Julie is back in Black!

As we mentioned back in May, the sequel of Julie Black Belt was a long time coming...and has finally arrived!

Julie is a young girl who likes the martial arts dynamo Brandy Wu. So Julie has embarked on her own adventure...to learn how to practice kung-fu... and in more dimensions that she previously thought!

Now will Julie succeed in her quest to get The Belt of Fire?

Sampan review the original story The Kung Fu Chronicles: "As society progresses away from gender stereotypes, it is nice to see children’s literature doing the same. Growing up in the ’90s, I spent my childhood wondering why all the heroes were male and females characters who needed saving. Julie Black Belt is a shining example of how things have changed for the better."

In the intervening years since the publication of the first Julie Black Belt story, Kung Fu Panda and mixed martial arts (MMA) have pushed the popularity of martial arts in two directions: comedy on one hand and violence in the other.

However, we still wanted to chart our compass to the true north. We wanted to create a new chapter for families that was substantive. Julie should continue to plumb the depths of emotions that kids actually grapple with, and discover practical lessons that youngsters could also learn from their own experiences.

CM magazine praised the sequel:
"The character of Julie continues to give young girls a strong female protagonist with which to identify. This is further enhanced this time around with the introduction of Master Zhou. When Julie first learns that the Kung fu master is coming for a visit, she automatically assumes it will be a male teacher. It's a nice surprise to learn that the master who taught Sifu everything he knows is actually a woman. The character of Master Zhou serves to both further explore aspects of Kung fu and to provide young girls with yet another role model."

Artist Charlene Chua returns to bring Julie and a diverse cast of characters to life with vibrant colors and eye-catching motion.

Author Oliver Chin read it for the first time to kids at Miraloma Elementary School in San Francisco this week, and will autograph copies tomorrow (Friday, 1 pm) at the NCIBA annual book show at the South San Francisco convention center.

Get free coloring pages at www.julieblackbelt.com.

Happy Asian American Month

As you may know, May is America's annual month to commemorate the heritage and contributions of Asians and Pacific Islanders.

We at Immedium are happy to do so, since one of our publishing missions is to create more stories with Asian American themes and characters.

On tap is our upcoming September sequel in our series Julie Black Belt. The first story, The Kung Fu Chronicles launched in 2007 and readers have been asking for a follow up ever since. We are finally pleased to oblige them!

Julie is a girl that kids relate to - like any child, she wants to do well and learn new things but discovers that life is full of experiments, trials, and errors. Ultimately Julie understands that challenges require her to open her mind, revise her expectations, and grow with her body.

The notion of kung fu centers around practicing a discipline and honing one's skill. Though it normally is discussed in relation to sports and physical activity, kung fu really is about any endeavor one would want to improve in. Seeing themselves walking in Julie's shoes, youngsters understand what she is going through and, by extension, reframe their own experiences.

Now in The Belt of Fire, Julie is gunning to earn her next belt - orange! She continues to admire her movie idol Brandy Wu, a martial arts superstar. Julie starts watching Brandy Wu's latest adventure on DVD, but soon observes her heroine's success getting stifled by a mysterious stranger. But life starts to imitate art, as Julie discovers that a new kid in town has enrolled in her kung fu class. And her teacher Mr. Fong (aka "Sifu") may think he is better than her!

The amazing illustrator Charlene Chua has returned to draw Julie. We look forward to entertaining young and older martial artists with Julie's continuing adventures!