The May Fairy
This is a series of middle grade picture books written with the reluctant reader in mind. Grandma Nainai tells stories to her grandchildren who, just like all little children, keep interrupting and asking questions, so as to shape and mold the story to their liking.
1. The Wonderful Tale of Donkey Skin -- published 2016
2. Little Jack and the Giants -- under illustration
3. The Arizona Princess -- under illustration
4. The Prince from Kazakhstan -- in the works
Life of a Rooster Series
Life of a Rooster 1: Rootless Orchid
This life of mine has been so full that I figured I needed to put down my memories and reminiscences in writing somewhere before organizing them into a book, or two, or three.
In October 2013, I started jotting down memories starting from my birth in a blog. It took five years to reach the story of my university years. There was so much material that it only made sense to close the blog and reformat these into a book.
Those years were characterized by much travel around the globe, changing schools so often that I ended up studying at 13 schools in five countries in four languages by the time I entered university.
Watch this space for updates on editing completion and publication!
Life of a Rooster 2: Mirror in the Sand
Recollections of Jordan from the lens of a psychiatrist
The 1970s and early 1980s transformed Jordan from a small rather poor country to a booming player in Middle East politics. A traditional culture clashed with the sudden onslaught of modern life. I arrived in 1972 as the daughter of a diplomat, then stayed on as a medical student, an intern, then a psychiatric resident in Amman, the City of Seven Hills, left indelible and often entertaining memories waiting to be told.
Exciting update: I have found a publisher for this completed manuscript, and am in the process of revising and editing. Watch this space for updates on its publication!
Favorite Stories from China
This book is divided into four sections: Legends, Folk Tales, Historical Anecdotes, and Episodes from Classic Literature. So far, four stories are completed, and the fifth underway. Although these stories are well-known and dear to all Chinese, researching them was a labor of love. I even traveled to NingBo to visit the Liang Zhu Cultural Park to collect first-hand material for the story of the Butterfly Lovers. Imagine my surprise to find that the tomb of Liang Shan-Bo had been moved to this park!
Favorite Stories from Kazakhstan
This book is still in the research and planning stage. I have traveled twice to Kazakhstan, and collected books on Kazakh culture and folk tales in Russian, Kazakh, English and Chinese. The last chapter will be the story of Dimash Qudaibergen. Please visit the gallery to view pictures from my research travels in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
Articles, Essays & Presentations
The Silent Epidemic
Ahmad always was a bright boy. He was a happy active toddler and made friends easily in preschool and kindergarten. Once in elementary school, academics seem to come easily to him, maybe even too easily. He did not seem challenged enough. However, by 4th grade, he started having problems in school. His grades started slipping and he would even get a D or an F now and then, which could be traced to missing homework. His mother had to start tracking his grades closely to make sure they stayed on track. However, the end of the semester always turned out to be a few weeks of catching up with homework and retesting. Somehow Ahmad made it to high school. He still managed to shine in at least one of his favorite subjects, but keeping up his grades became an ongoing struggle. This academic struggle had by then translated into an ongoing struggle with his parents as well. He started resenting the pressure for performing well. Teenage rebellion turned into a full-time occupation. Loud quarrels became a weekly occurrence in the home. A few times, the quarrel turned physical as well. Ahmad’s parents were at their wit’s end. Now they started worrying that Ahmad might not be able to finish high school, let alone go into medicine, engineering or law.
Who Am I?
Soon after 9/11, stories about attacks on Muslims popped up in the news, and subsequently, a number of female friends and acquaintances here in the US removed their hijab. My husband grew concerned too. One day, he asked me whether I should also consider removing it. “No,” I told him. “I never even thought about it.” Some people asked me where I found the courage and strength to keep it on. Strength? Courage? I had never thought about it that way.
Academia.edu
Visit me (Dr. Fawzia M. Tung) on www.academia.edu to view my articles and presentations.
Rooster Reads
As a writer, I give a lot of output. Therefore, I need to replenish myself with a lot of intake as well. I have assigned myself to read 2 books a week and watch 4 movies a week.
Whenever I find the time, I post here a review or the latest book or movie. Please come share your comments as well!
please visit my blog "rooster reads"
Other books in the planning stage
1. A historical fiction set in the 19th century... I'm very excited about this one, and shall keep mum about the details until the cake is baked.
2. The Education Revolution: A discussion of the present status of education, as well as about parenting and teaching.
3. The Parenting Roller-Coaster: Life of a Rooster 3. This book will be co-authored by my seven children.