By Darla Martin Tucker
A division of global children’s book publisher, Scholastic Inc., will release a book of poems and illustrations June 6 created by La Sierra University graduate student and Colton resident, Clayton Koh.

Scholastic India, part of the New York City-based publishing and distribution giant, will debut Koh’s book, “I’m a Real Boy,” during the Asian Children’s Writers and Illustrators Conference 2008, June 5 through 7, in Singapore. The 32-page book is for children ages three to seven and is being published in English.
Koh flew to Singapore on June 3 to attend the conference and read his book at several bookstores in Malaysia and Singapore following the event. “I’m a Real Boy” celebrates, through Koh’s poetry and illustrations, boys of different ethnicities and their unique qualities. It draws on Koh’s diverse background. He was born in Malaysia, the son of Indian and Chinese parents. Koh immigrated to the United States at age three.

Scholastic India is initially printing 5,000 of his books, Koh said. “I’m a Real Boy” will be available through the Scholastic Book Clubs in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Brunei and in some bookstores in those countries. It will also be available online.

“I’m a Real Boy” stems from research Koh conducted for a senior scholarship project while enrolled in La Sierra University’s Honors program. Koh’s project, titled “Being a Man – Stripping Away the Stereotypes,” envisioned presentations to elementary school teachers and a children’s book about how young boys can transcend macho stereotypes in favor of more balanced perspectives on growing up.

Koh, an avid painter and artist, graduated from La Sierra in 2007 with a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies and a minor in biology. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in administration and leadership through La Sierra’s School of Education.
He will begin teaching fourth grade at Loma Linda Academy in August. Koh read the work to children at the school while serving as a substitute and student teacher. It captured the interest of academy teachers who have requested copies once he returns from Asia, he said.

“Since I am pursuing a career in elementary education, I was excited about the idea of putting the theoretical concepts I’d studied into words and concepts that young boys and girls can understand, especially since the children's literature market has not covered this topic very much,” Koh said. “I think that society is all too quick to box in boys into stereotypical constraints of what it means to “be a man.” I hope to, in a small way, broaden that definition and to celebrate all the many gifts and talents that boys may possess.”

Koh credits La Sierra University with providing a “pivotal” process for the writing of his book. “Many professors were very influential in my theoretical understanding, my artistic development and my writing skills,” he said. “La Sierra has really inspired me to love diversity and that diversity is seen in the many different ethnicities of boys you will see in “I'm a Real Boy.” The Honors program was influential in helping me to realize the role that culture has played in constructing some of the stereotypes that we experience today.”

“Overall, the Honors program helped me to sort through my roots, my cultural upbringing and my education to formulate my unique worldview. Finally, quite practically, if the Honors program did not give its students the opportunity to do a scholarship project, this book would have never materialized,” Koh said.
On April 28, 29 and 30, as part of the company’s National Poetry Month celebration, Scholastic India published three of Koh’s poems in its e-newsletter to 3,000 schools.
The company discovered Koh’s book through the efforts of Dr. Lily Wong, Koh’s mother’s former education professor in Singapore. Wong sent Koh’s manuscript and illustrations to Scholastic’s Singapore and Malaysia divisions, and it was then forwarded to Scholastic India, Koh said.

PR Contact: Larry Becker
Executive Director of University Relations
La Sierra University
Riverside, California
951.785.2460 (voice)