Though my passion is writing for the young (and the young "at heart"), I have also published poems, articles, and short stories with adult-readership magazines and literary journals.
This photograph shows me at a year old, with my mother. That's me to the left, too - atop the menu - with my daughter Louisa. (We were playing pirates.)
The novel follows thirteen-year-old Tae, the title character, during a tumultuous two weeks of her eighth grade life. It's bad enough that her social studies teacher has partnered Tae with
Josh Morgan, the king of the Royals (a group of popular kids Tae detests), but what country are
they assigned? South Korea - Tae's birth country. Tae, who is self conscious about
being one of only two Korean American kids in her grade, is understandably mortified. But,
the homework assignment is just the start of her bad luck. Tae loses her best friend, and
gets stuck with a new one she never wanted - a girl who is so unpopular, even "lowly"
sixth graders won't have anything to do with her. Then there's Krista, the queen of the Royals,
who's taken to shooting dirty looks in Tae's direction ever since Tae and Josh got teamed
up for the social studies report. At home, things aren't much better. Tae worries because she
senses that her mother is lonely in America. And, as if things weren't miserable enough all around, it's volley ball time in gym class. To read an excerpt from Tae's Sonata,
please click here.
When I was in high school, I asked my mother to tell me what she remembered of that
rooftop train ride. My mother added another layer to my grandmother's story -
the memories she'd carried since she rode the train as a five year old. Her sisters, my aunts,
also made the trip (my mother's older sister was nine years old, her younger sister was not
yet ten months). I knew then that, one day, I would write a story based on my family's experience
in the Korean War. And a decade later, I did. I titled it
Peacebound Trains, after the train
that has haunted me since my grandmother told me about it all those years ago.
Peacebound Trains
is illustrated in water
color by artist Chris K.
Soentpiet (he was honored with the prestigious Society of Illustrators Gold Medal
for his stunning paintings in this book, winning over 650 other entries).
The book was featured on the
United States Government's official Korean War 50th Anniversary Web Site. It is the only children's book to receive this honor.
For excerpts and more on Peacebound Trains and
Tae's Sonata, please click on the book covers.
Teachers: Click here
for printable classroom activities and discussion/essay ideas.
I live in New England with my husband Joe, daughters Adria and Louisa, and two cats.
Some of you may be wondering how to pronounce my first name (I'm convinced I have one
of the most mispronounced names in the country). The "a" is silent, so think
of it as rhyming with Emmy (and, yes - it's pronounced exactly like the famous car engine).
For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to be a writer. I started out writing
for the *grownup* market. When my daughter Adria was born, I was reintroduced to the
wondrous world of children's books. I re-discovered old favorites, and untreasured gems from a new generation of
authors.
Sometimes people ask me why I moved "down" from writing for adults to
writing for children. I explain to them that I have worked UP to this. Writing for
children is real writing. Children's books are real books. Who among us does not
hold the memory of one close to our hearts? To paraphrase a children's editor, are
pediatricians not real doctors because their patients are children?
So if it's been a while since you've visited a children's library or bookstore,
go and treat yourself. You can bring a special child in your life... or just bring
the child within. Either way, you won't regret it.
My name is Haemi Balgassi, and I'm an author of books and stories
for children and young adults (and I teach a writing course). Welcome to my study. :o)
My middle-grade novel, Tae's Sonata,
is available from Houghton Mifflin's Clarion Books. I'm thrilled to report that Tae's Sonata has been honored by the National Christian Schools Association with the 2000 Lamplighter Classic Award.
My picture chapter book, Peacebound Trains, is also available from Houghton Mifflin's Clarion Books. My inspiration for this story was a gift from two courageous women: my grandmother and my mother (pictured below, with me at six months old, in a photo that is very dear to my heart; I call it "Generations").
When I was a young girl, my grandmother shared with me the story of her (and her daughters') harrowing rooftop train ride during the first harsh winter of the Korean War. My grandmother passed away when I was eleven, but her story stayed with me.
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