Andrea Louie
Hamilton-Madison House
October 7th - 14th, 2003
New York, NY

Andrea Louie with participants from Hamilton-Madison after-school program. (credit: Sherrie Young)

Writer and editor Andrea Louie visited Hamilton-Madison House, located on the Lower East Side in Manhattan, from October 7 to October 14. Ms. Louie drew on her experiences as an author and a reader when she met with more than 400 pre-schoolers, elementary school students, teenagers, adults learning a second language, and a grandparents group.

On her first day, Ms. Louie was warmly welcomed by adults in the English-as-a-Second-Language class. There were lively conversations centered on literature in Cantonese and in English. Each participant received a copy of The NuyorAsian Anthology: Asian American Writings about New York City, which includes "Prank," a nonfiction piece by Ms. Louie.

Andrea Louie shows a picture of her family to the grandparents group. (credit: Sherrie Young)

With preschoolers, Ms. Louie read Dim Sum for Everyone by Grace Linn and New Cat by Yangsook Choi, and then asked the students questions. While some answered enthusiastically, others listened and watched the excitement; however, as Ms. Louie was leaving, she was hugged by many.

Elementary-aged children attending Hamilton-Madison's after-school program who met with Ms. Louie each received a copy of Red Eggs & Dragon Boat: Celebrating Chinese Festivals, written by Carol Stepanchuk. The children, who ranged in ages from to five to eleven-years-old, were introduced or reintroduced to a Chinese festival in Red Eggs & Dragon Boat, which prompted discussions and questions from the participants. As part of the visit, the participants worked on art projects. Many of the participants used this opportunity to express in their projects what they had just learned about being a writer or what they had heard in the books that were read to them.

Pacific View Press and the Asian American Writers Workshop both provided books at a generous discount, which were donated by the National Book Foundation to the participants and the Hamilton-Madison House site Library.