Jen Shin launches "The Blue House I Loved"

Ilustrator Jen Shin will read The Blue House I Loved, followed by a conversation, Q&A, and signing.

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The Blue House I Loved centers on a family of newly arrived Hmong refugees who move into the lower level of a duplex in St. Paul, Minnesota. The narrator loves her aunt and uncle’s home with its mismatched furniture, but it is too small for the large family. The boy cousins sleep in the three-season porch, where their wet hair freezes in wintertime, and the rest of the family crowds into two bedrooms. Yet this is the cherished home where they live and love, their own small corner of a very large and unfamiliar place, and in this blue house a young girl learns about her new country. Eventually, the family moves in search of more space, and years later the house is torn down. Where it was, green grass now grows. But for this girl and her family, the ghost of the house remains, its memories a strong thread that holds time at bay and hearts close together.

Combining Kao Kalia Yang’s lyrical prose with ethereal illustrations by artist and architect Jen Shin, The Blue House I Loved speaks to the multitude of refugee experiences around the world, honoring the challenges they face and the homes they create together.

Advanced Praise

"For those of us denied a place in the history books, our memory is like beautiful art meant to be shared. Through the gift of her art, Kao Kalia Yang once again encourages us to engage with one another in the communal—and vital—practice of remembering. A beautiful book."—Bao Phi, author of You Are Life

"Artist Shin’s architectural prowess enables spectacularly meticulous illustrations from multiple viewpoints that undeniably elevate Hmong American Yang’s poignant, longing prose. Intricate full-color details—hanging flyswatter, scattered sneakers, fading hopscotch grid, a child too small to reach the faucet—add resonating depth, underscoring a loving family in constant motion." —Kirkus Reviews

Jen Shin is an interdisciplinary artist and urbanist. The daughter of immigrants and granddaughter of refugees, she is fascinated by what it means to make a home and by the places where communities create home together. A Flatbush resident, Jen has contributed illustrations to Voices of Lefferts, a community history project in Flatbush/Prospect Lefferts Gardens. She lives and works in Brooklyn.

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Host or Publisher Lofty Pigeon Books