Los Angeles.
Thank you for visiting!
I spent my childhood nights secretly reading mangas under the covers with a flashlight, much to my mother's dismay. It did no favor to my eyes, but my love for drawing ignited.
After graduating from CalArts with a BFA, I worked for various Hollywood animation studios including Disney TV and Dreamworks Animation. Then adventurously, I moved to Beijing, China for a couple of years, and co-directed Where’s the Dragon?, an animated feature.
Now I'm 100% devoted to creating meaningful books for children. My debut graphic novel PARACHUTE KIDS has earned four starred reviews, including the coveted Kirkus Star, a 2023 National Book Award Longlistee, and an instant Indie Books Bestseller. I'm also a NY Times Bestselling Illustrator of the graphic novel, JACKY HA-HA, written by James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein and adapted by Adam Rau.
I love squirrels and hate roaches. I am also a 4th degree black belt in Aikido–a Japanese martial art–but the roaches aren't impressed.
Born in Taiwan, I arrived in America as a parachute kid. Currenly, I live in Los Angeles, California.
INTERVIEW: Betty C. Tang opens up about PARACHUTE KIDS
The Beat caught up with the creator behind the excellent graphic novel.
By Avery Kaplan -04/07/2023 10:30 am0
Parachute Kids by Betty C. Tang follows three siblings who find themselves transplanted from their lives in Taiwan and left to fend for themselves in the United States. The graphic novel, which combines Tang’s personal experiences with anecdotes from friends, is available from Scholastic Graphix now.
The Beat caught up with Tang over email to learn all about the process of combining personal experience with the anecdotes of others, to find out how her background in animation informed the structure of Parachute Kids, and to discover whether or not the cartoonist shares the protagonist’s affinity for video games!
AVERY KAPLAN: Can you tell us about the genesis of this graphic novel?
BETTY C. TANG: When I told a friend of mine about my childhood as a parachute kid, he said he’s never heard of the term. Upon further inquiry, I realized he wasn’t the only one. Most people outside the Asian community don’t know it, so I suspect many of your readers might not either. Parachute kids refer to children who are dropped off in foreign countries with friends or relatives while their parents stayed behind to work in order to support them. I thought more people should know about the plight of these children. As you can imagine, being left behind by your parents can be quite distressing, if not downright an everlasting traumatic experience. In my book, we follow three siblings, ages ranging from ten to sixteen, who suddenly find themselves in this situation. Not only do they have to fend for themselves in a new world not of their own choosing, but they have to learn to get along and work together, or there might not be a family left.
KAPLAN: As you write in the afterword, Parachute Kids is “not a memoir, but a mixture of fiction, [your] family’s first experiences in America, and anecdotes of immigrant friends [you] met along the way.” What was the process of combining these elements like?
TANG: I am so grateful to those who generously shared their personal stories. I knew I had wanted to tell an uplifting story about the three siblings and the challenges they faced, so I started with some of my own experiences. But mine alone wasn’t enough, so I reached out to my immigrant friends and they eagerly shared. They had so much to tell! In addition, I also searched through the news, and read about anything related to immigrant experiences. So from all the rich anecdotes I had collected, I made an outline of the plot, devised challenges for each of my three characters, and served them up in an engaging and entertaining way.
KAPLAN: One of the excellent sequential graphic narrative storytelling tools utilized throughout Parachute Kids are the page layouts and designs. What goes into arranging the panels on a page so deftly?
TANG: Thank you so much! It means a lot to me that you found the layout and design successful. This is a tough question to answer, because it all came kind of naturally to me. I just knew I wanted to think outside of the box—literally—and avoid having only rectangular boxes and try to make the page look interesting. And because I have on average six to seven panels per page, I needed to find creative ways to utilize as much space as possible, without it looking overcrowded. Sometimes we just don’t need to see all those empty spaces behind talking heads, bounded by borders.
KAPLAN: Ann is a bit of an aspiring gamer. Were you interested in video games at her age, and if so, does this interest persist and do you have a favorite game?
