Angela Ahn
Children's author
BOOKS
SWIMMING INTO TROUBLE
(Book #1 of the JULIA ON THE GO! series)
As a member of the Vipers Swim Team, Julia Nam's always in the pool. Mountainview Community Center is like her second home, not only because swimming at the aquatic center is her favorite thing in the world, but also because her parents run the center's sushi café. Julia would much rather be in the pool than sitting behind the counter of Sushi on the Go! watching other people swim.
She's the youngest swimmer on the team, but definitely not the slowest. Julia can't wait for Personal Best Day — the most important day for all of the swimmers. If their times are good enough, they can enter a big regional swim meet.
But then the worst thing happens. A sharp pain in Julia's ear reveals an infection and she's forbidden to swim for ten days. How can she get timed during Personal Best Day when she's not allowed in the water?
Julia is desperate to get back in the pool, even if it means having to go behind her parents' backs in order to do so. But Julia's solution lands her in a sticky situation, and it's going to require the entire community center to come together to help her out of it!
Published February 13, 2024 Tundra/PHRC
Cover art and interior illustrations: Julie Kim
Reviews
"Readers will cheer for Julia as she pursues her goals and learns how to be a team player."-- Publishers Weekly
"Julia’s Korean heritage is woven seamlessly throughout the book, and the short chapters are perfect for developing readers who want a full story alongside elementary-school antics, childlike dialogue, and good characters." -- Booklist
"This spirited first book in a projected series delivers a meaningful message about resilience, the value of patience and flexibility, and the benefits of teamwork and community building." -- Horn Book Review
"Impetuous but thoughtful, Julia’s a spunky protagonist whom readers will root for.... As charming as its young hero." -- Kirkus Reviews
Awards
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2024 Junior Library Guild Selection
Coming Soon!
TEAM PARK
Eleven-year-old Evan Park's dad believes boys should play team sports, but as much as Evan has tried to like soccer and other team sports, he just doesn't. And when an accident causes Evan to break his wrist, he is determined that once he heals, he'll work on finding his thing. Alone.
Inspired by his athletic physiotherapist, Evan decides to compete in an upcoming Dominator Ninja Junior Edition competition. It will be part rehab, part fun. If he trains hard enough, he'll finally have something to put on his empty shelf in the family trophy cabinet. Maybe that would make his dad proud of him for once.
But klutzy Evan strikes again! With a newly injured wrist, he can forget about competing in Dominator Ninja — he can't even hold chopsticks. When his sister encourages him to look beyond a solo competition, they discover a local family race which is more about the experience than the results. Can Evan shift his perspective to rally the whole family to do this event . . . together?
Forthcoming September 10, 2024 Tundra/PHRC
Cover art: Chris Choi
DOUBLE O STEPHEN AND THE GHOSTLY REALM
Stephen loves pirates. What he doesn’t love is his name: Stephen Oh-O’Driscoll. He believes when his Korean mother and Irish father gave him this name, that it was just one cruel set-up for being teased. Giving things the proper name is important, which is why Stephen thinks that it’s time to update the definition of “pirate." They've got a bad rep, and maybe they deserve some of it, but Stephen still likes a few pirate traditions, like bandannas and eyepatches--he’s just not that into stealing things from people. He has the perfect new word: piventurate. A sailor who passionately seeks adventure. That's what he wants to be.
When he gets suspended from school for doing proper piventurates in training things (using sticks to practice sword fighting), his mother doesn’t let him sit around doing nothing, instead she takes him to a museum. At the museum everything changes. Stephen finds himself in a strange new place, face to face with a real pirate. A pirate ghost.
Captain Sapperton needs Stephen's help to cross to the other side, and his former ghost crew are intent on making sure Stephen follows through, whatever it takes. Stephen is about to discover the true meaning of piventurate, and much to his surprise, his adventure will not only take him farther into the ghostly realm, but also closer to home, where long-held family secrets reveal surprising ties to the spirit world.
Published August 30, 2022 Tundra/PHRC
Cover art by: Erin Joo
Reviews
"Full of swashbuckling and supernatural fun... Light, appealing, nonstop adventure." -- Kirkus Reviews
"...(A)n exciting and spooky novel.... Ahn leaves readers with a memorable message about self-awareness, engagement, kindness and empathy. Highly Recommend." -- CM: Canadian Review of Materials
Awards
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2023-2024 Red Cedar Book Awards Fiction Nominee
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2023 (Winnipeg) Free Press Summer Reading Challenge Selection
PETER LEE'S NOTES FROM THE FIELD
Eleven year-old Peter Lee has one goal in life: to become a paleontologist. Okay, maybe two: to get his genius kid-sister, L.B., to leave him alone. But his summer falls apart when his real-life dinosaur expedition turns out to be a bust, and he watches his dreams go up in a cloud of asthma-inducing dust.
