Vee in Between

by Valerie Kaiyang Wood, Angela Poon (Illustrator)

Overview

Vee’s favorite bedtime story is the night she met her parents. When Vee was nine months old, they flew to China to bring her home. But when she struggles to keep up in Chinese dance class and a woman at the grocery store makes Vee feel like she doesn’t belong, her white parents don’t always understand. Vee wants to embrace every part of herself, but it’s hard when it feels like she has to choose. With help from another adoptee, can Vee find a way to celebrate being in between?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781772603101
Publisher:	Second Story Press
Publication date:	05/09/2023
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.25(d)
Lexile:	720L (what's this?)
Age Range:	6 - 8 Years

About the Author

Valerie Kaiyang Wood was born in China and adopted to Canada at the age of nine months. Drawn to the storytelling power of history, she completed her MA in Public History and Curatorial Studies at Carleton University where she began writing her children’s book based on her experiences of transracial adoption. Valerie is passionate about centering diverse perspectives in both her writing and her work as a museum curator in Ottawa.

Angela Poon is a freelance illustrator and comic artist living in Mississauga, Ontario. She is a graduate of Sheridan College's Bachelor of Illustration program, and is the illustrator of the picture book Vee in Between and the graphic novel Fred & Marjorie: A Doctor, a Dog, and the Discovery of Insulin. Angela enjoys capturing warmth and little moments of everyday life in her illustrations.

What People are Saying About This

author of Finding Home - Jen Sookfong Lee

“Vee in Between is a touching and honest picture book about transracial adoption and the ways identity can confuse, frustrate, and challenge the children who often feel as if they belong nowhere. Valerie Kaiyang Wood approaches the topic with sensitivity and candour and allows Vee, a little girl who struggles to reconcile her Chinese-ness with her adoptive family, to feel a range of emotions, giving emotional space for the adopted children who will read this.”

author of Older Sister, Not Necessarily Related - Jenny Heijun Wills

“I cannot emphasize enough the ways picture books by and for transracial and transnational adoptees can support adopted youths and illuminate our experiences to those in non-adoption circumstances. With Valerie Kaiyang Wood’s story, Vee in Between, youths will find a nuanced and gentle conversation about some of the many dilemmas they may face throughout their lives but especially in childhood. This book is a valuable conversation starter, continuer, and guide.”

Editorial Reviews

"Vee in Between is a touching, beautifully illustrated book that presents a unique, powerful look at adoption and identity that is both engaging and moving. I think this book can make a big difference in personal and educational settings, encouraging empathy, understanding, and appreciation for our diverse, multicultural world. Highly recommended."

Canadian Review of Materials

"This picture book details the challenges and confusion that come with adoption in a way that’s touching, sensitive, and educational. While it might be a bit advanced for the two-year-old in your life, it’s never too early to start incorporating important stories like this one into their nighttime routine (and they'll marvel over the gorgeous illustrations)."

Cosmopolitan

"Told with gentle thoughtfulness and clarity, Wood creates Vee as a memorable heroine and provides a necessary resource for adopted children, adoptive parents, and educators."

Open Book

"A lovely and moving story of Vee, who is trying to find a space for herself in between all of her identities...This book is important because it shows that families are all beautiful, diverse and unique. It also addresses a gap centring the topic of transracial adoption in a gentle and age-appropriate way."

Canadian Children's Book News - Rabia Khokhar

"Celebrating diversity, fostering empathy, and promoting understanding, Vee in Between is a must-read."

Quill and Quire

In this personal-feeling debut, Kaiyang Wood—drawing from her own experience of transracial adoption—introduces a child protagonist coming to terms with her sense of self.

Publishers Weekly

"This picture book details the challenges and confusion that come with adoption in a way that’s touching, sensitive, and educational. While it might be a bit advanced for the two-year-old in your life, it’s never too early to start incorporating important stories like this one into their nighttime routine (and they'll marvel over the gorgeous illustrations)."

Cosmopolitan