You Are Life

by Bao Phi, Hannah Li (Illustrator)

Overview

“An affirmation for Asian American youth.” —Kirkus Reviews You are . . . You are . . . You are . . . Every child is bursting with amazing things! This joyful picture book celebrates the wonderful and complex identities of children of immigrants and refugees. Through poetic text, acclaimed author Bao Phi (Hello, Mandarin Duck!, A Different Pond) empowers readers to embrace all that they are—a dancer, a shining light, a K-pop song—and promises them, “You are not invisible.” Alongside vibrant, collage-style artwork, this inspiring read-aloud bursts with humor, passion, and heart. It reminds young readers who they are and what they love will always be enough—a timely message for young and old alike. You Are Life features: - An author’s note from Caldecott Honor Book author Bao Phi about the origins of this poem, particularly the rise in anti-Asian American violence during the COVID-19 pandemic. - Critical social-emotional learning (SEL) skills, including empathy, understanding, and recognizing one’s own value. - An explanation of Vietnamese terms used within the book.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781630793739
Publisher:	Capstone
Publication date:	01/01/2025
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.00(d)
Age Range:	5 - 7 Years

About the Author

Bao Phi was born in Vietnam and raised in the Phillips neighborhood of South Minneapolis.  He is an author, a poet, a community organizer, and a father.

Hannah Li is a New York-based illustrator from China. She graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design and provides illustrations for newspapers and magazines such as the New York Times, Washington Post, and Harper's Bazaar. She illustrates for publishers such as Penguin Random House and Macmillan. Hannah’s work has been recognized by the Red Dot Award, Communication Arts, American Illustration, Society of Illustrators, 3x3, and many more.

Interviews

Bao Phi’s debut picture book, A Different Pond, won many awards, including a Caldecott Honor, an Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, a Charlotte Zolotow Award, Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Honor, and others. His subsequent releases, My Footprints and Hello, Mandarin Duck!, also earned many accolades and rave reviews

Editorial Reviews

In an ending author's note, Caldecott Honor Book author Phi (A Different Pond, 2017, illustrated by Thi Bui) explains how this celebration of Asian American identity came out of the spike in antiAsian violence during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a father to a young Asian American child, he writes, he felt anger and fear but also “a glimmer of wanting to offer something hopeful.” Here is that hope: a poem, addressing young Asian American children and children of immigrants directly, highlighting the joys they bring to the world. Li's colorful collage-style art portrays children in motion: “You are Dance Dance Revolution in a field of rice. / You are an ancestral dance flash mob in a megamall parking lot.” The positive verse emphasizes, “You are not a burden. / In a basket of arms, you are the most precious thing.” Across the pages, children march in a parade for a just world, play with others in the park, and share foods from different countries. The vibrant primary colors of the illustrations pop as the text reasserts: “You can do anything.

Booklist - Lolly Gepson

I am a huge fan of Bao Phi’s work. His debut picture book, A Different Pond, won the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association Award, a Caldecott Honor for illustrator Thi Bui’s amazing artwork, as well as many other accolades. It was also a mentor text for my own picture book, Watercress. So I’m really excited to share his newest picture book with you. You Are Life is a poem — a lyrical ode to Asian American children showing them all the things they are and are not. The things that Phi says they are not hit me like a gut punch. “You are not a virus,” one page begins. “You are not an invader,” starts another. “You are not forever foreign,” yet another reads. I have been called all these things and made to feel other all my life, so to say that this book resonated with me is an understatement. Phi deftly turns these stereotypes and insults around, reassuring the reader that they are wanted, they are seen, and they are loved. In his author’s note, Phi writes about how anti-Asian hate crimes were suddenly thrust into the limelight due to the pandemic. He says, “Unfortunately, many Americans, of many different races, did not understand that racism against Asians is something that exists, so there was an erasure of our experience to go along with the violence. During that time, as a father to an Asian American child, there were so many emotions surging through me: anger, sadness, fear, resentment, exhaustion.” I felt all those things, too, especially when people I knew expressed shock over anti-Asian violence because they had no idea it had happened before, had been happening all along, ever since Asians first landed or were brought to this continent. I blame the absence of Asian American history being taught in schools. Amid all these negative emotions, Phi felt something else, “…a glimmer of wanting to offer something hopeful, something that said, yes, this happened to us, we must mark this history. At the same time, we must celebrate our lives…life in the multitudes of how we exist, outside the boxes that we are all squeezed into. And so, this poem to young children came into being.” I really appreciate how the book is both a stark reminder of what Asian American are still going through during the pandemic and a celebration of what Asian American children are and can be. “You can do anything,” Phi writes. And later, “You are not invisible. / You are not silent.” They can be singers of K-pop songs, builders of blanket forts, artists and storytellers. Hannah Li’s bright and cheerful illustrations show Asian Americans of every shade, having fun, dreaming, and “marching together in the street for a more just world.” This book is so much more than a poem. It is an anthem, a call to action, an inspiring and hope-giving hug. You can find educator resources and a special preview of You Are Life here, Bao Phi’s website here, and Hannah Li’s website here.

