By Mary Frances McCarthy
Herald Staff Writer
(From the issue of 10/7/04)

Blessed Sacrament School students, ranging in age from 5 to 13, gathered together in the gym last week for story time at the Alexandria school.

Reading to them and explaining her books and poems was children’s book author Janet Wong. Using props like a large stuffed snake, a plush turtle, table salt and money, Wong discussed the themes of her books, her inspiration and how students can become better writers.

"If you have words pop into your mind, you are a natural writer and you should write those words down," Wong said. She urged the students to keep notebooks with them at all times, so if something pops into their heads when they’re at home or in the car, they can write it down. "You have the power to make things happen with your words," she said.

After the assembly, Wong visited classrooms so students could ask her questions about her books and the publishing business.

Third grade teacher Jackie Funk invited Wong to Blessed Sacrament. Funk’s grandmother, Virginia, used to live next door to Wong in Washington state. Funk began corresponding with Wong through e-mail last year and invited her to visit Alexandria and her school.

Many of Wong’s books incorporate her family and her Chinese-Korean-American heritage. While some of her stories’ themes are pulled from values and superstitions of the Asian countries her family originated from, many of the themes are also universal, and most of them revolve around family and good friends.

Wong has published more than a dozen children’s books. Her writing career began more than 10 years ago when she quit her job as a corporate and labor lawyer in Hollywood. Wong knew she wanted to do something with children, but having worked as a substitute teacher in college, she knew she was not cut out to teach.

Wong’s career switch and work have been featured in O Magazine, on a "Remembering Your Spirit" segment on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and on the Fine Living Channel’s "Radical Sabbatical."

One of her poems, "Albert J. Bell" from the book A Suitcase of Seaweed, appears throughout the New York City transit system, on posters on buses and subway trains, as a part of the Transit Authority’s "Poetry in Motion" program.

For more information on Janet Wong go to www.janetwong.com.