ThaoThao

""Thao" seems like a simple enough name. Only four letters--all of them belonging to many other names! And yet Thao had been called everything from "Tail" to "Theo" to "Towel." At one point, completely fed up, she decided it was time to try another name. Something "easy." Something like "Jennifer." But trying to be someone else only works for so long. And eventually "Jennifer" is swayed back to being herself when she opens her lunchbox and finds her mother has packed her G̉oi cûón (also known as Vietnamese spring rolls)! Thao's favourite! While simple on the surface, this story of cultural assimilation and celebration of cultural pride runs deep. It is a personal one for Thao. And it will strike a chord with readers who have struggled to fit within a mainstream mold--then realized it was just more comfortable to be themselves. Visually, this book will also be a personal reflection of Thao in that she will be incorporating childhood photos into her usual cut-paper collage style! She has also opted to minimize the number of illustrations and instead play with type and typography as a way to highlight her name--and the many variations of it that appear in the book!"--
Even though it's only four simple, familiar letters long, nobody can ever pronounce Thao's name. She's been called Theo, Tail, even Towel! But the teasing names--Tofu, Tiny, China Girl--are worse. Maybe it's time to be someone else? Thao decides to try on a different name, something easy, like Jennifer. It works, but only until she opens her lunchbox to find her mother's Vietnamese spring rolls, gỏi cuốn--Thao's favorite! Now, it feels a lot more comfortable to be herself. Simple on the surface, this story inspired by Thao's own childhood is full of humor, heart, and important ideas of diversity, inclusion, and cultural pride. The story will be instantly relatable to readers who have ever felt different.--