Award Winning Illustrator and Children's Author Allen Say Reads “Tea With Milk” at Japanese American National Museum Sunday, Aug. 8

LOS ANGELES—Allen Say, winner of the 1994 Randolph Caldecott Medal for most distinguished picture book for children and the Boston Globe—Horn Book Award for outstanding illustration, will read and sign his latest book, Tea With Milk, on Sunday, August 8 at 1 p.m. at the Japanese American National Museum. On Sunday, August 22 at 4 p.m., the Museum Book Store will host a drawing for a signed and framed Tea With Milk poster. No purchase is necessary and the winner need not be present for the drawing.

Allen Say is best known for his sensitive and elegant watercolors and simple and profound prose, which have won him critical acclaim and sold millions of his children’s books nationally and internationally. He will sign his latest book at the Museum, Tea With Milk, a tribute to his parents and their path to discovering their true home.

Tea With Milk, released through Walter Lorraine Books, paints a vivid portrait of the graceful formality of Japan, capturing the struggle between two cultures through the story of a young woman, May, who moves back to Japan with her parents after growing up in the United States. Tea With Milk is a heartfelt tribute to Say’s mother, who is Japanese American, and her journey through a different culture, and a love story as well. Like Say’s other illustrated children’s books, including El Chino, Grandfather’s Journey, and Allison, Tea With Milk touches on a potentially difficult issue in a manner that provokes thoughtful adult-child dialogue.

Allen Say was born on August 28, 1937 in Yokohama Japan, and moved to the United States when he was sixteen years old. He attended Aoyama Gakuin in Tokyo; Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles; Los Angeles Art Center; University of California, Berkeley; and the San Francisco Art Institute. Say has worked as a commercial photographer and illustrator, and was publisher for EIZO Press in Berkeley, California.

The Japanese American National Museum is located at 369 East First Street in downtown Los Angeles. The Tea With Milk reading and signing is free for members of the Japanese American National Museum and free with paid admission for non-members. Admission prices are $6 for adults, $4 for seniors, $3 for students and children 6–17 years of age, and free for members and children 5 and under. Call 213.625.0414 for more information or to make reservations, or visit the Museum web site at www.janm.org.

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