by Susan Tan
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Writing a second book has been a daunting but joyful process, and I am so grateful for all who helped me see it through.
Thank you to Connie Hsu for all you continue to teach me about writing, craft, and stories. Thank you to Amy Lin for your input and expert eye. Thank you to Megan Abbate for everything you do, and for putting up with all manner of questions and concerns. Thank you to Beth Clark for your beautiful book design. And thank you to Mary Van Akin, Tiara Kittrell, Caitlin Sweeney, Lucy Del Priore, Katie Halata, and everyone else at Roaring Brook—I am so grateful that Cilla and I found a home with you!
Thank you to Dana Wulfekotte for your exquisite drawings, which never fail to make me laugh and move me. Your illustrations for this book gave me everything I ever envisioned for Cilla (PLUS Batman in a tutu!).
Thank you to Dan Lazar, agent, advocate, and constant presence in every element of this process. Thank you to Torie for all your help, and for putting up with my perennially late e-mails.
I am so lucky to be supported by amazing communities of writers, scholars, mentors, and friends. Thank you to the Writers’ Room of Boston, which gave me a home, and to Debka, Alexander, and Camille. Thank you to all my friends and colleagues at UMass Boston: Cheryl, Renata, Sam, Louise, Hugh, Sarah, Dan, and Matt. Thank you to my ChLA crew, and my community of children’s lit scholars—Micki, Dawn, Amy, Ally, Cathie, Sarah, Stacey, Kazia, and Breanna—you are astounding! Thank you to the Mr. Crepe Group: Rachel, MarcyKate, Mackenzi, Kip, and so many others! And thank you to the Seventeen Debuts (it’s been such a joy getting to know you!). Thank you to Katie Bayerl, Karen McManus, Kate Slivensky, Sarah Horowitz, Greg Katsoulis, and Lisa Rosinsky. Thank you to Karen, Faith, and the Concord Public Library. Thank you to the communities of teachers who continue to teach and inspire me: Ms. Davies, Bob Bell, Tom Kohut, Maria Nikolajeva, Morag Styles, Prifti, and, of course, Mr. Flight. Thank you to Porter Square Books for giving Cilla such a warm welcome into the world. And thank you to Diesel Cafe for housing me as I wrote a good chunk of this book!
Thank you to my friends; I am so grateful to have you all in my life. Thank you, Becky, for being my launch companion, and for the inspiration that your beautiful words and stories always offer. Thank you, Valerie, for our evening chats and ice-cream-delivery housemate parties. Thank you, Kate, for the chocolate, friendship, and golden writing afternoons (I stole your living room for a setting in this book—I hope you don’t mind!). Thank you, Emily Jaeger—you’re a perennial cure for my shyness, and I’d walk across a crowded room (or indoor playground) for you any day. Thank you to friends near and far who have supported me and Cilla from day one: Olivia, Emily Rockett, Erica, Perri, Zoe, Alice, and Ian. And of course, thank you, Ashley, Hannah, and Yanie, for always being there, for unscheduled phone calls that last for hours, for making distance seem like nothing, and for teaching me that you can never have too many best friends.
A huge thank-you to Ben, Courtney, Colleen, and Annalee for once again letting me draw on shared memories from childhood. Thank you to Kiyoshi for the Burger King car ride. And the fondest of thank-yous to Melissa Hernandez, a true friend.
And thank you, finally, to my family. Thank you to Nai Nai, Ye Ye, E-Pah, and Dede—you are so present in all the loving memories of this book. Thank you, Charles, Henry, Ethan, Martina, Dan, Courtney, and Aysun.
Thank you, Auntie Esther and Uncle Paul. Your influence is all over this book, and not simply in the Chinese phrases you helped me learn as I wrote it. Thank you for your love and encouragement, your enthusiasm and joy, and for teaching me to make dumplings and Hong Kong–style tea.
Kimmy, Yvonne, Jenn, you’re all present in this book, as are Jeff, Paul, and Mike. Thank you all for letting me draw on your stories. Thank you, Jenn, for your example and inspiration, for your house, stunning career, beautiful family, and everything in between. Thank you, Mike, for your support and example (the Harry Potter glasses almost made it into this book—next time!!). Thank you, Yvonne, for letting me draw on your wedding and all your (AMAZING) outfit changes. Thank you, Paul, for helping me with Korean Traditions, for letting me draw on your wedding (and your name!!), and for all the incredible dance moves. Thank you, Kimmy—so many of the tea ceremony details were from your beautiful wedding! Thank you to Jeff for carrying the flower girl (and giant flower!) down the aisle. And thank you to Jeremy for the beautiful Cilla artwork, to Rachel for inspiring me and showing me just how fun frogs can be, to Ellie for being a future dance legend, and to Emmett and Noah. I’ll get all your names in a book someday, I promise!
