Chinese-American author Eva Chen urges kids to celebrate who they are in her new children’s book from

Eva Chen’s three children, with their colourful outfits and big personalities, are the highlights of her Instagram account.

Family is important to Chen – a fashion editor turned Instagram fashion partnerships director and children’s book author – and they are the subject of her new book, I Am Golden.

Through Mei, a young girl learning to love herself at the centre of the story, Chen emphasises that who you are and where you come from is something to be celebrated, not just tolerated.

“People talk a lot about self-acceptance and self-awareness. And I always felt like, for kids, that was such a neutral term, when really what we want kids to do is celebrate self-love and celebrate who they are,” Chen says.

Chen wants joyfulness to leap off the pages, which feature beautiful illustrations of Mei on her journey by Sophie Diao. She points to a moment where Mei is riding on a dragon “feeling uplifted and that she’s leaving behind all of that negativity to embrace who she is”.

There’s a similar sense of joy in Chen’s previous books, including Juno Valentine and the Magical Shoes, A Is for Awesome! and Roxy the Last Unisaurus Rex, but there’s a thoughtfulness in Golden’s reflections on self-worth that sets it apart.

Self-love is a timely message for members of Asian-American communities who have been profiled, harassed and suffered violence in higher numbers since the arrival of Covid-19. For Chen, like for many others, the start of the pandemic was a major turning point.

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“The first time I heard the term ‘China virus’ and the dread that I felt trickling over me, I was like, ‘Oh God, this is not going to be good.’ And sure enough, within a few weeks there were hate crimes against Asian elders in New York and there were a lot on the West Coast,” she says.

“I remember calling my dad and mum and saying, ‘This is happening. Be careful, like … don’t speak Chinese when you’re on the street, like wear a baseball cap or you know, wear sunglasses, like hide who you are.’”

Chen, 42, says amid her concerns about racism, she had “an opportunity to think about my culture and being Chinese”. She was also, as the world came to something of a standstill, able to ask her parents about their experiences.

“The silver lining is I did feel like I got to spend more time with my parents and ask them questions about what was the hardest part about coming over here. ‘Who was here? What jobs did you do? Where did you live?’

“I think a lot of people, some people have this relationship with their parents, but I feel like we just never talked about a lot of those things. Now, because of the book, I feel more comfortable doing that.”

The bestselling author says Golden is “my most personal book because, even though I love the other ones obviously, this one’s probably the closest to my family history”.

One portion of the book looks at the bullying Mei might face, and Chen says it “definitely brings back that vivid experience of feeling like you’re quite isolated because I was one of the few Asians at school”.

She recalls a classmate asking if she bought her Nike sneakers from Chinatown. “They must be fake,” she remembers him saying.

The same classmate alluded to Chen “going back to where she came from” and pulling at the corners of his eyes to make them slanted.

Chen’s childhood experiences linger with her to this day.

“At first, I didn’t talk to my parents about it because we didn’t have that kind of relationship and then also … my parents didn’t have a toolkit of books or TV shows to turn to,” Chen says.

Chen wants I Am Golden to be part of a toolkit for parents and kids, to spark joy, acceptance and conversation. She cites the new Asian Sesame Street character and the first Chinese-American doll from American Girl as steps in the right direction for kids to see themselves as “good enough” and worthy for being who they are.

Like many other parents of colour, Chen and her husband have discussed with their children what it “means to be Chinese, what it means [for them] to be half Chinese”. The book’s release coincides with the start of the Lunar New Year holiday.

Chen and Diao sprinkled “little nuggets” of Chinese culture through the book that they “hope people will spy, like the jade, even the food in the spread where they’re eating. Every single dish has a personal significance”.

Those gems also speak to tradition, and Chen has grown “even closer to my Chinese-American heritage” through them.

“It’s never too late to start. I become more aware of [traditions] every day and it’s something that I want to continue to embrace and evolve.”