Sahtu Press has been busy shipping out some of the last copies of the first print-run of Nor Sanavongsay's debut children's book, A Sticky Mess. They also just recently released A Sticky Mess in e-book format for the Kindle, with plans for the iPad soon.
To celebrate the 1-year anniversary of Sahtu Press and A Sticky Mess our friends at 'N'toonz sent over a completed figure of the ajahn who was a bully to the young monk who would grow up to become Xieng Mieng, the famous Lao trickster who was also the wisest man in the land. Thanks, guys!
It's been exciting to see Lao children's stories come to life, and hopefully the rise of the Lao American small press. There are still many challenges ahead but I think the next ten years will be amazing.
One of the interesting questions we've gotten is how should you teach "A Sticky Mess" to your kids. Do you use it as a story of Lao culture and the way things were in the past? Do you use it as a book to discuss bullying and how Lao used to tackle the issue? Is it a question of treating kids nicely, or they grow up to be bigger pranksters when they grow up? Is it a story that encourages disrespect for authority? Each family will have to answer that for themselves.
Sahtu Press is having a discussion now about the possibility of making the figures of Xieng Mieng and the ajahn both more widely available to the public. But first we also have to get Krysada Panusith Phounsiri's debut book of Lao American poetry Dance Among Elephants out the door, too. Here's a preview of the cover:
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