TANG: Yes! The one that pops into my mind immediately is Myst, the original text-only version. I know I had some Nintendos Game & Watch but I can’t remember which particular ones. Right now I’m hooked on Hovoverse’s Genshin Impact. If I don’t make deadline with my the current manuscript I’m working on, it’d be this game’s fault.
KAPLAN: At what point in the creative process for Parachute Kids did this innovative method of color-coded lettering and word balloons emerge?
TANG: I can’t take credit for it. Originally I had used black for English and red for Chinese, both over white word balloons. Then the art department came back and said, uh, Betty, you can only use black, cyan, or magenta for text. Duh. Of course! Facepalm. Then they came to the rescue and suggested a magenta text layer set on passthrough over a yellow word balloon, which made the text look red! Genius! And I think the end result is great. The yellow balloons added extra vibrancy to the pages. I’m telling you, teamwork!
KAPLAN: Do you have any favorite outfits worn by any of the characters in Parachute Kids? Were any of them based on specific pieces of actual clothing?
TANG: I just remember I used to wear a lot of cartoony T-shirts, so I transferred that for Feng-Li, the ten-year-old. But I did have the older sister in the book wear more dresses and outfits because coming from Taiwan in the 80s adults in general dressed more formally. Later when I got older, I of course inherited much of her clothing, and I remember classmates asking me why I’m always dressed like that.
KAPLAN: According to your author bio, you have also worked in animation. Did this experience inform your work on Parachute Kids?
TANG: Absolutely. My book is actually based on the four-act animation movie format and I think it works really well in keeping the viewers/readers engaged, similar to the method described in Blake Snyder’s book Save the Cat. I wanted my graphic novel to flow, basically be read like how you’d watch a movie. Sometimes when readers tell me they had read it in one breath, I’d joke and say they should slow down because it took me a year to create, but honestly they were supposed to. It was designed that way.
KAPLAN: Is there anything else you’d like me to include?
TANG: When my editor told me the launch date for Parachute Kids was to be April 4th, I got goosebumps. April 4th is not only Children’s Day in Taiwan, it is also the date my family and I first arrived in the United States 42 years ago. I can’t help but think that I was meant to write this book. I am so grateful for the opportunity. Thank you so much for your thoughtful and interesting questions!
Betty C. Tang Catches Up With the Parachute Kids
BY Maggie Reagan • April 16, 2025
Share via Facebook
Share via Twitter
Share via Email
Betty C. Tang Catches Up With the Parachute Kids
Photo of Betty C. Tang from the author
When Betty C. Tang’s Parachute Kids was longlisted for the National Book Award in 2023, not many American readers knew what the titular term meant. It refers to undocumented, underage kids who move to a new country while their parents remain in their homeland—something true of the story’s 10-year-old Feng-Ling Lin and her two older siblings, whose mom and dad are back in Taiwan—as well as to Tang herself.
Now Tang returns to 1980s California with Outsider Kids (Graphix/Scholastic, April 4), a sequel that further explores the Lins’ turbulent adjustment to American life, digging deeper into the challenges, the confusion, and the joys that tie the siblings together.
Tang, who lives in Los Angeles, recently spoke with Kirkus via Zoom about returning to this story and the process of creating a graphic novel. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Did you always conceive this as a multibook series?
When [I first pitched] Parachute Kids, nobody outside the Asian community really knew the term or even about the existence of these kids. My editor at Scholastic acquired two books at the outset, but we didn't know then whether the second book would be a sequel. So I devised Parachute Kids as a stand-alone book, on the chance it flopped. Still, in my mind, it was always supposed to be the first story in a trilogy. I am very happy that Parachute Kids has been so well received; it opened the door for Outsider Kids, as well as a third book in the series.
In your afterword to Parachute Kids, you talk about pulling from your own life. Is that equally true in the second book?
Even though the book is fiction, there are many snippets of myself in Outsider Kids, particularly with Feng-Ling and her faux pas. But I wanted to tell a story that was bigger than my family’s experiences, because we came through relatively unscathed compared to other parachute kids. I wanted to take the story to a larger level and draw out meaningful conversations about the nuances and daily realities that undocumented kids face, such as forging notes from absent parents and lying to friends about their parents’ whereabouts—things that aren’t often examined.
