Grace Lin's Blog, page 78

fortune cookie friday

"Cheat the earth and the earth will cheat you. "
-Chinese Proverb[image error]

Pocket Pacy Picture of the Week

9 year old Annalise would bring her Pocket Pacy to Africa!


*Don't forget, you can win your own Pocket Pacy by doing a drawing just like this! See details HERE![image error]

a welcoming week in Ohio

In March, I did a marathon of school visits--with Rain Dragon coming, these are my last presentations until next spring--so I wanted to squeeze in as many as possible. And I was very glad (and lucky) that  on the schedule was a week of schools in Cincinnati, OH.

Every school gave me such a warm welcome!  From the parking lot:


to the foyers:


I was greeted with dragons:

dogs:

and even Ling and Ting!

One school even performed for me, with a Chinese folk song and ribbon dance:



isn't that amazing?


Because these Ohio schools really loved reading and books! One school decided to make a dragon, with the scales representing student reading (I think every time a student finished a book they could add a scale onto the dragon). As you can see, it became a very, very long dragon!



it just went on and on and on!
I was incredibly impressed when at an afternoon event they specifically served all the food that was mentioned in Dumpling Days. From the pineapple cakes:


to Pocky and oranges:

and, of course, the dumplings!


I wish I had had them cater my Dumpling Days book launch!

All the schools were so wonderful that it would be impossible to mention all the great things they each did. But I will finish this post with this introduction that the students gave me before one of my presentations:



 Isn't that sweet? I've never been introduced like that before!



Thanks so much, Ohio schools!!!

booktalk tuesday

The Trumpet of the Swan, by EB White

IndieBound Description:

Like the rest of his family, Louis is a trumpeter swan. But unlike his four brothers and sisters, Louis can't trumpet joyfully. In fact, he can't even make a sound. And since he can't trumpet his love, the beautiful swan Serena pays absolutely no attention to him.

Louis tries everything he can think of to win Serena's affection -- he even goes to school to learn to read and write. But nothing seems to work. Then his father steals him a real brass trumpet. Is a musical instrument the key to winning Louis his love?

My Thoughts: Recently, a school told me that they chose Where the Mountain Meets the Moon as their One Book, One School choice. They were particularly pleased with it because it was one of the few books they had chosen that they felt confident that all ages, from K-5, could really enjoy. "The only other book we felt that way about was 'The Trumpet of the Swan,'" the librarian told me. I found that to be extremely high praise!![image error]

on my desk monday

A whole case of pocket people!


This is a gift from a lovely school visit I did in Upstate NY...more on that later!

Pocket Pacy Picture of the Week

I've been sent so many lovely  pictures for the Pocket Pacy contest (so many that I had to choose winners by random drawing)! I've decided that I must share them. This week's picture is from Amelia, a young reader who would bring Pocket Pacy to fairyland!



I like Pocket Pacy's pink skirt and shoes, don't you?

*Don't forget, you can win your own Pocket Pacy by doing a drawing just like this! See details HERE![image error]

Beaverton, OR

The most snow I've seen this winter year has been in Beaverton (right near Portland), Oregon:

isn't it rather magical looking? 
where I did visited some lovely schools, one on Dr. Seuss's birthday! I was warmly welcomed by the Cat in the Hat:

The librarian, Molly Sloan!as well as signs and displays:




The students did amazing projects with my books, including this one using the idea of the red thread:

these are posters where students drew red threads to all the people connected to themI especially liked these poems inspired by Where the Mountain Meets the Moon:


I thought this was a fascinating process!
A soft gentle breeze
A scarlet dragon soaring
Sweet blossoms flutter
Red Dragon on ground
Rope bridge across blue sky
Young girl excited
Portland is beautiful city and the students, librarians and staff were wonderful! The students were so enthusiastic and there was a lovely article about my visit in the newspaper.


I was so touched by how much the  students enjoyed my books, as evidenced by the book order for me to autograph. I love signing my books, so the large pile of books was nice to see. However, I have to admit the homemade, mouth-wateringly delicious, chocolate-covered cream puffs that accompanied the waiting books were just as nice to see:


YUM! Thanks so much, Beaverton schools!

booktalk tuesday

The Saturdays, by Elizabeth Enright

IndieBound Description:

Meet the Melendys! The four Melendy children live with their father and Cuffy, their beloved housekeeper, in a worn but comfortable brownstone in New York City. There's thirteen-year-old Mona, who has decided to become an actress; twelve-year-old mischievous Rush; ten-and-a-half-year-old Randy, who loves to dance and paint; and thoughtful Oliver, who is just six. Tired of wasting Saturdays doing nothing but wishing for larger allowances, the four Melendys jump at Randy's idea to start the Independent Saturday Afternoon Adventure Club (I.S.A.A.C.). If they pool their resources and take turns spending the whole amount, they can each have at least one memorable Saturday afternoon of their own. Before long, I.S.A.A.C. is in operation and every Saturday is definitely one to remember. Written more than half a century ago, The Saturdays unfolds with all the ripe details of a specific place and period but remains, just the same, a winning, timeless tale. The Saturdays is the first installment of Enright's Melendy Quartet, an engaging and warm series about the close-knit Melendy family and their surprising adventures.

My Thoughts: I completely adore the Melendy books. It's strange, I love them more than Elizabeth Enright's award winning books (even though I did enjoy those too). There's something about the characters that I really relate to. There are only 4 Melendy books (I'll post about the other ones on other Tuesdays) but I wish there were more!

on my desk monday

I painted another egg for the Open Fields egg auction!


I had to squeeze in the time to do it and I'm sending it in late, but hopefully it will still be in time for their auction. I had to, of course, paint a Rain Dragon on a red egg (red eggs are special for babies)! This year, I didn't break the 2nd egg they sent me, so I am selfishly keeping it for myself so that I can paint another red egg especially for Baby Rain Dragon when she arrives.

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:
puddle
shuǐkēng
水坑