Watercress

<b>Caldecott Medal Winner<br>Newbery Honor Book<br>APALA Award Winner<br><br>A story about the power of sharing memories&#151;including the painful ones&#151;and the way our heritage stays with and shapes us even when we don&#146;t see it.&#160; <br><br><br>New England Book Award Winner<br>A <i>New York Times</i> Best Children&#146;s Book of the Year<br>A Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book</b><br><br>While driving through Ohio in an old Pontiac a young girl's Chinese immigrant parents spot watercress growing wild in a ditch by the side of the road.&#160; They stop the car grabbing rusty scissors and an old paper bag and the whole family wades into the mud to gather as much as they can.&#160;<br><br>At first she's embarrassed. Why can't her family just get food from the grocery store like everyone else? But when her mother shares a bittersweet story of her family history in China the girl learns to appreciate the fresh food they foraged&#151;and the memories left behind in pursuit of a new life.<br><br>Together they make a new memory of watercress.<br><br>Author Andrea Wang calls this moving autobiographical story &#147;both an apology and a love letter to my parents.&#148;&#160; It&#146;s a bittersweet delicate look at how sharing the difficult parts of our histories can create powerful new moments of family history and help connect us to our roots.&#160;<br><br>Jason Chin&#146;s illustrations move between China and the American Midwest and were created with a mixture of traditional Chinese brushes and western media. The dreamy nostalgic color palette brings this beautiful story to life.&#160;<br><br>An endnote from the author describes her personal connection to the story and an illustrator&#146;s note touches on both the process of the painting and the emotional meaning brought to the work.&#160;<br><b> </b><br><b>New England Book Award Winner</b><br><b>A <i>New York Times </i>Best Children&#146;s Book of the Year</b><br><b>A <i>Wall Street Journal </i>Best Children's Book of the Year</b><br><b>A <i>Boston Globe </i>Best Children's Book of the Year</b><br><b>A <i>Washington Post </i>Best Children's Book of the Year</b><br><b>A Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book</b><br><b>Winner of the Cybils Award</b><br><b>An SCBWI Crystal Kite Award Winner</b><br><b>A New York Public Library Best Book of the Year</b><br><b>A Chicago Public Library Best Book of the Year</b><br><b>An ALSC Notable Children's Book</b><br><b>Named a best book of the year by <i>Publishers Weekly BookPage School Library Journal Kirkus Reviews Publishers Lunch Shelf Awareness </i> and more!</b><br><b>A CBC/NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book</b><br><b>An NPR 'Book We Love!'</b><br><b>A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection!</b>