<\/p>\n
And, speaking of The Edge of the Forest<\/em> interview<\/a><\/strong>, we think Pam’s introductory words in that interview so perfectly describe Grace and her work that we’re going to repeat them here:<\/p>\n It may surprise you to realize that Grace Lin has written and illustrated ten picture books, has illustrated nine others, has written two novels, and has five different books coming out soon. For such a prolific and accomplished author\/illustrator, she retains a low profile and humble spirit. It’s part of her charm. In a way, she is reflected in her art. Her work doesn’t jump out with revolutionary, aggressive style. It’s not showy or dramatic. Then stop to notice the intricate patterns everywhere, but never clashing. Look for the detail in the leaves on the trees or the puddles on the ground. Find more in the sum of the parts. There’s joy in the beauty of the pictures. There’s honesty in the simplicity of the words. That’s Grace Lin.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n 7-Imp: <\/strong>What do you do for a living?<\/p>\n Grace: <\/strong>I\u2019m a children\u2019s book author and illustrator<\/a><\/strong>, full-time \u2014 a true contradiction to those who say you can\u2019t make a living doing children\u2019s book (as noted in one of my\u00a0recent BRG posts<\/a><\/strong>).<\/p>\n 7-Imp:<\/strong> How long have you been blogging?<\/p>\n Grace:<\/strong> Since September 2005, according to my blogger profile<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n 7-Imp:<\/strong> Why did you start blogging? Why do you continue to do it?<\/p>\n Grace:<\/strong> Well, I\u2019ve talked about that a lot, most recently here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n But in a nutshell, I don\u2019t really blog for readers \u2014 I use blogging as another outlet to vent, celebrate and share things. It\u2019s a place where it can be all about ME \u2014 so, I blog for thoroughly selfish reasons. Until I have grown to an extent where I am no longer so nauseatingly self-centered, I will continue blogging . . .<\/p>\n 7-Imp:<\/strong> Which blog or site would you take to the prom to show off and you love it so much you could marry it?<\/p>\n Grace:<\/strong> Well, recently I love this blog — Hue<\/em><\/a><\/strong>. I\u2019m also addicted to A Painting A Day<\/em><\/a><\/strong>. But, I would take all my BRGs<\/a><\/strong>, Fuse#8<\/a><\/strong>, MotherReader<\/a><\/strong>, Mitali<\/a><\/strong>, Cynsations<\/a><\/strong>, and 7-Imp:<\/strong> What are your other favorite things to do, other than reading and blogging?<\/p>\n Grace:<\/strong> Riding my bike, eating food that is bad for me, and oogling things that I can\u2019t afford but imaging that I can.<\/p>\n 7-Imp:<\/strong> What\u2019s in heavy rotation on your stereo\/ipod lately?<\/p>\n Grace: <\/strong> Damien Rice<\/a><\/strong>, Kate Havnevik<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n 7-Imp: <\/strong> If you could have three (living) authors over for coffee or a glass of rich, red wine, whom would you choose?<\/p>\n Grace: <\/strong> Well, that just evokes a whole nightmarish scene in my head . . . I see horrible awkward silences punctuated by intermitted mumblings while my idols look at me bored and disdainful, thinking \u201cWhat has 7 Impossible Things put me up to now?\u201d<\/p>\n Okay, in an ideal world, where I would be witty and interesting and I could obtain some of the talent and knowledge of my guests through osmosis . . . let\u2019s say: Amy Tan<\/a><\/strong>, Beverly Cleary<\/a><\/strong>, and Tasha Tudor<\/a><\/strong>. Natalie Babbitt<\/a><\/strong> and Tomie DePaola<\/a><\/strong> would be great too. Let\u2019s make it a party!<\/p>\n 7-Imp:<\/strong> What\u2019s one thing not many people know about you?<\/p>\n I can\u2019t whistle.<\/p>\n 7-Imp: <\/strong>Now for a few more questions specifically about your work as an author\/illustrator . . . <\/p>\n How gratifying was it to have your first middle grade novel<\/a><\/strong> receive so many awards and make so many Best Of lists and to have it generally be so well-received by both reviewers and your readers? <\/p>\n Grace: <\/strong>I\u2019m absolutely thrilled Year of the Dog<\/em> was received so well by readers and reviewers. It is really gratifying it is to feel that people \u201cget\u201d your work, especially kids. Before with my picturebooks, I would get e-mails or letters from parents or teachers, but for Year of the Dog<\/em> I started hearing directly from kids. And that has been priceless. It\u2019s fun to see what they are curious about (they all want to know if my Mom really did sleep in school. She did!). I hope the sequel, The Year of the Rat<\/a><\/strong><\/em>, is as well-liked. <\/p>\n 7-imp: <\/strong>Tell us a little about Robert’s Snow: For Cancer’s Cure<\/a><\/strong>. We know you’ve had to scale back your own involvement with organizing the fundraising events — was that hard to do? Any news on what the 2007 event will be like? <\/p>\n But the project was incredibly time-consuming and stressful; I couldn\u2019t keep up with all the demands and keep my own life going. So, after the 2005 event, I planned on retiring the project. But, by then, the hospital was so impressed by our project they offered to take on the administration and managing. So, Robert\u2019s Snow 2007 will be mainly their project.<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to let go. After I send the database of artists over to them, things are out of my hands. I find myself stressing and worrying that it won\u2019t be successful. But then I give myself a nice mental slap, as I know I should trust the hospital to do a good job. I trust them with my husband; a fundraiser should be a piece of cake.<\/p>\nDid we mention Grace is rather prolific? Yes, she’s guided by a generous and creative muse. Her first novel ever, for middle-graders and released in 2006 by Little, Brown & Co.<\/a><\/strong>, was The Year of the Dog<\/a><\/em><\/strong>, in which we follow a young girl’s adventures during the Chinese Year of the Dog. Pacy, the novel’s protagonist (as well as Grace’s nickname<\/a><\/strong>, one born of her Chinese name, Pai Se), discovers that this is the year she is supposed to “find herself.” As the year goes on, she struggles to find her talent, makes a new best friend (a character based on the real, live Alvina Ling<\/a><\/strong>), tries to figure out what makes her unique yet also how she fits in with those around her (family, school, friends), and discovers just why the Year of the Dog is a lucky one for her after all. You can visit this<\/a><\/strong> link to see the whole heapin’ bunch of awards her first middle-grade novel received, including being named a 2006 ALA Children’s Notable<\/a><\/strong>, a Kirkus<\/em> Best Early Chapter Book 2006<\/a><\/strong>, one of the New York Public Library’s 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing 2006<\/a><\/strong>, and a 2006 Booklist<\/em> Editors’ Choice for Middle Readers<\/a><\/strong>. The Year of the Dog<\/em> is an autobiographical novel, and during the novel, we read about Grace finding her true calling to write and illustrate children’s books. And if you want to know even more about the novel, read here (.pdf file), Grace’s essay<\/a><\/strong> on why she wrote the novel. Fans of this novel will be happy to read that The Year of the Rat<\/a><\/em><\/strong> (Little, Brown Young Readers<\/a><\/strong>), in which Pacy learns that the Year of the Rat symbolizes new beginnings and change, will be released in January of next year; Grace discusses this follow-up novel a bit more below in our interview. <\/p>\n
But she’s also a picture book illustrator — as well as author\/illustrator. Her list of illustrated picture books are here<\/a><\/strong> at her lovely web site, and the collection of titles she both wrote and illustrated are here<\/a><\/strong>. It all began with The Ugly Vegetables<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, published in 1999 by Charlesbridge Publishing<\/a><\/strong>. Grace told Cynthia Leitich-Smith in a January ’06 interview<\/a><\/strong> at Cynsations<\/a><\/em><\/strong> that, when first starting out and after graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design<\/a><\/strong>, she enthusiastically sent illustration samples to various publishers but was getting a bit depressed at the minimal response she was receiving. When the Senior Editor at Charlesbridge Publishing<\/a><\/strong> contacted her and asked if she had any stories to go with her illustrations, she said yes, “even though I didn’t . . . I was desperate to get any kind of foot in the door and wasn’t going to let any opportunity slip. I quickly started writing.” That book became The Ugly Vegetables<\/em>, which remains one of her most popular books. Since then, Grace has published over a dozen more books, including
