my favorite chaperone jean davies okimoto

My favorite chaperone jean davies okimoto how to#

'When you're part of a racially mixed couple the world does react to you a little differently. In this case, though, the avoidance of misrepresentation also gives a fuller view of the actuality of being Jean Davies Okimoto. My maiden name is there just so I'm not misrepresenting myself.' 'Because of my interest in multicultural books I wanted to represent myself honestly. Okimoto adopted the double-barreled name to avoid confusion. My husband is Japanese American and my mother was adopted in 1911 in Chicago and all we ever knew about her biological background is that she was Jewish: she was a Jewish baby adopted by a Protestant family.' 'My stepsons are Asian, and my daughters are from my first marriage and they're white. The biracial theme that has run through several of her books is one that Okimoto has a special understanding for. 'I think you want people to end up a little different than how they start at the beginning of the story.' The growth aspects are essential to Okimoto's work: something that is not unfathomable when you consider her day job. But that's about as moralistic as I get.' I suppose if there is a pill, it might be the voice of Gloria-the girl who is Japanese-Canadian-in her idea that if someone has a problem with you, then you have a problem with them. 'People with a biracial background have a harder struggle as teenagers in trying to come to terms with their own identity. For example, the character of Moonbeam Dawson is biracial: his father was a native Canadian. A message, if you will, that's essentially about growing towards the light. While there is a virtual lack of moralizing in Okimoto's writing, she feels that there is a positive undercurrent that runs through all of her work. It hasn't done much to equip him for the real world. Most of Moonbeam's growing years have been spent in various new age-type communities on Canada's west coast and his reality is filled with peace and vegetarianism. Moonbeam Dawson is the son of an idealistic woman named Abby who is determined to make the world a better place. I just wanted to write about these particular characters.'Īnd these particular characters are quite interesting.

My favorite chaperone jean davies okimoto how to#

'I really wasn't trying to suggest to anybody how to be a teenager,' Okimoto says, 'how to parent a teenager, how you're supposed to live. It is, however, a very good read with well drawn characters and believable situations.

For example, Okimoto's latest book The Eclipse of Moonbeam Dawson doesn't have any larger lessons: no hidden meanings or even hints of moralizing that can destroy a book's entertainment value. Okimoto's books are fresh and real without the pill buried within that so many books for that age group seem compelled to add. This might be another part of her secret. I don't read other people's books for young adults.' 'That's supposed to be death to a writer, but it's true. 'I don't read in this genre,' she admits. Her work as a psychotherapist has perhaps given Okimoto an inside track to the minds of young people: their problems and challenges. As well, two of her books have been recognized as the Smithsonian Institution's Notable Books.īased in Seattle, Washington, Okimoto-who has been writing books for children and young adults since the late 1970s-has a day job. Various of her 13 books have been the recipient of the American Library Association's Best Books for Young Adults Award the International Reading Association's Reader's Choice Award the IRA/CBC Young Adults' Choice Award the Parent's Choice Award the Washington Governor's Award and the Maxwell Medallion for Best Children's Book of the Year. In a literary field where awards mean everything, Jean Davies Okimoto has a bookcase full.