Andrea Wang (traditional: 陳郁如 / simplified: 陈郁如 / pinyin: Chén Yùrú) is an American author of

children's books A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''chi ...

. Her fiction and nonfiction

picture books A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The ima ...

and middle grade novels focusing on the Asian and Asian-American experience have earned numerous awards and accolades.

Biography

The daughter of Chinese immigrants, Andrea Wang was born in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, Massachusetts. From the ages of 2 to 13, she lived in the town of Yellow Springs, Ohio. Her family then returned to the Boston area, and she went on to major in Biology and Chinese Studies at

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a Private university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...

. She credits meeting author

Nien Cheng Nien Cheng or Zheng Nian (January 28, 1915 – November 2, 2009) was the pen name of Yao Nien-Yuan (). She was a Chinese people, Chinese author known for recounting her experiences during the Cultural Revolution in her memoir ''Life and Deat ...

at Wellesley as a "pivotal moment" for giving her "the confidence to pursue a second career as an author." She received her MS in Environmental Science from the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, IUB, or Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana Univer ...

, from which she used what she had learned to "make the setting a character" in her writing. After working for over a decade as an environmental consultant, she completed an MFA in Creative Writing for Young People at

Lesley University Lesley University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded in 1909 to educate teachers. Originally founded as a women's college, male students were admitted beginning in 2005. History 1909–1998 Th ...

. Wang began her publishing career writing non-fiction articles and books about scientific and environmental topics. Her first fiction book, ''The Nian Monster'', was published in 2016, and received the Honor Award from the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association. Her autobiographical picture book ''

Watercress Watercress or yellowcress (''Nasturtium officinale'') is a species of aquatic flowering plant in the cabbage family, Brassicaceae. Watercress is a rapidly growing perennial plant native to Eurasia. It is one of the oldest known leaf vegetabl ...

'' describes her experience growing up as one of the few Chinese Americans in rural Ohio. According to the book's illustrator Jason Chin, ''Watercress'' taps into universal themes. In 2022, the book won the

Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature The Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature (APAAL) are a set of literary awards presented annually by the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA). The APALA was formed in 1980 "to create an organization that would address the n ...

for Picture Book,

Caldecott Medal The Randolph Caldecott Medal, frequently shortened to just the Caldecott, annually recognizes the preceding year's "most distinguished American picture book for children". It is awarded to the illustrator by the Association for Library Service ...

, and

Newbery Honor The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contr ...

. Wang currently resides with her family in Colorado.

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wang, Andrea Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American women writers of Chinese descent American children's writers American women children's writers Writers from Cambridge, Massachusetts Writers from Massachusetts Newbery Honor winners