The American Library Association announced January 22 that Gene Luen Yang has won the 2007 Michael L. Printz Award for his masterful graphic novel "American Born Chinese." The book is published by First Second, an imprint of Roaring Brook Press, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishing Holdings Limited Partnership.
Yang draws from American pop culture and ancient Chinese mythology in his groundbreaking work. Expertly told in words and pictures, Yang's story in three parts follows a Chinese American teenager's struggle to define himself against racial stereotypes. "American Born Chinese" is the first graphic novel to be recognized by the Michael L. Printz Committee.
Yang, who began drawing comics in the fifth grade, is a high school teacher in the San Francisco Bay area.
The annual award for literary excellence is administered by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of ALA, and is sponsored by Booklist magazine. The award, first given in 2000, is named for the late Michael L. Printz, a Topeka, Kans., school librarian known for discovering and promoting quality books for young adults.
For 50 years, YALSA has been the world leader in selecting books, videos, and audio books for teens.