Bing’s Cherries
Launch Date March 10, 2026 • Roaring Brook Press • Written by Livia Blackburne
A modern American tall tale woven by a girl and her father about Ah Bing, the Chinese immigrant behind the Pacific Northwest’s most delicious cherries.
You’ve heard of a Bing cherry, but did you know the story of the Chinese American immigrant for whom the dark, luscious cherry is named?
Long ago, Ah Bing was a father who traveled across the sea from China looking for work. It was in Oregon where he met a man who hired him to work in his orchards, where eventually, Bing cultivated the delicious cherries we know of today.
But what was it that made this man and the cherries he made so special? a young girl wonders as she sits together with her father, enjoying cherries from their backyard. Weaving together cultural memory, historical fact, and her own imagination, the young girl imagines a narrative of Ah Bing that is as larger than life and as sweet as his namesake.
With touching text and lush illustrations, Livia Blackburne and Julia Kuo forge an unforgettable Chinese American folktale that has largely been untold.
Launch Party
In-person Seattle launch party featuring both Livia and Julia
March 15, 2025 at 10am at Hello Em Việt Coffee & Roastery
Hosted by Friends of Little Saigon
Signing at 11am
Order the Book
Interviews
More to come!
Resources
Storytime and Activity Kit for Bing’s Cherries
Julia Kuo's name pronunciation on TeachingBooks
Livia Blackburne's name pronunciation on TeachingBooks
Honors
Bing’s Cherries is part of the Junior Library Guild’s library book club
Learn About How I Work
Learn about my process for Bing’s Cherries!
Critical Praise
“Chinese American author Blackburne creates a poignant origin story, with plenty of empathic “I hopes” for Bing’s contented happiness. Taiwanese American Kuo’s bold art, captured in blues, reds, browns, black, is reminiscent of woodblock prints, resonating with geometric enhancements—swirls, dots, circles.
“Scant historical details are convincingly transformed into a tall tale revealing the origins of a delicious food.
- Kirkus Reviews