Dim Sum for Everyone!<\/em><\/strong><\/a> (Knopf Books for Young Readers<\/a><\/strong>, 2001), Olvina Flies<\/a><\/em><\/strong> (Henry Holt<\/a><\/strong>, 2003), and Fortune Cookie Fortunes<\/em><\/a><\/strong> (Knopf Books for Young Readers<\/a><\/strong>, 2004). Critics have consistently praised Grace’s bold artwork — her brightly-colored gouache illustrations with their clearly-defined shapes and the immediacy that brings to young readers. Booklist<\/em> once wrote, “Lin’s jelly-bean-colored artwork, executed in gouache, finds humor in the small details,” and The Horn Book<\/em> wrote, “Lin’s style borders on the naive with a fresh folk-like quality.” And her enjoyable multi-cultural stories are also well-loved; as she told BookPage<\/em> in a February 2006 interview<\/a><\/strong>, “{w}hile we were growing up, there were very few books about Asian Americans. We had a book about five Chinese brothers and then Riki Tiki Tavi<\/em>, but that was about it.” And yet, while she shares Asian traditions with her readers, her work speaks of universal truths as well, making her books truly accessible to all young readers. Publishers Weekly<\/em> wrote of The Year of the Dog<\/em>, “Lin creates an endearing protagonist, realistically dealing with universal emotions and situations.”<\/p>\n
![\"an](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/jules\/lissy.gif\")
This May will mark the release of another picture book, Lissy’s Friends<\/em><\/strong><\/a> (Viking<\/a><\/strong>). Grace’s site explains here<\/strong><\/a> that in Fortune Cookie Fortunes<\/em> the older sister makes her fortune (“your imagination will create many friends”) come true by creating enormous paper origami animals. “This is her story (and the origami animals’!),” writes Grace. You can read some early blogger reviews here<\/a><\/strong> at a wrung sponge<\/em> and here<\/a><\/strong> at MotherReader<\/em>. Grace also discusses Lissy’s Friends<\/em> and why its publication is extra special to her in this interview<\/a><\/strong>, conducted by Pam Coughlan (a.k.a. MotherReader), at The Edge of the Forest’s<\/em> April ’07 issue. MerryMakers<\/a><\/strong> will also be releasing a Lissy doll<\/a><\/strong>, which Grace discusses briefly below. <\/p>\n![\"detail](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/jules\/robertssnowonemillion2.JPG\")
Grace was also the driving force behind the Robert’s Snow: For Cancer’s Cure<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/strong> fundraising effort after her husband, Robert, was diagnosed with bone cancer and after writing Robert’s Snow<\/em><\/strong><\/a> (Viking Books<\/a><\/strong>; 2004) soon after his diagnosis. The auction raised over $100,000 in its first year after the publication of this book<\/a><\/strong>, which features many award-winning children\u2019s book illustrators and their artwork for the cause. One hundred percent of the royalties from the book’s sale went to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute<\/a><\/strong>. The snowflakes that were created and donated by children’s book illustrators can be seen here<\/a><\/strong> at this link at the Robert’s Snow site. You can read Grace and Robert’s story here<\/a><\/strong>, but she discusses it below as well.<\/p>\n
Grace also keeps herself busy doing school and library visits, which you can read about here<\/a><\/strong> at her site. Here she is pictured on the left with Eisha at a talk she did at the library in Cambridge in which Eisha works . . . Grace also has a whole slew of upcoming titles and projects, which she discusses below. So, without further ado, let’s chat with the talented Ms. Lin, and we thank her kindly for stopping by 7-Imp. <\/p>\n
7 Imps<\/a><\/strong> to the prom if they\u2019d go with me. However, I think they already have dates.<\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/jules\/undercover.gif\")
Grace:<\/strong> I\u2019m an undercover secret agent.<\/del><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nGrace: <\/strong>In 2004 and 2005, the community of children\u2019s book illustrators rallied to my side and offered their talent and time to paint original art on snowflake shapes (see all the snowflakes here<\/a><\/strong>). These snowflakes were auctioned off on eBay and the project made more than $200,000 for cancer research! It was truly amazing. It made me proud of the children\u2019s book community and honored to be a part of it.<\/p>\n
![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/jules\/lissy.jpg\")
7-Imp: <\/strong>Is Ki-ki totally jealous that Lissy has her own doll<\/a><\/strong>? For that matter, are you?<\/p>\n