Thank you, Grandmom and Bobby, for the home I always have with you. Thank you, Bobby, for all the roller-skating trips, and thank you, Grandmom, for the afternoons talking about art in your study. And thank you both for humoring my obsession with your dog, Maisy, who’s lying on my lap and snoring as I write this.
Thank you to my sisters, Catherine (I’m sorry people call you “The Blob” now) and Sarah (I promise I’ll put you in a book too). Thank you, Catherine, for helping me come up with one of my favorite lines in the book, helping me through thorny scenes, and showing me that being a big sister is actually great. Thank you, Sarah, for listening to my book woes, for your help with difficult sections, and, of course, for “Rara!”
Thank you to my dad, Victor, for telling me stories, for teaching me Chinese pronunciation, and for your endless enthusiasm and support.
And finally, thank you to my mom, Julie. Thank you for being there through every up and down, for supporting me at every juncture with love and patience. Thank you for a lifetime of putting up with frogs, “The Wheels on the Bus,” and a daughter with a very overactive imagination.
And to my whole family: thank you for the traditions you’ve taught me, and for the ones we’ve made.
Also by Susan Tan
Cilla Lee-Jenkins: Future Author Extraordinaire
Praise for
CILLA LEE-JENKINS:
FUTURE AUTHOR EXTRAORDINAIRE
“Anyone who spends time with Cilla Lee-Jenkins will look forward to reading her in the future.”
—Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
“Tan writes in a fun and spunky voice that brings to mind favorite characters such as Junie B. Jones, Ramona Quimby, and Fancy Nancy but is still all her own.”
—School Library Journal
“Meeting Cilla felt like making a new best friend. I can’t wait to share the book with my own daughter.”
—Grace Lin,
author of Newbery Honor book Where the Mountain Meets the Moon and National Book Award finalist When the Sea Turned to Silver
“There’s humor and heartache, and future writers of all kinds will see themselves in Cilla. But above all, this is a book just bursting with love.”
—Kate Milford,
New York Times–bestselling author of Greenglass House
“This story has everything: an irresistible voice, a cast of authentic characters, and a hilarious and whip-smart heroine … Cilla Lee-Jenkins is brilliant.”
—Kate Beasley,
author of Gertie’s Leap to Greatness
“I challenge anyone to read this book and not fall in love with Cilla Lee-Jenkins. With the spunk of Ivy and Bean and the heart of Ramona Quimby, she’s a charmer from start to finish of this laugh-out-loud-funny book.”
—I. W. Gregorio,
author of None of the Above
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Susan Tan has lived many places in her life, but calls Concord, Massachusetts, home. She grew up in a mixed–race family, and, like Cilla Lee–Jenkins, had very little hair until the age of five. After studying at Williams College, she earned her PhD from the University of Cambridge, where she studied children’s literature. She currently lives in Somerville, enjoys frequent trips to Chinatown to eat tzuck sang, and teaches at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. You can sign up for email updates here.
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
Dana Wulfekotte is a childr
en’s book author, illustrator, and animator. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and lives in Queens with her boyfriend and two rabbits (whom she now regrets not naming Supernova and Sparkledust). You can sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Author’s Note (Which Is a Fancy Way of Saying Hello)
1. Even Squished Oranges Are Lucky
2. Third-Grade Resolutions
3. Frogs in the Kitchen and Other Bad Ideas
4. Dresses, Dinosaurs, and Other Decisions
5. Change Is Strange (Except When There’s Pizza Involved)
6. Spring Break Reflections
7. Daisy, Lightning, and Other Challenges
8. Burger Planet-Ah
9. Teamwork Isn’t (All That) Bad
10. Bridal Showers Aren’t Actually About Showering
11. The Wheels on the Bus Drive to Burger Planet
12. The Unexpected
13. The Big Day
14. Classic Lee, Classic Jenkins
Epilogue: A Cliff-Hanger (No Actual Cliffs Involved)
Glossary: Cilla’s Terms for Life and (Classic) Literature
Acknowledgments
Also by Susan Tan
Praise for Cilla Lee-Jenkins: Future Author Extraordinaire
About the Author and Illustrator
Copyright
Text copyright © 2018 by Susan Tan
Illustrations copyright © 2018 by Dana Wulfekotte
Published by Roaring Brook Press
Roaring Brook Press is a division of Holtzbrinck Publishing Holdings Limited Partnership
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
mackids.com
All rights reserved
ISBN: 978-1-62672-553-9
Library of Congress Control Number: 2017944501
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eISBN 9781626725546
First hardcover edition, 2018
eBook edition, March 2018