Picture Book Builders - Andrea Wang

This picture book affirms refugee and immigrant children of their endless capabilities.

"New Kids' and A Books" Publisher Weekly

This picture book affirms refugee and immigrant children of their endless capabilities.Weekly, "New Kids' and A Books"

10/01/2022

K-Gr 4—An award-winning poet creates a lyrical tale of encouragement. In the face of violence against Asians during and post-pandemic, Phi's words boost the self-esteem of children who are of Asian descent. Each stanza finds a new hobby or activity that all children can relate to, from karate to painting to dance. While the word choice and phrasing are clunky at times, the heart of the matter shines through. Li's exuberant illustrations burst through the pages to create a rainbow-filled world. VERDICT A must for any elementary library, to raise awareness, elicit allies, grow compassion, and build community to fight racism.—Brittany McMahon

School Library Journal

Author/father/narrator Bao Phi zestfully delivers poems he wrote for his child when anti-Asian sentiment in the U.S. escalated during the Covid-19 pandemic. Listeners will revel in his sparkling examples of Asian American culture and the creative people behind it. Gentle background music and vibrant sound effects, such as ebbing ocean waves and the cries of seagulls, excited voices during a dragon parade, and anti-immigrant protesters, add verisimilitude. Topics range from the ancient—ancestor worship and the scents of incense—to the modern—singing K-pop music in a parking lot. Phi’s lively renderings of his short and contrasting poems will satisfy young listeners. Most compelling for an audience of all ages is Phi’s admonition: “You are not a virus.” S.G.B. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

DECEMBER 2022 - AudioFile

Author/father/narrator Bao Phi zestfully delivers poems he wrote for his child when anti-Asian sentiment in the U.S. escalated during the Covid-19 pandemic. Listeners will revel in his sparkling examples of Asian American culture and the creative people behind it. Gentle background music and vibrant sound effects, such as ebbing ocean waves and the cries of seagulls, excited voices during a dragon parade, and anti-immigrant protesters, add verisimilitude. Topics range from the ancient—ancestor worship and the scents of incense—to the modern—singing K-pop music in a parking lot. Phi’s lively renderings of his short and contrasting poems will satisfy young listeners. Most compelling for an audience of all ages is Phi’s admonition: “You are not a virus.” S.G.B. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

DECEMBER 2022 - AudioFile

2022-06-08
An affirmation for Asian American youth.

Scenes of outstretched hands reaching for one another and an Asian parent gardening with a child greet readers. “You are life,” opens the poem, going on to add, “You are not a virus. / You are a seed. When you were born, / you saved me.” Above an apartment window, an expectant couple waits in anticipation as the text reads, “You are not forever foreign. / You are Immigrant. / Born here. / Adopted. / Refugee, you fled a war.” Li layers lines, blocks, and shapes of colors to create eye-popping fields filled with noodles, onigiri, and children. After touching on a myriad of interests and cultural references, the tone becomes more rousing, challenging model minority stereotypes and insisting that “You are not invisible. / You are not silent. / You are hand-painted signs, / people marching together in the street / for a more just world.” The paths paved by ancestors are also acknowledged. As Phi discusses the silly, the funny, the serious, and the inspiring, the overarching, stirring message is that the possibilities for the future are endless. In an author’s note, Phi reveals the verses were written in response to the recent rise of anti-Asian hate. Asian children take center stage, and Vietnamese is incorporated in the poem; kids of other ethnic backgrounds are also depicted, and characters vary in terms of ability. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A sweet and empowering poem. (Poetry. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews