When Love Is More Than Words

Jocelyn Chung (JocelynChung.com) is an author and graphic designer. She loves exploring the intersection of thoughtful storytelling and communicative design with a splash of warmth, empathy, and fun. When Love Is More Than Words is her debut picture book. She holds a MA in Asian American Studies and has written publications on Taiwanese American identity and family for Harvard Kennedy School’s Asian American Policy Review Journal and USA Today. When she’s not designing or writing, you can find her doodling, cafe-hopping, or on a food-venture somewhere between Los Angeles and Taiwan.Julia Kuo (JuliaKuo.com) is the author and illustrator of Let’s Do Everything and Nothing and Luminous: Living Things that Light Up the Night. She is the illustrator of several picture books, including I Dream of Popo (by Livia Blackburne) and I Am an American: The Wong Kim Ark Story (by Martha Brockenbrough and Grace Lin). She has also created editorial illustrations for publications such as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Economist. She has taught illustration courses at Columbia College Chicago and at her alma mater, Washington University in St. Louis. She was the visual arm of Chicago’s 2017 March for Science and was an artist-in-residence at Banff Centre for the Arts in 2014 and in 2017. She is the recipient of a 2019-2020 Gray Center Mellon Collaborative Fellowship. When she's not drawing, you can find her climbing or hiking. She lives in Bellevue, Washington.

* “There’s more than one way to say, ‘I love you.’ . . . Actions big and small and contextual clues send the same message. Great-grandma A-tzo always gives her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren the most luscious loquats from her garden. A patch of blooming blue irises planted by the child’s now-deceased grandpa Keyo A-gong is a reminder of his presence. Mama saves the young narrator the tastiest part of the fish—‘even if it means she gets the tail.’ Observing siblings, aunties, uncles, and more caring for one another, the child realizes ‘I have a village of people around me.’ It’s through ‘their laughter / their sacrifices / and their presence’ that the child hears ‘I love you.’ Chung’s elegant text is rife with concrete details, while Kuo deftly uses bold colors, black lines, and textures to create warmly energetic scenes of family gatherings and tables heaped with food. With joy and tenderness, Chung and Kuo convey an important truth; young people whose families express love in different ways will feel seen, heard, and embraced. . . . Readers will feel the love—in every well-chosen word and each exquisite image.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review* “The caring acts of loved ones are the focus of this first-person work that models how affection can be relayed by actions. . . . Conveying close-up images of family pairs caring for each other, Kuo’s sharply drawn digital illustrations use a graphic style with flat planes of color to suggest a depth of love expressed.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review“What is love? Is love a belly full of food made just for you, or when you’re given the best pieces at dinner? Is it flowers planted outside your window for your birthday? Is it when you’re taught something new or protected from danger? A girl sees and feels love every day from the many members of her family, living and dead, in a work that shows how actions speak louder than words. Chung demonstrates Taiwan’s intricate history by using Japanese names and Taiwanese phrases throughout her thoughtful prose. Kuo’s digital art is soft and warm, a perfect complement to Chung’s loving words. . . . Kuo also uses backgrounds to quietly demonstrate the intricacies of Taiwanese descent, showing a Japanese-style home in one spread and Chinese lettering on a wall decoration for another, in addition to delicious depictions of meals shared. This is a sweet book about love being shown in all the ways that matter and would be enjoyed by parents and children reading together or in story-hour settings.” —School Library Journal