We’ve been delighted to have Tina Cho join us at Write2Ignite several times in the past. (In case you missed our previous interviews, you can check out our latest one here.) Today, Tina is celebrating the launch of her latest picture book, The Kimchi Fridge (illustrated by Cindy Kang, published by little bee books), and we welcome Tina as she discusses her sources for story ideas, shares an amazing answer to prayer, and more. Welcome back to Write2Ignite, Tina!
Interview
Sue: Some of your picture book titles include Rice from Heaven: The Secret Mission to Feed North Koreans, My Breakfast with Jesus: Worshipping God Around the World, The Princess and the Grain of Rice, and now, The Kimchi Fridge. I love your focus on food and fellowship! Please tell us how you cook up your story ideas, and how you sift through them to choose which ones you’ll write about right away and which ones you’ll leave on the back burner.
Tina: Great observation! Since we lived in Korea for ten years, I found many ideas percolating there, as it was all so new. Rice from Heaven developed from an experience I had, helping North Korean refugees send rice over the border to their homeland.
My Breakfast with Jesus was my agent’s idea; however, I had written in my idea notebook that Jesus cooked breakfast for His disciples. Teaching overseas allowed me to see a variety of foods from many cultures.
The Princess & the Grain of Rice developed during Tara Lazar’s Story Storm challenge, coming up with a fractured fairy tale. I love The Princess & the Pea, but I don’t eat peas. So that quickly changed to rice, the setting became Korea’s palace long ago, and I inserted a Korean princess, in which there aren’t many books with that character.
Lastly, The Kimchi Fridge, my newest picture book came about from a conversation I had with my editor (who wasn’t my editor at the time) at an SCBWI conference. We were discussing kimchi fridges, and we said there weren’t any picture books with a kimchi fridge. I said I’d try to write one! Plus, kimchi has become very popular in the states as a probiotic food, contributing to gut health. 😊
I usually write manuscripts for ideas in which I have a full plot in my head, or they are timely topics, or my agent requested it. Since I’m also a teacher, I have a feel for what kids like and need.
Sue: The illustrations in The Kimchi Fridge show a couple of fun secondary storylines, one of which shows the brother who always has his phone with him. How closely did you collaborate with the illustrator on this book? Did the process differ from your experience with your previous picture books?
Tina: Cindy and I didn’t contact each other about illustrations. In my original draft, I wanted the brother to be a typical teen, kind of lazy and always on the phone. And I wanted him to have to do all the dishes in the end! Cindy and the art director surprised me with the illustration for the second page, “But Omma was busy.” I imagined the mom on her computer working. My editor shared sketches and then later color spreads, after we figured out how the text would look with the illustrations.
In some previous picture books and my graphic novel, because they were set in Korea, my editor often shared sketches and spreads as well to make sure everything was accurate.
Sue: How might parents and educators use this book with their children?
Tina: I want readers to understand that sometimes you have to wait for the good things, that not everything will go perfectly, as well as learn about this healthy kimchi food. There’s a recipe in the back. I wrote an educator’s guide also. One craft is to write about what’s in your fridge. Another craft is to make an origami fridge. And of course, they can try to make kimchi.
Sue: What can we look forward to seeing from you next?
Tina: Coming in 2027 will be the next book in my Big Adventures for Growing Minds series from Waterbrook. Instead of God’s Little Zoologist, the title will be God’s Amazing Animals and You!
Sue: Please finish these thoughts:
In my fridge… you’ll see two cultures represented. Korean food and American food.
I’ll always ask for seconds of… japchae, Korean noodle & veggie dish and chocolate chip cookies.
My favorite book in the Bible… is Philippians. I once memorized it in college for a scholarship!
I was hoping you’d ask… about how I got to write an essay for Publishers Weekly!
I prayed and told God I can’t get out to school author visits since I’m a teacher and asked if He would please help market my books. The next day, my publicist said PW wanted me to write an essay about kimchi and my book! Thank you, God!
Sue: Thanks for stopping by today, Tina! It’s always so good to talk with you. All the best on the launch of The Kimchi Fridge!
GIVEAWAY!
Readers, Tina is giving away a copy of The Kimchi Fridge, and we’re happy to pass this along to one of our readers. Want to win? Enter the contest by leaving a comment on this post by November 11th.
About Tina
Tina Cho is a kindergarten teacher and author of many books including Rice from Heaven, The Ocean Calls, (4 starred reviews, JLG, Freeman Honor Award), God’s Little Oceanographer, The Princess and the Grain of Rice, and The Kimchi Fridge. Her graphic novel, The Other Side of Tomorrow received five starred reviews, a JLG Gold Standard Selection, SLJ Best Graphic Novels List 2024, Kirkus Best Middle Grade 2024, Freeman Book Honor Award from NCTAsia, SCBWI Golden Kite Award, state lists, and more. You can visit Tina’s website at www.tinamcho.com.
Children’s author and educator Sue Irwin is thrilled about the recent release of her debut board book, Hey There, Blue Bird, Why Do You Chirp? (B&H Publishing, 2026) – and more kids’ books coming in 2027. Her middle grade books for the general market have won several awards, and she’s a frequent contributor to Focus on the Family’s Clubhouse and Clubhouse Jr. magazines. Sue hosts W2I’s monthly Time2Write sessions, and she invites you to connect with her here.