You’ve made some really interesting craft and design choices. I love the color cues that are used to distinguish languages.
I can’t take credit for that. Originally, I wanted black text for English and red for Chinese over a white bubble, but I was told that text could only be printed in one of the CMYK colors. The clever folks over at Graphix had the idea to use a yellow bubble under a magenta text, which makes the text appear red. The result is great. Creating a graphic novel really is a team effort.
I’d love to talk about the title of this book, because in some ways the siblings seem less like outsiders than they were in Parachute Kids. But you highlight subtle ways in which they still are.
It’s true that in Parachute Kids, the siblings are more outsiders, in that they’ve just arrived in the U.S. What I wanted to explore in Outsider Kids is the limbo phase after you’ve settled in a new country and suddenly find yourself in between two cultures. You’re disconnected from your home country but don’t yet belong to your new one. It’s such a precarious, vulnerable time. Just when you think you’re starting to fit in, a bump along the road can make you feel like an outsider again.
That crystallizes in your portrayal of Feng-Ling’s older brother, Ke-Gāng, whose sexuality makes him an outsider in both Taiwan and America.
Ke-Gāng is the character that’s most solid in my mind. Readers seem to find him compelling, too—I’ve gotten so many letters and messages from readers all over the world, specifically wanting to find out what will happen to him. I felt a strong need to include a LGBTQIA+ voice because prejudice, unfortunately, is still prevalent in many Chinese communities due to deep-seated traditional beliefs and stereotypes. Through Ke-Gāng’s heart-wrenching story, I hope [people’s] views may be reexamined and the gap between understandings bridged.
Josephine, the cousin, throws a carefully established equilibrium into chaos: Though she and her mother are in the process of moving from Taiwan to L.A., Josephine is a violin prodigy who’s attended international schools and is much more comfortable in America than Feng-Ling is. Did you plan her from the beginning?
I definitely planned her this way. I wanted her to come in and disrupt the life that Feng-Ling had worked so hard to build. I wanted to use Josephine as another vehicle to emphasize how one’s actions can affect others and that we should all take care in how we interact with one another. But she was a very difficult character to write. I didn’t want her to be a one-faceted villain in the story. She needed more dimensionality. Whether or not to redeem her, that was my big question.
I love that you keep it uncomfortable. You made her a real, complex person, and the reader’s not necessarily going to sympathize with the things she does. But she also demonstrates so many of the pressures that kids in this situation can be under.
A lot of Asian kids grow up under immense pressure, especially if their parents have high academic expectations. I escaped that to some degree because I came [to the U.S.] when I was Feng-Ling’s age, but I saw it through my older siblings, who did nothing but study. That kind of intensity becomes ingrained, and you end up pressuring yourself not to disappoint your parents. For Josephine, the expectation is high. She’s not only a violin prodigy, but also speaks four languages. On the surface, she seems enviable, but deep down, she’s really holding up a front that hides her own insecurities and a family that’s falling apart.
Tell us about the decision to open the book with the American holiday of Halloween and end with the Chinese celebration of the New Year.
Halloween is the quintessential American holiday. No one else has it. I alluded a little bit to the Chinese Ghost month in August, and that’s lunar August. But it’s a month where you’re supposed to be extra wary. I wanted to contrast that with Feng-Ling’s first Halloween and how excited she is to go trick-or-treating and get candy. The other holiday the siblings experience is Thanksgiving, where they collectively make lots of faux pas. I just love highlighting the little nuances we’re so used to but that are strange to newcomers.
To end on Chinese New Year was very meaningful for me. The family is going through something traumatic, and the familiarity of the holiday brings them calm and a sense of new beginnings.
That ending is so effective. Without giving too much away, why was it important to leave these characters where you did?
It was very important because I put the siblings through so much in this book. I wanted to leave them—and readers—with the hope that maybe, finally, the Lins won’t remain outsiders anymore—especially with their journey continuing in Book 3.
