Noodles & Doodles with 2025 One Book, One San Diego Teen Author Thien Pham

Please join KPBS and community partner, Little Fish Comic Book Studio, for a special in-person event with Thien Pham, author of our 2025 One Book, One San Diego teen selection, .

A delicious Vietnamese lunch will be followed by a discussion and guided art lesson with Thien Pham and Founder of Little Fish Comic Book Studio, Alonso Nunez.

Family Style

YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction Finalist

Eisner Award Winner for Best Graphic Memoir

An NPR Best Books of 2023

A moving young adult graphic memoir about a Vietnamese immigrant boy's search for belonging in America, perfect for fans of American Born Chinese and The Best We Could Do!

Thien's first memory isn't a sight or a sound. It's the sweetness of watermelon and the saltiness of fish. It's the taste of the foods he ate while adrift at sea as his family fled Vietnam.

After the Pham family arrives at a refugee camp in Thailand, they struggle to survive. Things don't get much easier once they resettle in California. And through each chapter of their lives, food takes on a new meaning. Strawberries come to signify struggle as Thien's mom and dad look for work. Potato chips are an indulgence that bring Thien so much joy that they become a necessity.

Behind every cut of steak and inside every croissant lies a story. And for Thien Pham, that story is about a search—for belonging, for happiness, for the American dream.

Resources:

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Health Protocol

Before arriving at this event please assess your health. If you observe any runny nose, cough, tickle/sore throat, fever, body aches or any other unusual symptoms, please stay home. We appreciate your cooperation.

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One Book, One San Diego is a partnership, led by KPBS, with the San Diego Public Library, the San Diego County Library, San Diego State University, One Book Sin Fronteras and more than 40 organizations. For more information about One Book, One San Diego, please visit: kpbs.org/onebook

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About Thien Pham

Thien Pham is a graphic novelist and educator based in Oakland, CA. He is the author and illustrator of the graphic novel Sumo and the illustrator for the middle-grade graphic novel Level Up, written by Gene Luen Yang. His latest book, Family Style, a memoir about his family's immigration to America told through the lens of food, has been on numerous best-of lists, including the Washington Post’s “Top Ten Graphic Novels of 2023” and Publishers Weekly's “20 Books We Love.” Family Style was a finalist for the ALA YALSA Excellence in Non-Fiction and won an Eisner award for Best Memoir Graphic Novel. Currently, Pham is working on his next graphic novel, teaching, and eating. A lot. Follow Thien on Instagram at @thiendog

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About Facilitator, Alonso Nuñez, and Little Fish Comic Book Studio

Alonso Nuñez is executive director and co-founder of Little Fish Comic Book Studio, a nonprofit teaching comic art to local students through classes, camps, community partnerships, and local events.

https://www.kpbs.org/news/arts-culture/2025/07/25/comic-con-artist-intensive-program-little-fish-comic-book-studio

Thank you to our sponsors!

One Book One San Diego is funded by the Linden Root Dickinson Foundation, the Seth Sprague Educational and Charitable Foundation, the Frieda Berlinski Foundation, the Payne Family Foundation, Kaiser Permanente, the City of San Diego, and Lloyd Pest Control.

Info: Doors open at 11 a.m. followed by lunch

Info: Remarks and guided art lesson

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