Warning
  • JUser: :_load: Unable to load user with ID: 165
Log in
A+ A A-

Greek of the Week Features Anna Prokos

New Greek TV's featured Greek of the Week is Anna Prokos, who is an established author of more than 40 fiction and non-fiction books.

The scholarly Greek-American has dedicated her career to writing books for kids and has penned three publications on Greek cultures and traditions, including Baboula Baby, The Lucky Cake and The Lucky Egg.

Prokos was inspired to write books focusing on Hellenism after she couldn't answer her son's question, as to why a coin was baked inside a Vasilopita. After asking her mother, her yiayia and many other yiayias who couldn't come up with an answer, she decided to document Greek customs.

The author describes, "So, I used my journalistic skills to do some research. When I learned the legend of St. Basil and the Vasilopita, I thought, why don't Greeks who have been cutting Vasilopita for generations know why we do this? And, why don't we, as a people, share this easy and beautiful tradition with others?"

Baboula Baby, The Lucky Cake and The Lucky Egg have been a hit with the Greek-American and Greek-Canadian communities. The Lucky Cake has even reached the Greek-Australian community as well! Prokos describes, "People I meet at Greek festivals, in churches and other community events tell me how proud, grateful and excited they are to finally have books that focus on preserving Greek cultures and traditions".

The imaginative first generation Greek-American grew up in Kearny, NJ, while her parents originate from Andros and the village of Karnezeika in the Peloponissos. When asked about her childhood, Prokos states, "Not to be cliché, but I really lived a big, fat Greek life. I went to Greek School twice a week, rarely missed Sunday School, was an active member of my GOYA, visited Greece most summers, was only allowed to date Greek guys, and my dad and relatives owned restaurants".

The message of her three Greek themed children's books is, "Be proud of your heritage and share your traditions with other people. The Greek culture is full of rich traditions and colorful customs, and it's important to know why we do what we do". Anna Prokos plans on writing more children's books dedicated to Hellenism because, "As the world becomes a big melting pot, it's important for kids to understand and celebrate their cultural heritage".

Last modified onMonday, 18 August 2014 17:19