Author: Anastasia Suen

From her studio in Northern California, developmental editor Anastasia Suen reads, writes, and edits books for creators of all ages.
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Building a Dream

Building a Dream: How the Boys of Koh Panyee Became Champions
by Darshana Khiani (Author) and Dow Phumiruk (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop

Booktalk: In Thailand’s Phang Nga Bay, atop a network of stilts, floats the village of Koh Panyee–where a group of boys loved soccer but had nowhere to practice. Where could they find space to dribble, juggle, shoot, and score? The boys looked out at the water and started gathering tools. Even while their neighbors laughed, they sawed wood, hammered nails, and tied barrels together. The team worked for weeks to build Koh Panyee’s first floating field–a place to practice, and a place to transform their community…

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Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

The author, Darshana Khiani, is one of my former students.
Copyright © 2023 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

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Curious about Baseball

Curious about Baseball
by Thomas K. and Heather Adamson (Authors)
@ Amazon | Bookshop

Booktalk: Questions and answers explain what kids can expect when they join a baseball team, including what gear to pack, some basic rules of play, and what those secret hand signals mean in this short chapter book.

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Copyright © 2023 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

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Hands-On Science: Matter

Hands-On Science: Matter
by Lola M. Schaefer (Author) and Druscilla Santiago (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop

Booktalk: An interactive STEM picture book about solids, liquids, and gases, bringing science experiments to life. For example, after smashing clay to change its shape, tilting the book to pour liquid, or blowing to make bubbles — readers predict what will happen next — and then turn the page to see the actual results.

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Copyright © 2023 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

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Covered in Color

Covered in Color: Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s Fabrics of Freedom
by Elisa Boxer (Author) and Susanna Chapman (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop

Booktalk: Christo (1935-2020) and his partner in art and in life, Jeanne-Claude (1935-2009), are renowned for their large-scale, ambitious art installations that wrapped landmarks and swaths of land in fabric, including Berlin’s Wrapped Reichstag, Paris’s The Pont Neuf Wrapped, and New York City’s The Gates in Central Park (2005).

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Copyright © 2023 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

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Do Fire Ants Fight Fires?

Do Fire Ants Fight Fires?: How Animals Work in the Wild
by Etta Kaner (Author) and Jenna Piechota (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop

Booktalk: Do dolphins teach? Do birds build apartment buildings? Do tapirs deliver packages? You may be surprised at the answers! Animals have to work hard to survive in the wild.

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Copyright © 2023 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

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Building an Orchestra of Hope

Building an Orchestra of Hope: How Favio Chavez Taught Children to Make Music from Trash
by Carmen Oliver (Author) and Luisa Uribe (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop

Booktalk: In Cateura, Paraguay, a town built on a landfill, music teacher Favio Chavez longed to help the families living and working amid the hills of trash. How could he help them find hope for the future? Favio started giving music lessons to Cateura’s children, but soon he encountered a serious problem. He had more students than instruments!

But Favio had a strange and wonderful idea: what if this recyclers’ town had its own recycled orchestra? Favio and Colá, a brilliant local carpenter, began to experiment with transforming garbage into wonder. Old glue canisters became violins; paint cans became violas; drainpipes became flutes and saxophones. With repurposed instruments in their hands, the children of Cateura could fill their community–and the world–with the sounds of a better tomorrow.

Snippet:

Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

The author, Carmen Oliver, is one of my former students.
Copyright © 2023 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.