Stitch in Time: A Hmong Teen's Vision - Tapa blanda

Readers first met the Hmong orphan girl, Mai Yang, in my picture book, THE WHISPERING CLOTH, in which she struggles with life in a Thai refugee camp. To pass the time and to build self-esteem Grandma teaches Mai how to do pa’ndau, traditional decorative stitchwork. In my middle grade novel, TANGLED THREADS, Mai is now 13 and “fresh off the plane” in Providence. The book details her attempts to assimilate in the fast and loose American culture. Now, following up those award-winning books is a YA novel, STITCH IN TIME. Mai is a high school senior, having fun with her friends on a Hmong dance team, excelling in textile art and hoping to attend an art school. But a tragic reunion with her refugee camp crush, Yia, throws her life into disarray. He is now twice a widower and has two young boys. Helping him to recover, Mai finds her feelings rekindled. How can she balance a secret love life, her family and school obligations along with her future dreams?

Two-time winner of the Connecticut Book Award, Vernon author Pegi Deitz Shea has published more than 400 articles, stories, poems and books for readers of all ages. She specializes in multicultural and social justice fiction and nonfiction for young readers. Her most recent novel, Abe in Arms, is about a former African boy soldier suffering from PTSD. Child labor is the topic of The Carpet Boy’s Gift, and Hmong refugee lives are featured in the picture book, The Whispering Cloth, and its novel sequel, Tangled Threads. New England history is featured in The Taxing Case of the Cows: A True Story About Suffrage and in Noah Webster: Weaver of Words. Shea’s books have won awards from organizations including the International Reading Association, NCTE, Children’s Book Council/National Council for the Social Studies, Junior Library Guild, Bank Street College, New York Public Library and other organizations. She has presented at more than 400 schools, libraries and conferences. On the Creative Writing faculty of the University of Connecticut and the Mark Twain House in Hartford, she is also on the State Teaching Artists faculty.