Grace Lin's Blog, page 113

book talk tuesday

The Red Blazer Girls: The Vanishing Violin by Micheal D. Beil

IndieBound Description:When there are mysteries to be solved, the Red Blazer Girls are on the case! The discovery of the Ring of Rocamadour has secured the girls' reputation as Upper East Side super-sleuths, bringing many sundry job requests (no mystery too small, right?) and some unwanted attention from crooks. This time the girls must follow a trail of cryptic clues, involving everything from logic to literature, to trace a rare violin gone missing. But nothing is as it appears, and just as a solution seems imminent, the girls find themselves scrambling to save the man who was once their prime suspect. Bowstrings and betrayal, crushes and codes abound in this suspenseful companion to the Red Blazer Girls' 2009 debut. Recent clues indicate that there'll be more mystery and mayhem to come!

My Thoughts: Very, very fun! You might want to start with the 1st Red Blazer Girl book, The Ring of Rocamadour, but I thought this one was better. My minor quibble was that the girls seemed much older than 12 to me, but I think it might be that I am showing my age--kids ARE a lot more sophisticated these days. Regardless, it doesn't effect the reading enjoyment at all and you won't want to miss these books!

on my desk monday

letters from young readers, better than valentines!

Sunday Chinese School

Welcome to Sunday Chinese School, where we learn a Chinese word (or phrase) a week with my mom!
Today's word is:
love
ài

fortune cookie friday

"The heart that loves is always young."
-Chinese Proverb

School Visit Photo Album, MS

From Chicago, I flew to Jackson, MS for another week of visits. This was great fun because at the start of the week I taught the kids how to draw tigers:
But by the end of the week, we were drawing rabbits!

That is because I spent Chinese New Year in MS! And while doing a school visit is not the traditional way to celebrate the holiday, it was still quite festive and fun.

One school welcomed me and the Chinese New Year with a little performance inspired from my book Bringing in the New Year:


And at another school, a real rabbit had her home decorated for the new year:

And students were wearing in their good-luck, Chinese red outfits:

But, of course, the most fun for me was seeing how much the students liked my books:



And the great projects the teachers and librarians did to prepare them for my visit:
This says: "I would ask the Old Man of the Moon, 'Can I get an iphone 4?'"
This says, "I would ask the Old Man of the Moon if my brother would ever be nice to me."
Unfortunately, on the last day of my visit, school was canceled due to the weather which made this student-written fortune extremely apropos:
This says, "You will soon meet Nature's destructive powers."
Luckily, it didn't continue to stay true and I was able to make my airplane flight home...Thanks so much for having me, Jackson, MS!

book talk tuesday

How Tia Lola Came To Visit (Stay) by Julia Alveraz

IndieBound Description: Moving to Vermont after his parents split, Miguel has plenty to worry about! Tía Lola, his quirky, carismática, and maybe magical aunt makes his life even more unpredictable when she arrives from the Dominican Republic to help out his Mami. Like her stories for adults, Julia Alvarez's first middle-grade book sparkles with magic as it illuminates a child's experiences living in two cultures.

My Thoughts: Lovely book and I adore this cover! The contrast of Tia Lola's colorful clothing against the white snow--an image that perfectly sums the book and is just wonderful.

on my desk monday

On my hotel desk in Jackson, Ms...

delicious, delectable half-moon cookies just like I remember them!
The lovely librarian, Jeannie Chun, read about my fondness for them and saw the recipe and made them for me! So yummy and such a sweet welcome to Mississippi. Thanks so much, Jeannie!

Sunday Chinese School

Welcome to Sunday Chinese School, where we learn a Chinese word (or phrase) a week with my mom!
Today's word is:
sweetheart
tián xīn

School Visit Photo Album, Chicago area

So, I've just finished a week of school visits in the Chicago area (left before the big storm!). I try to schedule my non-local school visits in chunks so that I don't have to keep switching back and forth from creative silence to public speaking too many times. In theory this works, but it does make those school visit stretches extremely exhausting. Thankfully, however, the schools, librarians and the students in the Chicago area were so welcoming and enthusiastic that I was able to ride their energy and have a great trip!

The libraries did such great publicity and outreach that there was a great audience for all my talks. While it is was a little embarrassing to see my big head smirking at me on all the posters, I did think it was kind of amusing to see that each library used a different author photo.



And one didn't use an author photo at all:


But all the images seemed to work because the students came and I had a marvelous time. Some showed up with homemade dragon kites, just like my book Kite Flying:
And others seemed to really enjoy learning how to draw a lucky tiger:
The librarians feted me with lots of yummy food, including a cake with an edible version of my book cover on it:
And I always love seeing student work inspired by my books!

And a highlight of my trip? Meeting and spending some time with librarians Linda Zeilstra-Sawyer and Holly Jin, judges on the Geisel and Newbery Committees (respectively). So neat to meet (and thank in person) two of the people responsible for changing my favorite color to silver!

fortune cookie friday

"Do not wait for the storm to pass, instead, learn to dance in the rain."
-unknown