“We live at the southeast edge of our island

Next to tall cliffs that rise thousands of meters

High above the deep blue Pacific Ocean.

Visitors tell me it looks like the coast of Hawaii,

Or the bluffs of California,

Or the shores of New Zealand.

I tell them it looks exactly like itself:

Taiwan, the beautiful island, 

Where the mountains meet the sea.”

In our final World Kid Lit Wednesday, I’d like to welcome you to a magical journey through the lush landscapes of Taiwan’s eastern plains, where the air is rich with the scent of adventure and the promise of discovery! In Wild Greens, Beautiful Girl, you will meet a young Amis girl and her mother as they embark on a delightful quest to gather nature’s treasures before the skies open up and rain blesses their garden.

As the story unfolds, our brave little heroine encounters a mysterious, spikey plant. But wait! This is no ordinary weed. With every tug at its roots, she uncovers a profound lesson about identity and the hidden beauty within us all.

This lyrical English-Chinese bilingual tale, the author invites curious readers to celebrate the wonders of nature and the richness of cultural heritage. Erica Lee Schlaikjer’s enchanting words and Cinyee Chiu’s vibrant illustrations will transport you to a world where the ordinary becomes extraordinary.

As you turn the pages, you’ll also discover fascinating insights about the Indigenous Amis people of Taiwan and learn to speak some Amis words, enhancing your journey with cultural wisdom and connection. The Amis, one of the 16 Indigenous tribes, are a vibrant and community-oriented indigenous ethnic group in Taiwan. They are known for their magnificent rituals, with the annual harvest festival being the most celebrated and representative.

So, let your curiosity bloom and your heart open wide. Wild Greens, Beautiful Girl is not just a story—it’s an invitation to see the world through your newfound Amis eyes and find unexpected beauty of the nature of Taiwan.

Wild Greens, Beautiful Girl

Written by Erica Lee Schlaikjer, illustrated by Cinyee Chiu

2024, Sleeping Bear Press

ISBN: 9781534113152 

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Indigenous Peoples Cultural Development Center. https://en.tacp.gov.tw/Indigenous/. Accessed 5 Aug. 2024.

Peoples, The web site of Council of Indigenous. ‘Amis’. The Web Site of Council of Indigenous Peoples, 20 Dec. 2010, https://www.cip.gov.tw/en/tribe/grid-list/50AABE9D1284F664D0636733C6861689/info.html.

‘Picture Books’. Erica Lee Schlaikjer, https://eschlaik.com/picture-books. Accessed 5 Aug. 2024.

‘Wild Greens Beautiful Girl (Own Voices, Own Stories)’. Goodreads, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/206044430-wild-greens-beautiful-girl. Accessed 5 Aug. 2024.

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Eleanor Duggan is a passionate children’s book reader, a storytelling enchantress, an aspiring globetrotter, a part-time book crafter, and an impassioned foodie who is a cooking disaster. She is more known as an international school teacher-librarian and the International Association of School Librarianship (IASL) Regional Director for East Asia. She is a Taiwanese with a Belgian soul and is currently enjoying her life as a citizen of the world with her daughter and their 2 one-of-a kind cats. You may find her via The Third Culture Librarian 

GLLI Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in posts on this site are the individual author’s and are not indicative of the views of Global Literature in Libraries Initiative.