Grace Lin's Blog, page 81

Pocket Pacy goes to a museum

Another Pocket Pacy on a fun trip! Priya, a lovely reader, took her Pocket Pacy with her to her recent trip to the Portland Museum of Art in Portland, Maine:

Here is Pocket Pacy standing on the ledge on the highest floor in the Portland Museum of Art in Portland, Maine.
Here is Pocket Pacy resting on a bench near the staircases in the Portland Museum of Art in Portland, Maine.
Here is Pocket Pacy standing in front of a pretty painting at the Portland Museum of Art in Portland, Maine.


And finally, here is Pocket Pacy standing in front of a beautiful plant at the Museum Cafe in the Portland Museum of Art in Portland, Maine.
Well, I think Pocket Pacy had a fun time, don't you?


Don't forget, you can win your own Pocket Pacy! See details HERE!

school visit days

It's March and it's my school visit month. I've (perhaps unwisely) filled my month with traveling and visiting schools. Would you like to know what does a typical school visit presentation entail? Well, this is how my  "How a Book is Made" presentation usually goes (from a recent local visit):

First, a lovely welcome:
isn't this cute? this is also encouraging because it tells me the students are enthusiastic and knowledgeable about my books 
Then a short intro about my work and making sure students know the difference between a published book and non-published book:



Next, I go through the steps of publishing, calling up students in the audience to play the parts of editor, art director, etc:




Until I show all the steps it takes to make a published book:

Then, I read a short excerpt from one of my published books:



And then--my favorite part-- teaching the students how to draw a dragon:





And that is the presentation! This is the presentation I usually do for 1-3 graders, I do completely different ones for the older grades. However, I'll be doing this quite a bit this month!

booktalk tuesday

Hannah West in the Belltower
by Linda Johns

IndieBound Description:
In this first book of a lively new mystery series, 12-year-old Hannah West and her mother move into Seattle's swanky high-rise, the Belltown Towers. As they're getting settled, someone tries to steal a valuable piece of artwork from one of their new neighbors.

My Thoughts:
I've been longing to write a mystery and have been reading many to get an idea of how to do it. This mystery series featured a great character--Hannah West is a spunky, smart girl who also happens to have been adopted from China. I love how her racial heritage is identified and is a feature but not a main focus of the story.

on my desk monday

I'm racing to finish the art for Starry River of the Sky! It needs to be done soon if it's to come out for the October 2012 release date, there's already an Amazon pre-order link!. In a way, I actually don't mind because I want to get it done before Rain Dragon appears anyway. Above is the cover. Here is a close-up of it:


The final cover will probably look something like this (considering how the color shifts when they print, though I know they'll adjust it better than what I've done):


I hope people like it!!!

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:
clover
sān yè cǎo
三叶草

fortune cookie friday

"You cannot lose what you never had."
-Chinese Proverb

Pocket Pacy among elephants and butterflies

A lovely reader brought her Pocket Pacy to Washington, DC!

There, Pocket Pacy went to the Natural History Museum and saw the elephants:


and frolicked in the Butterfly Garden:


 Doesn't Pocket Pacy look happy?


Don't forget, you can win your own Pocket Pacy! See details HERE!

surprise!

The other day, the Sasquatch and I were supposed to meet my friend Anna Alter at this cute little tea room:



But, when we went I was a bit surprised:



Because it wasn't just my friend Anna inside, but a whole troupe of my my friends and family:



Yes, it was a surprise baby shower! I was definitely surprised!

I couldn't believe the Sasquatch tricked me!
And also a super lovely one. It was all my girly dreams come true:

pretty plates
pretty teapots
pretty tea room!We also had a pretty tea with sandwiches (crusts cut off), the most delicious scones ever and chocolate covered strawberries. I forgot to take pictures of the food but it was highly enjoyed:


But, of course, it was the company that was the most beautiful:

some of the blue rose girls! 

There were also presents!

I loved all of them, but my favorite one is the upcoming 100 Wishes Quilt. This is a Chinese tradition where the newborn's friends and family contribute cloth to make a quilt--with the quilt full of loving wishes of the gift givers. Everyone brought some material for the quilt  (my niece Lily & friend Carri are going to make it, since I don't know how to quilt) and also cut a little swatches from their material in a scrapbook with the giver's wish for our upcoming baby. Isn't that sweet? I ♥ this soooo much!




With all this, I feel sure our baby is going to be very lucky. I know I'm a very lucky upcoming baby mama!

booktalk tuesday

Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott

IndieBound Description:

Follow the adventures of four sisters, Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy, in this lively retelling of a much-loved classic tale. The sisters fall into one scrape after another, as tempers flare, illness strikes and their lives are filled with new experiences and loves.

My Thoughts: One of my favorite books...I reread this after I visited Orchard House, a trip I recommend in conjunction with the reading of this book!

on my desk monday

I was incredibly honored when Where the Mountain Meets the Moon was listed on the The 100 "Greatest Books for Kids," by Scholastic Parent & Child magazine. But I didn't realize until I saw the magazine that there was a Q&A with yours truly accompanying the list:


I had, of course, done the Q&A interview but I hadn't linked the two together at all. What a double thrill!