The Daily Herald, January 23, 2006
A Fresh Take on an Old Topic
Book Explains Chinese New Year to KidsBy Susan Dibble
Aurora resident Jeremiah Alcorn doesn't claim to know a lot about the Chinese New Year. But his colorful and lively illustrations help tell the story in a new children's book, "The Year of the Dog: Tales from the Chinese Zodiac."
Alcorn - who goes by the name Miah Alcorn on the book's cover - will sign and read from the book at 1 p.m. Sunday at Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 47 E. Chicago Ave., Naperville.
The store chose the date because it is the Chinese New Year's Day for 2006, said Victoria Lynch, Barnes & Noble community relations manager.
"It's very cute," Lynch said of the 36-page hardcover book that retails for $15.95. Alcorn, whose only previous experience with the Chinese Zodiac was reading place mats in Chinese restaurants, said he hopes the book is as much fun to read as it was to illustrate.
"It's our hope people really enjoy it," he said. The book was written by Oliver Chin, a third-generation Chinese-American in San Francisco. Chin said he selected Alcorn as his partner after a colleague recommended him and Alcorn did a couple sample illustrations.
"I was just knocked on the floor by the vitality and polish of his artwork," Chin said. "After I saw the first two samples, I said, 'I would like to work with you on this book.' "
The book is the first in a series of 12 on the Chinese Zodiac. Chin, who has started his own publishing company, Immedium Inc., said he wanted to do a fresh take on traditional tales.
"There's a ton of books about the Chinese New Year, but there's no book or series of books on the animals of the New Year," he said.
The book tells the story of the puppy Daniel, born on New Year's Day. Much loved by a girl named Lin, Daniel eagerly explores his world with her and learns through trial and error to become "man's best friend."
Chin said Daniel exhibits some of qualities traditionally associated with those born in the Year of Dog, such as loyalty.
But he has a tendency to jump to conclusions and bark too quickly, qualities he must learn to control. "In the end, he becomes an admirable dog and kind of saves the day," Chin said. Along the way, Daniel encounters what he thinks is a phoenix and a dragon as well as a real live tiger. While loosely basing his story on the Chinese Zodiac, Chin said he tried to give it more universal appeal. He is non-committal about whether he believes people born in particular years exhibit certain characteristics.
"It's for the reader to decide," he said. "I'm not totally discounting it, but what I'm trying to do in the book is approach it in a fresh way."
Alcorn said the book already has a fan in his 3-year-old son, Jacob, who asks so many questions it's hard to get through one reading.
"He calls it the doggie book," he said. Alcorn started work on the book when his younger son, Owen, now 1 1/2 years, was crawling. "A lot of poses of Daniel are based on that," he said. Employed as an artist with a company that makes video-based slot machines, Alcorn does his illustration work on a freelance basis. He is now at work on the second book in the series, the Year of the Pig.
"I've always wanted to do children's books," he said.