Have you ever heard of balikbayan boxes?

Carren Jao is an award-winning Chinese Filipina storyteller based in Los Angeles. She wrote The Shape of Love inspired by the distinct smell of freshly opened balikbayan boxes and the happy memories of digging through these cardboard treasure chests. She is fascinated by the common threads between people of different cultures and hopes her stories help paint a clearer, richer picture of Filipino and Chinese culture in children’s books. You can learn more about her at her website or follow her on Instagram or BlueSky.

THE SHAPE OF LOVE is a picture book all about the Filipino tradition of balikbayan boxes. In this story, a mom is working far away from her family. She starts a box full of things to send back to her kids and husband still living in the Philippines. While I have seen this tradition (as there is a large Filipino community up here in Alaska), I never knew there was a specific name for it. This book focuses on specific characters and finding the heart of the story.

Welcome Carren!

Me: Can you tell us a little bit about your writing journey. When did you start writing kidlit? How has that brought you to writing this picture book?

Carren: Wow, this question made me dig through my Google Drive archives. I started writing for children during the pandemic. At that time, I was an arts journalist and arts editor for the local PBS station in Los Angeles. When the pandemic hit, suddenly we were all sent home. PBS SoCal (my station) kept on working, and we even started a learning-at-home program with the L.A. Unified School District. It was a stressful time professionally, but it made me realize how much I value time to just be a creator.

I landed on writing children’s books because of their short format. I had two young kids at home, and we were reading a lot of picture books. The format also lent itself well to short bursts of time. I could at least jot things down on a Notes app in between virtual meetings and online kindergarten for my eldest son.

This story is one of the first stories that I had drafted. In that year, I wrote the first drafts of about 13 stories! I don’t think I have been as prolific since then.

Me: I adore the concept of balikbayan boxes! What gave you the idea for this book?

Carren: Balikbayan boxes are a part of my core childhood memories. We received them a lot because my father sent them back often. Every time he did, I would always get this rush of emotion at seeing the objects inside the box. Of course, there was joy and surprise, but also a sense that someone somewhere far took the time to send something back just for us. It made me feel really special.

Even as I grew older, balikbayan boxes still had a lot of emotional pull. I can still remember the smell of newly opened boxes. Now I know it’s compressed air, but as a younger person, I always imagined it was a puff of air from somewhere far, far away, some foreign land, which is a sentiment that made its way to the story! 🙂

Me: One of my best friends is Filipino and has memories of balikbayan boxes. Do you have personal experience with boxes like this? If yes, any favorite stories to tell about something you received in a box?

Carren: Of course! Some of my favorite memories of balikbayan boxes were getting hours and hours of recorded VHS tapes on them. The tapes had recorded Saturday Morning cartoons! They were the best and they were like 6-8 hours worth, I think (?) Those were the days before Netflix or cable TV, so being able to watch shows from abroad like “Jem and The Holograms” or “Thundercats” or “He-Man” was really cool.

I also loved getting cereals! In the Philippines, we couldn’t really keep cereals open for so long because the humid weather made them floppy really quickly (at least that’s what I still think as an adult!). So we got these small sampler size cereals that was just perfect for one sitting. My favorites were Kellog’s Corn Pops and Frosted Flakes!

Me: Can you talk about how the book came to be published with Lee & Low Books? Did you send it out to multiple publishers before it was accepted there? Or were they your only submission?

Carren: I feel so lucky with this particular story. It really does feel very serendipitous. I submitted this story as an unagented writer. I saw an Instagram post for Lee and Low’s New Voices Award, which was accepting stories for unagented writers. At the time, I was already battling imposter syndrome. Questions like “Do I belong here?” and “Are these stories any good?” were already rattling around in my brain. I was submitting to a few agents as well, but never hearing anything back.

But, every so often, I would pluck up the courage to do something, and this was one of them. I submitted two stories to Lee and Low, one of which was this one, and I think after 6 months, I got a call that I had won the award.

Getting that call felt like validation. Looking back, I would tell myself that I probably shouldn’t have looked for external validation, but it felt really good for someone who was in publishing professionally to say, “Hey, this is an actual really good story that is worth publishing.”

Me: The illustrations by Corinne Caro are pitch-perfect. They’re so detailed and heartfelt. Any illustration surprises for you? Any favorites?

Carren: Oh yeah! Corinne’s illustrations were awesome! I really loved them. I saw the illustrations when they were far along, so when I got the book, I was already presented with this whole world. I thought Corine did such a wonderful job of capturing just the feel and the hustle and bustle of the Philippines.

I have so many favorite spreads. My #1 is of the shipping container crossing the Pacific Ocean. It perfectly captured how epic a journey this balikbayan box takes across the ocean.

Another one of my favorites is the spreads where you can see Celia and the family all chatting with each other on a video screen. It mirrors so many of my experiences, and it just called to me emotionally. Here’s me talking about that spread during Lee & Low’s Fall Showcase.

Me: What is one thing that surprised you in creating this book?

Carren: I was a baby writer when I wrote this story, so I am very thankful to Kandace Coston, who is my editor on this story. She really guided me and helped me understand how page turns work, how you could strengthen and tighten the story so that it has the maximum impact in the smallest amount of pages.

We had kept on tweaking the story for about 2 years on and off. We talked about page turns, illustration notes, the flow of the text so it tells a stronger story, even the subtle hints that lead to characterization for every member of the family!

Me: Do you have any advice for new or aspiring picture book writers?

Carren: Shoot your shot! I think many creatives grapple a lot with self-confidence, especially when it comes to something as personal as our stories, but that feeling shouldn’t deter you from pursuing opportunities. Take advantage of the things that are available to you. Look around for submission opportunities, grants, awards, and fill up that form! 🙂 Don’t take yourself out of the game before you even try.

That is great advice. Thank you for stopping by my blog today Carren.

Dear readers, this book publishes next week. It’s a story of family far away and love that can travel the distance. Trust me when I say, you won’t want to miss it!