Transatlantic is excited to announce that Rachel Wada has won the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature for Picture Books!
The goal of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature is to honor and recognize individual work about Asian/Pacific Americans and their heritage, based on literary and artistic merit.
FROM THE TOPS OF THE TREES, illustrated by Transatlantic client Rachel Wada and written by Kao Kalia Yang.
Young Kalia has never known life beyond the fences of the Ban Vinai Refugee Camp. The Thai camp holds many thousands of Hmong families who fled in the aftermath of the little-known Secret War in Laos that was waged during America’s Vietnam War. For Kalia and her cousins, life isn’t always easy, but they still find ways to play, racing with chickens and riding a beloved pet dog.
Just four years old, Kalia is still figuring out her place in the world. When she asks what is beyond the fence, at first her father has no answers for her. But on the following day, he leads her to the tallest tree in the camp and, secure in her father’s arms, Kalia sees the spread of a world beyond.
Rachel Wada is a freelance illustrator & designer based in Vancouver, BC. Being Japanese-Chinese, her visual style is an amalgamation of cultural influences and techniques that reflect the melting pot of her cultural heritage. Creating a body of work that feels the most reflective of Rachel and her roots was her way of making art that she could relate to.
Rachel is represented by Amy Tompkins.
To learn more about the awards, click here: https://www.apalaweb.org/awards/literature-awards/
Congratulations Rachel!