The 91st Street community was delighted May 16 to welcome Grace Lin, an award-winning and best-selling author and illustrator of picture books, early readers, and middle grade novels, including the Newbery Honor Book, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon.
Ms. Lin, whose cover illustration for her new novel When the Sea Turned to Silver was recently displayed at the White House, spoke engagingly with groups of students throughout the day. Younger students learned about her childhood and what goes into getting a picture book published, while older students learned about Ms. Lin's journey as both an Asian-American and a writer.
That evening, Ms. Lin spoke with parents, faculty and friends as part of the school's Brave Parenting speaker series, sponsored by the Parents Association and Awareness Committee. Many of Ms. Lin's books are about the Asian-American experience because, she says, "a book makes all cultures universal." She explored the ways literature provides children and adults with "windows and mirrors" before signing copies of her books in the Ballroom.
Ms Lin's books include Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, The Year of the Dog, and Ling & Ting, as well as picture books such as The Ugly Vegetables and Dim Sum for Everyone! She was recently honored by the White House as a Champion of Change for Asian American and Pacific Islander Art & Storytelling. An advocate for diversity in children's literature, she gave a Tedx talk entitled "The Windows and Mirrors of Your Child's Bookshelf."