As Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas’
publication date finally arrives on Jan. 7, 2014, after a lengthy and arduous
nine-year journey, I can’t help but reflect on the path this book has taken
from my original vision to the final product, and the many hands it has passed
through and how each has helped shape the book in some significant way.
The journey
began about a dozen (or so) years ago, when I learned about fractured fairy
tales at a writing conference. I was intrigued by the idea of re-writing a
familiar tale from a different perspective or culture. After checking out some
books at the library, I played around with a few fairy tales. Something about
the Goldilocks story had always stuck with me. Here was a little girl breaking
and entering into the three bears’ home, destroying their stuff, and leaving a
mess never to be heard from again. How rude! And what kind of message does this
story give kids? I wanted to re-write this story with a more compassionate
protagonist and a more satisfying ending.
My first few
attempts told the story from Papa Bear’s perspective (I believe it was called
“Papa Bear’s Good Deed”). The story began from the moment Goldilocks ran away,
leaving her hat behind, and Papa Bear’s journey to find Goldy and return the
hat to her—and all the people he inadvertently frightened along the way
(because he was a bear) even though he had set out to do a good deed. It went
on for about 2,000 words. Yeah, not even close to publishable. And, it didn’t
have the unique angle I was looking for or the resolution that I felt was
missing from the original story.
Then, a title
and a “what if” question popped into my head. What if Goldilocks wasn’t a
little girl with blonde ringlets, but Chinese? I asked my aunt to help me come
up with a Chinese name that sounded phonetically similar to Goldilocks and
hence, the first seeds of a story called
“Go Dil Lok and the Three Chans” began to germinate. But I wanted the book to
be about more than just Goldy having a different ethnic background. I wanted
the story to also offer some insights to Chinese traditions and culture. So, Go
Dil Lok began her fictional life in a skyrise apartment in Hong Kong (where I
had spent my adolescent years), preparing to celebrate the biggest and most
colorful Chinese festival of the year, Chinese New Year.
In its
nine-year route to publication, this story passed through the hands of my
writing group, The Ukiah Writers Salon (multiple times), and five different
editors from two publishing houses who
have all contributed greatly to shaping the book. This meant changing the name
from the hard to pronounce Go Dil Lok to Goldy Luck (“Luck” serving the double
purpose of being a Chinese last name as well as mirroring the theme of good
luck in the book) and relocating Goldy from an international location to an
American one (which one editor felt kids in the US can better relate to.)
In my
attempts to give the mundane beds and chairs a modern twist, earlier versions
of the book included an aquarium (Goldy smudged the glass), an oriental rug
(she spilled fish flakes all over it) and a computer game (Goldy beat Little
Chan’s record). And a greatly detailed Chinese New Year parade with lion
dancers. I thought it’d make for really fun illustrations, but another editor
wisely suggested I simplify the story and revert back to the original three
bowls/chairs/bed structure.
Still, I
wanted a slightly different spin. Enter my uncle’s massage chair and my
parents’ Tempurpedic electric bed (as a writer, I never know what every day
event or thing creeps into a story!). The really fun part was implanting the
traditions and rituals of the New Year (receiving “lucky” red envelopes, eating
turnip cakes) into the story and thinking up ways to make Goldy’s experiences
more culturally relevant (“She felt like stuffing in a pork bun,” “The mattress
felt as hard as a week-old almond cookie”)
Finally,
illustrator Grace Zong added her fabulous artistic touch, and brought Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas to
vibrant life. So, how many people did it
take to make this children’s book? One writer, five editors, four readers in a
writing group, one agent, one illustrator, one publisher, not to mention the
cast of people behind the scenes from the art director to the marketing
personnel. Yes, an entire village. Writing may be a solitary endeavor, but
publishing is not. And I am truly grateful to my Charlesbridge village for
making my vision become a reality.
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Posted by Natasha Yim, author of Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas, releasing January 7, 2014.
