Writing from the Immigrant Experience - An Author Panel: Hanh Bui / Meera Sriram

 Writing from the Immigrant Experience - An Author Panel

Paulo Yoo: Let's start with introduction! Tell us a little about yourself!

Hanh Bui : Hello, my name is Hanh Bui. My latest book is Ann's New Word.It's inspired by my first teacher in America, Miss Mary Ellen. She is the reason that I grew up to become a teacher as well. I met her at the refugee camp when my family and I came to this country in 1975, at the end of the Vietnam War. She helped me during a time when I was struggling to navigate life in a new country. She made me feel safe and seen, and I knew that I would someday want to grow up to become a teacher as well. I spend a lot of time with children in schools, and is really the highlight of being an author, being able to be with the kids that I write these stories for.

Meera Sriram: Hi, everyone. My name is Meera Sriram. I was born and raised in a very "busy, colorful, chaotic, bustling city" called Chennai in the south of India. I immigrated to the United States when I was 23 years old and I've lived in this country for over 25 years. I currently live in Berkeley, California. I mostly write picture books, My recent title, The Spice Box, is a little boy who wants to cook using the heirloom spice box, which holds more than just the colorful spices. Essentially the story is about the power of family history, their history of migration and hopes and dreams. It's a celebration of the amazing smells, the aroma, and the colors, and the flavors of the different types of curry that we have in Indian cooking. It's a way to decolonize the curry.

Paula: I want to talk about some personal stuff in terms of what about your own background, what specific moments or stories,  inspired you to realize this isn't just an anecdote but a book. 

Hanh: So, in 1975, when my family and I left Vietnam at the end of the Vietnam War, we were rescued at sea by the U.S and that was the beginning of my journey in the resettlement.

After being at sea and the trauma of leaving and losing home, and family, it was scary when I first arrived. I didn't want to speak at all. I only spoke with my family.

And then I met Miss Marilou. I gravitated towards her because she was so kind and gentle in her approach.

This story is actually inspired by a true event. One day, I went to a refugee camp store where I found a sweater. And on the sweater, there was a reindeer stitched on it. And it was Rudolph, but of course I didn't know that, because we didn't have reindeers in Vietnam. So I wenr to school to ask Miss Marilou. I didn't know what the word was so I pointed to it, and she said told me that it was a reindeer, which became my first English word and the inspiration for this book. I also wanted to honor my grandmother, who helped me to be brave, because seeing my grandmother face so many new challenges and learning a new language made me feel if my grandmother can do it, then I can do it too. This year is actually 50 years since we came to the United States i and I reunited with Marilou, my first teacher.

So, Miss Marilou was 19, and I was 8. And she had given me a photo on the last day, and on the back of the photo, she had written, "Hanh, I love you, Marilou Shaida," and because she had written her full name, my husband was able to find her. And I felt like it was really important to write a story that honors the journey that children go through learning a new language and navigating two worlds.

There's so many kids out going through that now and felt it would be comforting for them to know that it's not just about learning a new language—it’s about learning anything new. It's really about trying and not giving up. And so, um, when I go to school visits and kids get to see me, and they know that.

Paula: One of the controversies right now is that there's a growing movement, to try and make English the official language of America. There’s a lot of debate over this. How do you feel about that, and how has being bilingual or multilingual benefitted you both as a person and as a writer?

Hanh: I remember when I first came here, my grandparents kept trying to encourage me to only speak English. Because my grandparents didn't speak much English, I end up being our family translator. But I loved hearing my language at home. Because that's what made me feel safe, especially as I was navigating two world, at school and at the camp was all Vietnamese children.

But once we were sponsored, and I was the only student in my class that was not a Caucasian, I was really nervous, and worried about speaking the language. And so I loved when I could go to my ESL class at school. I could speak English or Vietnamese. And I think that there's so much beauty to having all of our languages heard. And I feel that knowing another language actually helped me to learn English. And so, I encourage that with my children, to speak multiple languages. 

