The Blue House I Loved

A Hmong girl tells the story of her beloved aunt and uncle's first home in America--long gone, but still alive in the family's memories

The Blue House I Loved centers on a family of newly arrived Hmong refugees who move into the lower level of a duplex in St. Paul, Minnesota. The narrator loves her aunt and uncle's home with its mismatched furniture, but it is too small for the large family. The boy cousins sleep in the three-season porch, where their wet hair freezes in wintertime, and the rest of the family crowds into two bedrooms. Yet this is the cherished home where they live and love, their own small corner of a very large and unfamiliar place, and in this blue house a young girl learns about her new country. Eventually, the family moves in search of more space, and years later the house is torn down. Where it was, green grass now grows. But for this girl and her family, the ghost of the house remains, its memories a strong thread that holds time at bay and hearts close together.

Combining Kao Kalia Yang's lyrical prose with ethereal illustrations by artist and architect Jen Shin, The Blue House I Loved speaks to the multitude of refugee experiences around the world, honoring the challenges they face and the homes they create together.

Kao Kalia Yang is a multigenre author of books for adults and children. Her children's books include From the Tops of the Trees, winner of the 2023 APALA Award, and Yang Warriors, also published by the University of Minnesota Press. She is a Guggenheim Fellow, holds an honorary doctorate from Carleton College, and has received several Minnesota Book Awards. She lives in Minnesota, and she speaks and teaches across the nation.

Jen Shin is an interdisciplinary artist, urbanist, architect, and environmental advocate. The daughter of immigrants and granddaughter of refugees, she is fascinated by what it means to make a home and by the places where communities create home together. She lives and works in Brooklyn.