The Children’s Services Council of Broward County has been proud to bring Broward: Read for the Record to schools in the community for the past seven years. The event encourages parents and students throughout Broward County to all read the same book on the same day. The M Network has been collaborating with The Children’s Services Council of Broward County since 2016 as the agency of record, working tirelessly to serve children and families in our community.
This year’s book is Amy Wu and the Patchwork Dragon by Kat Zhang. It’s a great adventure to get the little ones excited about reading. Amy Wu has been tasked with crafting a dragon to share with her class at school, but no dragon feels quite right until storytime with Grandma Wu sparks new inspiration to make Amy’s perfect dragon!
Kat Zhang shares her vivid imagination in curating books for teens and children, like the illustrated picture book Amy Wu and the Patchwork Dragon. The follow-up to Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao was chosen as the 2021 Read for the Record book!
Part of the national Jumpstart’s Read for the Record® campaign, this event mobilizes millions of children across the country to celebrate literacy by participating in the most significant shared reading experience. Learn more with HandsOn Broward.
The M Network sat down with writer Kat Zhang in preparation for Broward: Read for the Record.
Kat, what inspired you to start writing your first novel at the age of twelve? What advice would you give to kids today who want to be authors?
“I’ve loved to read since I was very small, and I think that if I’d realized authors existed before age 11 or so, I would’ve started writing books even earlier! It wasn’t until then that I truly understood books didn’t just appear like magic—someone wrote them!
To any kid who wants to be an author, I’d say to keep writing and believe in yourself. It’s normal to not be very good at first. Like everything else, writing takes practice, and if you give up early on, you’ll never know how awesome you could have become.”
Is there any inspiration from Amy Wu and the Patchwork Dragon that came from your real life?
“Most of the Amy Wu books are based on some nugget of experience from my childhood. I was inspired to write Patchwork Dragon when I stumbled upon an old photograph of myself from first or second grade. In it, I’m standing in front of a painting of an Eastern dragon I’d made for school. Looking at that photo, and thinking about how proud I was of that dragon, I got the idea for a book that highlighted the importance of being true to yourself, and of celebrating different cultures.”
How did you feel when Amy Wu was chosen to be the national Jumpstart’s Read for the Record® campaign, book of 2021?
“I was so thrilled! And the more I learn about Jumpstart and Read for the Record, the more honored I am that I get to be part of it. Books have made me who I am, and Jumpstart’s advocacy for early childhood literacy is so important.”
How important is sharing a love for literacy with kids today? Do you feel that participating in shared reading experiences sparks the love of reading in kids?
“Yes, definitely. I still remember so fondly reading the Winnie the Pooh stories with my dad when I was young. Reading with kids is such great bonding time, and sparks wonderful conversations. When kids see that the adults in their life value reading and stories, they’re that much more likely to value it too.”
Tell us about your love for poetry and how that seeps into your children’s books?
“I think my love of poetry stems from that same Winnie the Pooh book! It not only had all the Pooh stories but also A. A. Milne’s poems for children. I loved hearing the rhythm of the words read aloud and would read them all the time to my stuffed animals. The cadence of a story is important in any book, but especially so in picture books. I think a background in poetry is really helpful!”
Kat, what exciting stories should we be waiting for from you next?
“I’m so excited that there will be at least two more Amy Wu books: Amy Wu and the Warm Welcome and Amy Wu and the Ribbon Dance! I hope there will be even more after that. I also have an exciting project called The Magic Paintbrush, a middle-grade novel that I’m working on with Baobab studios.”
Learn about Kat at KatZhang.com, and to learn more about Broward: Read for the Record 2021, click here.
