From the award-winning author of “Amina’s Voice” and “Amina’s Song,” Hena Khan, comes a tenderhearted middle-grade novel, “Drawing Deena,” about a young Pakistani American artist determined to manage her anxiety and forge her own creative path.
Deena has never given a name to the familiar knot in her stomach that appears when her parents argue about money, when it’s time to go to school, and even when she struggles to speak up. She manages to make it through each day with the help of her friends and the art she loves to make. While her parents’ money troubles cause more and more stress, Deena wonders if she can use her artistic talents to ease their burden. She creates a logo and social media account to promote her mom’s home-based business selling clothes from Pakistan to the local community.
With her cousin and friends modeling the outfits and lending their social media know-how, business picks up. Suddenly Deena’s latest creative outlet becomes another thing that makes her feel nauseated and unsure of herself. After Deena reaches a breaking point, both she and her mother learn the importance of asking for help and that, with the right support, Deena can create something truly beautiful.
Hena Khan is a Pakistani American writer and winner of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Children’s Literature. She is the author of many middle-grade novels including the “Zara’s Rules” series and picture books “Golden Domes,” “Silver Lanterns,” “Under My Hijab,” and “It’s Ramadan, Curious George,” among others. Hena lives in her hometown of Rockville, Maryland with her family.
For this interview, I wanted to focus on the emphasis on middle schoolers’ mental health in “Drawing Deena,” and Khan’s own opinions and experience in children’s publishing.
Of all the famous artists for Deena to idolize, what made you choose Vincent van Gogh?
I’m a fan of the artist myself and was very moved when I visited his museum in Amsterdam and the sanitorium where he lived in the south of France. But when I attended the Van Gogh Experience in DC, I had a similar experience as Deena in the book. I couldn’t help but wonder what he would have thought about his art being consumed in that format. And I thought a lot about the idea of having your art printed on merchandise, and whether that would be flattering or appalling.
There’s positivity towards managing anxiety as a middle schooler in your book. What are some other emotions you think middle schoolers go through that adults may not think of?
I know that for middle schoolers like Deena, anxiety may manifest in ways that are difficult to identify at first and may be mistaken for other things. Deena has stomach aches and nausea, which could be confused for gastrointestinal issues or acid reflux, for example. Kids aren’t always able to recognize their symptoms for what they are either and may not share what they are feeling or experiencing with the adults in their lives right away, which further complicates things. I wanted to explore some of these challenges and offer some hope to readers who may be facing something similar.
How do you think children’s publishing has changed over the last two decades that you’ve been writing novels?
I’ve witnessed an opening up to books by authors from underrepresented communities that has been encouraging, particularly over the last decade. For a while, I was one of very few mainstream published Muslim children’s writers, and while I was grateful to share my stories, I didn’t feel confident that my books would continue to be published. I’ve been heartened not only by the commitment of publishers to books like mine, but to see stories by Muslims from all backgrounds being published. However, while it’s improving, there’s still a lot of room to add more voices to the children’s literature space. And as data shows, while the number of books we call “diverse” is increasing, the overall percentage of books published by members of several communities remains relatively low.
What about writing for children draws you towards this genre and reading age?
Books had a profound impact on me as a child and helped shape my understanding of the world. It’s an honor to think about kids holding my books, connecting with my characters, and letting my stories be a part of their experience growing up. I love the fact that, as readers, kids can grasp complex concepts and think deeply about important subjects, and that they have an inherent sense of what’s fair and just. And it’s so fun to go back to the age of an elementary or middle school child and examine life today through that very special lens.
As an artist and author yourself, how do you see yourself in Deena? How do you hope readers will relate to Deena?
Deena is thinking about many of the things I’m currently grappling with as a writer and creative person, like how to stay true to myself and what I want to say through my art. It’s hard to shut out external noise and not be influenced by social media, and to not worry about what others think and say and do. Deena also internalizes a lot of stress, for her family, for the future, and that’s something that I can very much relate to. Overall, what I hope readers will find in Deena is someone they find thoughtful and perceptive, and someone they would love to have as a friend in real life as well as in their reading lives.
Thanks so much to Hena Khan for answering my questions! I found many comparisons to Deena’s character to my middle-grade cousin and can’t wait for her to read “Drawing Deena” to show she is not alone.
I’d also like to thank Alex Kelleher-Nagorski from Simon & Schuster’s Children’s Publishing for sending me copies of “Drawing Deena” and for this incredible opportunity to interview another award-winning author. I appreciate us working together as I expand my publishing journey and am excited to see what happens next.