Maggie Reagan is a program manager for the American Library Association and lives in Chicago.
* TANG, Betty C. Outsider Kids: A Parachute Kids Graphic Novel. illus. by Betty C. Tang. 288p. (Parachute Kids: Bk. 2). Scholastic/Graphix. Apr. 2025. Tr $24.99. ISBN 9781338832723.
Gr 5 Up-This companion to Parachute Kids begins on Halloween 1981 with Ann, the Taiwanese youngest sibling of three, trick-or-treating with her sixth grade friends, who are kind and patient with Ann's developing English-language skills. English text is in black inside white speech balloons; Chinese is in red on a yellow background. The Li siblings' relative peace and stability is broken by the arrival of their auntie and cousin Josephine, who attended a European school in Taiwan and has been accepted to music school in Los Angeles. Ann is excited to see her cousin again and practice music together, but Josephine is horrible to her, and it gets worse when Auntie returns to Taiwan. Readers will commiserate with oldest sister Jessie, who is left to manage everything, including studying for her SATs and working at a restaurant where she's being cheated out of wages due to her illegal status. The other siblings also have their own storylines with middle brother Jason finding a friendship-to-romance with Jessie's best friend's brother, Alex. Meanwhile, Ann misses her parents and keenly feels the fragility of her American life, and her lack of control over it, which is highlighted when Josephine betrays them. Throughout the book, these characters face real challenges and subsequently show real growth. Read ers will cheer on the siblings as they band together to overcome every obstacle, proving they can make their American life work. VERDICT As powerful and triumphant as the first book, this eye-opening read belongs on all shelves.--Jenny Arch
KEY: * Excellent in relation to other titles on the same subject or in the same genre. BL Bilingual | S Streaming
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2025 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
Arch, Jenny. "TANG, Betty C.: Outsider Kids: A Parachute Kids Graphic Novel." School Library Journal, vol. 71, no. 3, Mar. 2025, pp. 83+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A836878370/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=ea64e9c4. Accessed 27 Aug. 2025.
Tang, Betty C. OUTSIDER KIDS Graphix/Scholastic (Children's None) $24.99 4, 15 ISBN: 9781338832723
Three siblings continue their immigrant journeys in 1980s California.
In this sequel toParachute Kids (2023), sixth grader Feng-Ling (Ann), older brother Ke-GÄng (Jason), and oldest sister Jia-Xi (Jessie) share their first experiences of Halloween trick-or-treating, a Thanksgiving turkey dinner, and a Christian church service, allowing them to socialize even as they hide their status as undocumented minors whose parents back in Taiwan are still awaiting travel visas. Life gets even more complicated when a visit by two relatives introduces unwelcome dynamics and triggers plot twists and turns that force the siblings to reevaluate their actions, circumstances, and relationships. The central conflict sparking from Ann's falling-out with their 11-year-old cousin, Ting-Ting (Josephine)--a violin prodigy bound for an elite music school in Los Angeles who also speaks four languages--climaxes in a dangerous situation that the siblings must face as a team. The resourceful trio adapt to their latest challenge and resolve to "make it work." The closing dedication--"To all kids facing adversity"--boosts the can-do message. The brisk, well-crafted dialogue and attractive, comic-style drawings support the narrative flow, weaving in intercultural perspectives that are at once humorous and relatable while candidly addressing difficult issues, societal controversies, and sensitive interpersonal matters: teenage romance, bullying, racism, gender stereotypes, undocumented immigration, and exploitation of the vulnerable.
Tugs at the heartstrings and will spark important, age-appropriate conversations on pertinent, broadly relevant topics. (author's note)(Graphic fiction. 9-13)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2025 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Tang, Betty C.: OUTSIDER KIDS." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Mar. 2025. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A828785139/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=c9b62588. Accessed 27 Aug. 2025.
Mancillas, Mónica THE WORRY BALLOON Roaring Brook Press (Children's None) $18.99 7, 11 ISBN: 9781250852939
Childhood anxieties are tamed with the help of a loving adult and coping methods.
