Mượn Thị Văn's Blog, page 2

If your family was anything like mine this summer, you to...

If your family was anything like mine this summer, you too were watching the seconds count down till you could place new holds on library books again. 

I'm glad to say that my latest book, If You Were Night, is now available for holds (and for purchase). Featuring gorgeous paper cut illustrations by Kelly Pousette, this is my first story to be written entirely in questions. Why? How is that possible? Is it any good? I guess you need to read it to find out??? 

Kelly's dioramas definitely steal the show, though, so if you have time, check out this cool piece on her art process. Happy reading!

Cover reveal for Wishes

Get a sneak peek of Wishes through this beautiful cover reveal.

The Most Terrible of All Wins Irma Black Honor Award

The Most Terrible of All has been selected as an Irma Black Honor Book. The Irma Black Award "goes to an outstanding book for young children—a book in which text and illustrations are inseparable, each enhancing and enlarging on the other to produce a singular whole. The Irma Black Award is unusual in that children are the final judges of the winning book." Thank you to all who read the book and voted for it!

Celebrating Asian and Pacific American Heritage Month

This is the second year I have the honor of participating in Oakland's Asian Pacific American Read-In Week, and the first year I'm doing so remotely. If you've ever wanted me to read to you, now's your chance to have that wish fulfilled. And if you can't get enough of Clever Little Witch, then head on over here.

Cover reveal for If You Were Night

Here's a sneak peek of my next book, If You Were Night, due this fall. Kelly Pousette created this beautiful cover; see if you can spot more art from the book here.

Clever Little Witch receives a Golden Kite Award!

Hyewon Yum wins a Golden Kite Award for her amazing art in  Clever Little Witch . Way to go, Hyewon!

One Is a Lot is now out!

Every book has an origin story and this one started with me sitting at a table with one of my muses (my first kid, then four years old) in a room our family affectionately called "the apartment" because we never left it, despite having other, grander rooms available in our house (a relic of NYC-living).

I had wanted to write a book about numbers for a while and as I joked about how "1 elephant on your head is a lot but 2 is too much," I thought maybe I could write a story that would expand a reader's conception of numbers—something less pedagogical and something more philosophical.

The result is  One Is a Lot , now available in local and online bookstores. Featuring lush, lovely art from acclaimed illustrator Pierre Pratt, One Is a Lot has already received a starred review from Kirkus, which said, "One unique picture book with much to say equals quite a lot."

I hope this book helps you look at numbers—and the world—in a different way.

Clever Little Witch is now out!

Clever Little Witch is now out!

I wrote this story four years ago, while I was winding down one profession (engineering), restarting another (writing), and joyfully continuing a third (parenting, of course!)

The wait—and the countless spell revisions—have been worth it. Hyewon Yum's art is full of mischief, glee, and surprises, and Hyewon and the McElderry team have brought some real magic to the book.

Clever Little Witch is available in bookstores and online—hope you enjoy this fun summer read!

The Most Terrible of All is now out!

The Most Terrible of All is now out!
You can borrow it from a library, get it from a local bookstore, or buy it online.

I wrote the story three years ago, after thinking that if I had a magic mirror like Snow White's stepmother, I wouldn't waste it with a question like "Who is the fairest one of all?" Smugg asks a different question in the new book and I wonder, what would you ask your magic mirror?

Matt Myers created the fabulous(ly funny) art for the book and he shares his process here. I learned that adding fur makes everything cuter and, more importantly, how to really gross out readers in the next book!

Giving away Most Terrible at Tandem tomorrow

I'll be giving away autographed copies of The Most Terrible of All at Tandem's Storybook Gala tomorrow!

Tandem provides families with books, tools, and other resources to help prepare their children for kindergarten. Thanks to S&S/McElderry for providing early copies of the book!