The Majestic Banyan
and the Green Tong Lau

A modern fable beautifully illustrated in watercolor about the residents of a Hong Kong apartment whose lives are seemingly disrupted by a hardy banyan tree that begins to grow on the building's walls.

There once was a bird that dropped a seed into a crack in a green tong lau. Nobody noticed, not even when a spindly root sprouted from the wall and curled past The Grandpa playing mahjong on his balcony, The Aunties belting Chinese opera, The Grandma lighting incense at her altar, The Uncles hanging roast goose in their ground-floor shop window, and children playing about. The banyan tree grew and grew until one day, everyone noticed.

With luminous watercolors by Ishita Jain, this modern fable set in Hong Kong tells the story of a resilient banyan tree and how one community comes to recognize its many gifts.

Banyan trees are everywhere in Hong Kong, thriving in the most unexpected places like sidewalk cracks and walls. Their seeds are scattered by birds and wind, taking root and growing strong with little care or tending. They flourish in the toughest conditions—a beautiful metaphor I wanted to share with young readers.

These are some of the trees in my Hong Kong neighborhood that inspired this story.

I also drew inspiration from the tong lau, traditional tenement houses in Hong Kong constructed from the late 19th century to the 1960s, such as this Blue House, a typical Lingnan-style house built in 1922 with wide balconies.

I'm thrilled to announce that this will be my fourth picture book, and my third picture with Kokila! The talented Ishita Jain will illustrate it, and I can’t wait to share more!