Eliza's Cherry Trees: Japan's Gift to America
Eliza Scidmore was a remarkable woman. Adventurous and talented, she traveled around the world visiting interesting places. She wrote about her travels for newspapers and magazines, including the National Geographic Society magazine, where she was the first female writer and photographer. She published seven books, including the first guide to Alaska.  After seeing the parks and riverbanks in Japan, she fell in love with the cherry blossoms there. They formed pink clouds around everything and were so beautiful that she wanted to bring them back to America. Her hometown of Washington, D.C. would surely benefit from these lovely trees.   However, not everyone shared Eliza's vision-certainly not the parks supervisors. She met with every one of them, year after year, to explain her idea. When they didn't listen, she asked Helen Taft, the president's wife, for help.   It took more than twenty years for Eliza's cherry trees to become part of Washington, D.C.'s landscape. But thanks to her determination and love of Japan, residents and visitors to the nation's capital can appreciate these beautiful trees. Andrea Zimmerman has written eleven children's books, including Trashy Town, an ALA Notable Children's Book. She has a degree in fine arts for children and a doctor's degree in dental surgery. Zimmerman resides in San Diego, California.  Ju Hong Chen is a self-taught artist who grew up in Communist China. Purposely avoiding the "official line" training of China's art schools, he worked as an art designer in a factory. He moved to the United States in the 1980s, and his first picture book, The Magic Leaf, was named a Parents' Choice Honor Book for illustration soon after his arrival. His first book with Pelican, The Jade Stone: A Chinese Folktale, received a starred review from Kirkus and was named a best picture book by the San Francisco Chronicle and Book Links. Chen resides in Beaverton, Oregon.