![]() The story of the Boxer Rebellion is told from two contrasting points of view: a boy who joins the rebels, and a girl taken in by Christian missionaries to whom she offers allegiance. In an ambitious two-volume work of historical fiction entitled Boxers and Saints(2011), Yang chronicles the peasant uprising against Western influences in China in 1900. Yang employs elements of mythology and realism in his retelling of the legend of the Chinese folk hero the Monkey King, who offers a lesson on the need to accept oneself in order to thrive, and the character of Chin-Kee represents Jin Wang’s confrontation with the stereotypes of Chinese culture. Three interlocking narratives contribute to a nuanced depiction of the struggles of adolescent Jin Wang as he comes to terms with his bicultural identity and attempts to assimilate in America. In American-Born Chinese (2006), Yang integrates tropes from American comics, Chinese folklore, and the Chinese immigrant experience. Yang has produced full-length graphic novels, short stories, and serial comics, many of which explore present-day and historical events through a contemporary Chinese American lens. Yang is preceded as National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature by Jon Scieszka (2008–9), Katherine Paterson (2010–11), Walter Dean Myers (2012–13), and Kate DiCamillo (2014–15).Gene Luen Yang is a graphic novelist and cartoonist whose work for young adults demonstrates the potential of comics to broaden our understanding of diverse cultures and people. ![]() Gene lives with his family in California. His most recent graphic novel, Dragon Hoops, was released in March 2020. Yang’s popular graphic novel series for middle-graders, Secret Coders, teaches young people about computer programming. Times Book Prize for Young Readers and was a National Book Award finalist in 2013. Yang is also well known for his 2013 two-volume graphic novel, Boxers & Saints, the story of two children living during the Boxer Rebellion in China. Yang is a three-time Eisner Award winner, one of the most prestigious honors in the comics industry. Yang’s first graphic novel, American Born Chinese, is the first graphic novel to be named a finalist for the National Book Award and the first graphic novel to win the American Library Association’s 2007 Printz Award for the Best Young Adult Book. ![]() ![]() Yang was a 2018-19 Chubb Fellow at Yale University, is the recipient of a 2016 MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, and is on the faculty at Hamline University in Saint Paul, MN for its Master of Fine Arts program in Writing for Children and Young Adults. During this time, Yang received a master’s degree in education from California State University, East Bay and began teaching computer science at a high school school in San Francisco. Yang began drawing comics and graphic novels in the fifth grade, and first found success as a cartoonist in 1997, when he received a grant for his self-published Gordon Yamamoto and the King of the Geeks. Gene Luen Yang was born and raised in California, and is the son of Chinese immigrants. Gene Luen Yang, 2016-2017 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, was the fifth writer to hold this position. During his two-year term as National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, Gene Luen Yang traveled across American to promote his platform, “READING WITHOUT WALLS,” showing kids and teens that reading is a vital part of their lives and speaking to parents, teachers, librarians-everyone invested in young people’s literacy-about how better to connect with kids and teens and help them love reading. Photo credit: Shawn Miller, Library of Congress. Mao and founding director of the Center for the Book John Y. 2016-2017 National Ambassador for Young People's LiteratureĢ016-17 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature Gene Luen Yang with acting Librarian of Congress David S. ![]()
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