First of all, when I heard that English was to be the official language, I felt like it has always been the official language in this country but I also thought that there's beauty in all of the other languages that I get to hear around me. And I think that it does help us as writers to be open to the experiences of others.

Meera: I'm a strong advocate for bilingualism, and multilingualism. There’s scientific research that has shown considerable brain development in younger kids that speak more than one language.

And also when I speak, I have an accent, and people always ask me, “What language do you write your books in?” I have to tell them English. When they ask, “How come?” I tell them, “If you knew your history of India being colonized by the British, then you would know that most of us in India can speak and understand English.” I am happy to say that one of my books, A Gift for Amma, was probably one of the first books to have a Tamil word on the book cover, in the title. It means mother. So I am always an advocate for including words, and I prefer not to italicize those words. Because it's a form of resistance to keep them in non-italicized. I do what I can to make sure that communities that speak languages other than English feel seen and feel heard.

Paula: I want to talk about family. We started talking about that earlier, and I wanted to return to Han. In your book, The Yellow Áo Dài,  you have a lot going from the grandmother to the mother, to the daughter.  In terms of stories of immigration, why is it so important to bring in the old people? Because these are books for young kids, but we're bringing in the grandmas, the aunties, the uncles. Why is that important, and how do you do it in a way that is engaging for children to learn about those types of connections?

Hanh: Going back to the language conversation, it means so much to me the first time I saw the word Áo Dài on the cover of the book, which is the Vietnamese traditional dress. And now kids in school know what Áo Dài is. 

But when you asked about grandparents, it is about honoring those who came before us. That’s a big inspiration for me as far as wanting to include that in my book because my grandmother would share oral storytelling. She gifted that to me during our whole journey coming to America.

When I was feeling very seasick and very worried, she would calm me with stories of our homeland. And so, I learned that from her, and I do that with my own children. I share our stories, and I honor my grandmother and my mother-in-law.

That's why The Yellow Áo Dài is about my daughter and her grandmother, and their love of being princesses. Their love of our traditional dances, the fan dance and our traditional dress, our Áo Dài. We write stories that are more complex. We write our family stories, and I remember when my daughter was feeling sad that she didn't know her grandmother because she passed away when she was a baby. But when my daughter saw all these photos of grandmother wearing Áo Dài in her favorite color, yellow, she felt closer to her and want to learn about our family history. And I wanted to celebrate my own grandmother. 

I think a lot of children can relate to stories that have to do with their grandparents and those kind of relationships.

***

This panel was full of such rich topics and having so many writers speak on their lived experience and how it influences their work was awe-inspiring. This brought me much hope in a political world that tries to silence storytellers. 

Reminder that this will be available to rewatch until September 14th, 2025 in your SCBWI Membership portal.   

Inspired by her first teacher at the refugee camp, Hanh Bui pursued a master’s degree in Early Childhood Education and taught second grade. Hanh’s commitment to celebrating her heritage includes giving presentations at school visits about her refugee experience to children studying immigration as part of their school curriculum. She serves as co-chair of the Equity and Inclusion Team for the Mid-Atlantic region of SCBWI. She is the author of The Yellow Áo Dài and Ánh's New Word, (Feiwel & Friends, Macmillan). 

Meera Sriram draws from her life straddling the East and West to tell stories for children. She is the author of several picture books including A GIFT FOR AMMA (South Asia Book Award), DUMPLING DAY (featured in The New York Times),  A GARDEN IN MY HANDS (SCBWI Crystal Kite Award Finalist) and the most recent THE SPICE BOX (CALIBA Golden Poppy Award Finalist). Her work has been selected Best Book of the Year by School Library Journal and Bank Street College, included in several state reading lists, and has received starred reviews from Kirkus, SLJ, and Publishers Weekly. Meera also volunteers her time to champion the Equity & Inclusion Awards in her SCBWI region. She lives with her family in Berkeley, California. For more information, please visit:   http://www.meerasriram.com