Isla remembers a time when her biggest problems would melt away with a snuggle from Mami. Now, as she faces her first day of school, her mind is swirling with nonstop worries and what-ifs. Isla shares her fears with Mami, who talks her through a visualization exercise involving putting her worries in an imaginary balloon and letting it float away. As Isla and Mami walk to school, Isla focuses on her breathing and the familiar sights, sounds, and smells of her neighborhood. When they reach school and Isla's anxiety surges, Mami reminds Isla to "try picturing what you want to see happen" and to "try making it something happy," which helps her transition into the school day. While Isla's worries haven't disappeared for good, they have quieted thanks to positive self-talk and other strategies she's practiced with Mami. Inviting illustrations include powerful visual representations of what it feels like to be frozen in fear--tree roots extending from Isla's feet as she feels literally anchored to the ground; her legs stuck in quicksand--in addition to cheerful, reassuring scenes. Anxious readers will recognize themselves in Isla's struggle and perhaps learn a new way of approaching their fears. Isla and her mom are Latine, with brown skin and wavy brown hair. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Sure to help kids conquer first-day-of-school fears. (tips for "building your worry tool bag," author's note) (Picture book. 5-8)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2023 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Mancillas, Monica: THE WORRY BALLOON." Kirkus Reviews, 1 June 2023. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A751049876/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=f1ae9e9d. Accessed 27 Aug. 2025.
Parachute Kids. By Betty C. Tang. Art by the author. Apr. 2023.288p. Scholastic/Graphix, $24.99 (9781338832693); paper, $12.99 (9781338832686); e-book, $12.99 (9781338832709). Gr. 4-9.741.5.
The term parachute kids refers to immigrant children who come to the U.S. while their parents stay behind in their home country. Inspired by New York Times best-selling illustrator Tang's own childhood experience, her latest graphic novel is about three siblings trying to make it on their own in America after their parents return to Taiwan. In 1981, 10-year-old Feng-Li is at first excited when her family visits California for vacation. Her older brother and sister (Bro and Sis) are as shocked as she is when their parents tell them that America is their new home. Only Sis speaks English, and all three suffer the isolation of a new culture and language--all without their parents. Tang tackles the emotional and logistical complexities that undocumented children face from the unique perspectives of three siblings ranging in age from 10 to 16. Sis deals with the stress of being the responsible one and taking her parents' place; meanwhile, Feng-Li struggles to make friends along with Bro, who is finding that his queer identity clashes with his Asian culture. They find strength in each other and eventually discover the joys of their new home and its promise of a better future. Tang's artwork clearly conveys the emotions of each scene, and readers will find this story hard to put down.--Bobbie Peyton
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2023 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
Peyton, Bobbie. "Parachute Kids." Booklist, vol. 119, no. 16, 15 Apr. 2023, p. 37. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A747135460/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=fe5b6055. Accessed 27 Aug. 2025.
Tang, Betty C. PARACHUTE KIDS Graphix/Scholastic (Children's None) $24.99 4, 4 ISBN: 9781338832693
A family from Taiwan pursues the American dream.
It is February 1981, when the Lin family lands in Los Angeles for the first time. Their monthlong vacation becomes a journey of circumstantial immigration when the three children find out they are staying--enrolling in local schools for political safety and a better future with more opportunities. When Mama's tourist visa extension is denied, she leaves 10-year-old Feng-Ling, or Ann; 14-year-old Ke-GÄng, or Jason; and 16-year-old Jia-Xi, or Jessie, to live on their own--with some support and supervision from family friends who immigrated earlier. With an endearing artistic style and colors that pop, this graphic novel explores how such a process, for better or worse, alters relationships and family dynamics. While learning English, navigating social interactions, and confronting racism, the siblings face additional challenges that deliver tough life lessons: Studious Jia-Xi falls for a scam with devastating consequences, Ke-GÄng's struggles with his identity lead to a serious accident, and Feng-Ling follows bad influences and does something she regrets. By the time Baba and Mama rejoin them, however, the siblings can serve up a decent meal and show off their savings from summer jobs. The development of the characters and their relationships is convincing and balanced, and the siblings' respective experiences are relatable for anyone who has tried to fit in somewhere. This empathic story centers a less widely recognized community and thoughtfully presents a distinct facet of immigration.
