Bento Box

Bento boxes are now part of US culture. I feel happy to see this traditional Japanese item being used in various innovative ways especially by the younger generation. When I was raising my now grown children, I was quite oblivious to how something like a bento box could be regarded as "strange" by their peers. I did not think twice before packing rice balls or perhaps some "stinky" Japanese traditional food items for their lunches. None of my three children complained. Over the years, I learned their challenges growing up in a multi-cultural family. Of course, every child faces challenges (some more serious than others) - some of it is part of growing up and, of course, life itself can bring unforeseen obstacles. In my book series "My Life with Poppy Jane," I created the character of Poppy Jane to write about a family that was made up of people from different backgrounds as well as culture. Poppy Jane even has a grandmother who raised her father as a single mom which was not so common during her generation (I can identify with this personally). Poppy Jane loves kale (she is likely a vegan), rice balls (onigiri) and pickled vegetables which her Japanese grandfather makes for her. I hope as I write more Poppy Jane books, I will be able to encourage children to be proud of their uniqueness and to encourage everyone to be their true selves. I guess I'm making up for what I lacked as a mom through writing children’s books.