Book Nook: Chunky

 Hudi’s doctor wants him to lose weight–and his parents are eager to help. Even though Hudi would rather do anything else in the entire world, his parents push him to try sports, leaving him with a baseball injury, and unexpectedly, his very own imaginary mascot/friend, Chunky. But Chunky doesn’t only cheer him on from the dugout, he encourages him to pursue his true passion– comedy. But when Hudi’s dad loses his job, Hudi’s new course and the all-star friendship is put to the test.

Starring a Jewish-Mexican protagonist as he navigates growing up in a working-class family, CHUNKY is a full-color, body-positive graphic novel for fans of Raina Telgemeier and Jerry Craft. As Yehudi Mercado notes in his author letter, “Chunky represents the voice in my head that pushed me to pursue my artistic dreams.” 

I had a chance to do an author interview:

Chunky is a graphic novel/memoir. Can you tell us about the process of turning your childhood memories into a book for other kids? What has been your favorite part and most challenging piece of the process?

It all began with a dinner conversation with Raina Telgemeir after New York Comic-Con. She was so encouraging and I left that dinner vowing to write a middle grade memoir about my childhood. I was used to writing about aliens and robots and planets blowing up but the thought of tackling my struggles with weight. My favorite part was designing the exaggerated version of my parents. I drew my athletic father to look like an 80s action hero because as a kid, that’s what he seemed like. The challenging piece was not wanting to depict my parents as the bad guys. They were very encouraging but I needed to show how kids feel pressure to be a certain way based on unintentional messages from their parents.

 

How do you think parents and caregivers can take steps to find quality books for their kids?

Ask a librarian. Librarians are the best. I would search out librarians on social media and see what they recommend and that will take you through a journey of other recommendations. 

 

Do you have any advice for increasing literacy and reading skills in kids? 

The Epic app is a great resource for kids. They have a function where the app reads along and highlights the words for the young reader. It’s pretty great.

 

What do you hope readers will take away from Chunky?

I hope they are surprised that the message isn’t about how to lose weight but rather how to accept who you are, the way you are.