Emotionally moving and beautifully executed. (author's note) (Graphic fiction. 9-13)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2023 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
Harrington, Brayden BRAYDEN SPEAKS UP Harper/HarperCollins (Children's None) $18.99 8, 10 ISBN: 978-0-06-309829-9
A young teen with a stutter connects with another member of the same club: then–presidential candidate Joe Biden.
With nearly unwavering positivity Harrington presents in third person his experiences as a 13-year-old who loved to talk even though words sometimes “got caught in his mouth.” At a campaign meet and greet, he is thrilled by the candidate’s frank admission that as a teenager he too had “bumpy speech.” Feeling “truly understood for the first time,” the author overcomes his nerves to address (via video) the 2020 Democratic National Convention and to speak at the subsequent inauguration. Having realized that his stutter is “one of his greatest strengths,” he closes on a personal note: “So don’t be scared to speak up, speak out, and use your voice. You are amazing just the way you are!” With rare exceptions, Tang depicts him as a wide-eyed, confident-looking lad, whether exchanging smiles with Biden, surrounded by his supportive family (all, like Harrington, White), or chatting with racially diverse groups of friends and classmates. Though packing nowhere near the emotional punch of Jordan Scott and Sydney Smith’s I Talk Like a River (2020), the reassuring tone and message may promote improved self-esteem in readers struggling with speech (or other) difficulties of their own. An afterword offers said readers and their caregivers simple insights and suggestions. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A sunny, affirmative testimonial to the power of positive thinking. (Informational picture book. 6-8)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2021 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Harrington, Brayden: BRAYDEN SPEAKS UP." Kirkus Reviews, 15 June 2021. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A667041701/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=d9aa5ba8. Accessed 27 Aug. 2025.
PATTERSON, James & Chris Grabenstein. Jacky Ha-Ha: A Graphic Novel, adapt, by Adam Rau & Betty C. Tang. illus. by Betty C. Tang. 224p. Little, Brown/Jimmy Patterson. May 2020. Tr $24.99. ISBN 9780316459716.
Gr 4-7--A graphic adaptation of the bestselling coming-of-age comedic novel. Since Jacqueline Hart--sobriquet Jacky Ha-Ha--was in elementary school, all of Seaside Heights, NJ, has known her as the class clown. The fourth-born sibling in a seven-daughter set has always compensated for her stutter with her cleverness, but seventh grade has transformed her wit into a vulnerability. When Jacky's disruptions land her in detention, new teacher Ms. O'Mara offers a way out: participation in a school musical. Meanwhile, Jacky's mom, a Marine Corps staff sergeant, is stationed in Saudi Arabia; her father, a lifeguard, always comes home late and spends a lot of time with a comely colleague; and her beloved Nonna's health is declining. Can Jacky learn to moderate her antics and distinguish among school, home, and stage? Jacky's story is stuffed with plot and thin on nuance, relying heavily on tropes and archetypes in lieu of dynamic characterization. Jacky is the exception proving the rule, endowed with an ideal balance of intelligence, jocularity, and emotional salience that readers will adore--think an older Junie B. Jones. Pacing stumbles: Both exposition and denouement unfold in a flash while interstitial and transitional material prove lacking. Aside from Jacky's best friend Meredith, the entire ensemble is white. Artwork is par for the genre: perky with simple linework and (overly) expressive faces. VERDICT A run-of-the-mill graphic novel buttressed by its moxie and Hart.--Steven Thompson, Bound Brook Memorial Public Library, NJ
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2020 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
Thompson, Steven. "PATTERSON, James & Chris Grabenstein. Jacky Ha-Ha: A Graphic Novel." School Library Journal, vol. 66, no. 5, May 2020, p. 61. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A622369331/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=61cf6011. Accessed 27 Aug. 2025.