Even worse, his grandmother, Hammy, is sick, and no one will talk to Peter or L.B. about it. Perhaps his days as a scientist aren’t quite behind him yet. Armed with notebooks and pens, Peter puts his observation and experimental skills to the test to see what he can do for Hammy. If only he can get his sister to be quiet for once—he needs time to sketch out a plan.
Published March 2, 2021. Published by Tundra/PHRC.
Cover art and interior illustrations by Julie Kwon
Reviews
"In the winsome Peter Lee's Notes from the Field, readers are treated to an entertaining firsthand look at how rough it is to be the second-smartest kid in the family.... Angela Ahn (Krista Kim-Bap) captures the heart-wrecking anguish that comes when your lifelong ambition is destroyed with the respect and pathos it deserves.... Peter Lee's Notes from the Field is a winner." -- Shelf Awareness, STARRED REVIEW
"A sweet, science-y story of struggles and discovery." -- Kirkus Reviews
Awards
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2021 Governor General Literary Awards Finalist -- Young People's Literature - Text
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2021 Junior Library Guild selection
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Starred Review from Shelf Awareness
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2021-2022 Panda Book Awards Middle Reader Nominee
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Selected for CCBC’s (Canadian Children's Book Centre) Best Books for Kids and Teens, Fall 2021
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2021-22 Forest of Reading, Silver Birch Nominee
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Selected as of the OLA Best Bets for 2021 Junior Fiction
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A Quill & Quire Kids' Book of the Year (2021)
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Selected for USSBY's 2022 Outstanding International Books List
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Selected for CBC's Best Canadian middle-grade and YA books of 2021
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Shortlisted Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize, BC and Yukon Book Prizes, 2022
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2023 Sundog Nominee, MYRCA (Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Award)
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2023 Rocky Mountain Book Award Nominee
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2023 SCWES (Sunshine Coast Writers and Editors Society) Book Award for BC Authors Finalist, Children's & Young Adult20
KRISTA KIM-BAP
All Krista wants to figure out are the three F's: food, family and friends...
Krista and Jason have been best friends since preschool. It never mattered that he was a boy with reddish-brown hair and she was the "Korean girl" at school. And Jason has always loved hanging out with Krista's family -- especially for the food!
Now in 5th grade, everyone in Krista and Jason's class is preparing their Heritage Month projects. But Krista has mixed feelings about being her school's "Korean Ambassador." Should she ask her sometimes grouchy grandma to teacher her class how to cook traditional Korean kimbap?
With a new friendship pulling her away from Jason, and the pressure of trying to please her grandma, grade five is going to be interesting!
Published 2018 by Second Story Press
Cover art by Hyein Lee
Reviews
"Ahn’s breezy chapters introduce readers to Krista’s lively and interesting family and offer vivid descriptions of recipes. Likable, sweet Krista’s struggles will likely resonate with young readers striving to make their own way, and kind Jason’s friendship stands out as exemplary. This approachable, inviting novel strikes a nice balance between emphasizing the importance of embracing one’s culture and staying true to oneself." -- Booklist Online
"Author Ahn writes authentically about the struggle of assimilation while maintaining cultural tradition... A sympathetic portrayal of a typical 11-year-old trying to fit in, with a bit of Korean flair." -- Kirkus Reviews
Awards
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2020 Red Cedar Book Awards Fiction Nominee
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Selected for Bank Street College of Education 2019 Edition Best Children's Books of the Year
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2020 Chocolate Lily Book Awards Nominee Novel Category
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2019-2020 Hackmatack Children's Choice Book Awards -- Finalist
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Selected as one of the OLA Best Bets for 2018 Junior Fiction
VISITS
While I don't offer full-length classroom visits, I may be available for some events.
Please send me a detailed email with your request.
ABOUT
Angela Ahn was born in Seoul, but her family immigrated to Canada before she could walk. She worked for several years as a teacher and a librarian, but lately she has been working from her home in Vancouver, B.C., taking care of her two children. In her spare time, she’s grateful to be able to write books where her children can see faces just like theirs on the front covers.
CONTACT
Contact me at the email address above. I'll do my best to respond.
I am represented by Laurel Symonds of KT Literary
