Grace Lin is the May author for the 2021 Author Study Challenge. Grace Lin has written and published over 30 children’s books for kids of all ages. She has board books, picture books and novels to her name. I picked her for May because it is National Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month, but also because May 17 is Grace Lin’s birthday.
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LEARN MORE ABOUT THE 2021 AUTHOR STUDY CHALLENGE
Meet Grace Lin
Grace Lin is an author and illustrator of children’s books for all ages. She grew up in Upstate New York and attended the Rhode Island School of Design. Her first book was THE UGLY VEGETABLES in 1999. Grace has won awards for many of her books, including the Caldecott Honor in 2019. She has also been recognized as a Champion of Change for Asian American and Pacific Islander Art and Storytelling.
Learn more about Grace Lin on her site: Gracelin.com
or watch this Ted Talk called The Windows & Mirrors of Your Child’s Bookshelf
I have divided Grace Lin’s books into Board Book, Picture books that she has written and illustrated and additional picture books that she has illustrated and chapter books. Within Chapter Books you’ll find a range from easy, early readers to long chapter books for middle graders. Grace Lin also has a Youtube channel where she reads aloud from some of her chapter books if you want a sneak peak. I hope you find some new favorites below!
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Board Books by Grace Lin
These are just my favorites, excluding Christmas books – Grace Lin has a ton of books and there are certainly others on her list that are excellent as well. You can find her full list of books on her website (https://gracelin.com/books/)
Storytelling Math Series
These are super cute board books that look at basic math concepts. WHAT WILL FIT? or CIRCLE! SPHERE! and the others in the series take a concept like shapes and apply them to the real world.
Dim Sum for Everyone!
Bright, patterned illustrations and a whole meal of traditional Chinese American foods are a feast for the eyes. This was originally a picture book, but it works as a board book too. If you’re looking for a book to read to little ones for Asian American Heritage Month this is a good place to start.
Picture Books Written & Illustrated by Grace Lin
A Big Mooncake for Little Star
by Grace Lin
If you’ve read just one book by Grace Lin, it is likely to be this one. A Caldecott Honor Book it will surprise no one to hear that the pictures in this book are spellbinding. I love the story and I love the creative way the moon phases is woven into this story. The illustrations are incredible, the story is sweet. This book would be wonderful to share with anyone, but I also see huge education potential for tying this into a lesson or unit about the phases of the moon or space.
A Big Bed for Little Snow
This is a fun winter story that serves as a companion to A BIG MOONDCAKE FOR LITTLE STAR. Grace Lin wrote this to introduce readers to their first snowfall. It’s a great Mother/Son book.
The Ugly Vegetables
This is Grace Lin’s first book. It’s about a little girl who doesn’t understand by their garden has to be filled with ugly vegetables when their neighbors’ gardens have beautiful flowers. It is fun to learn about some less common vegetables. For slightly older kids, I also think it’s a great way to start a conversation about how we feel about differences and “fitting in.”
Kite Flying
This is the same family from Dim Sum for Everyone and talks about the Chinese tradition of making and flying kites. A lot of Grace Lin’s have fun ways to relate to science concepts, along with exploring Chinese American culture and this is a great one to do alongside a STEM challenge – build your own kite!
Fortune Cookie Fortunes
I love Fortune Cookies and I love books that inspire you to do some cooking – this is obviously both. I think it would be fun to make your own fortune cookies, including writing fortunes for each other.
You May Also Like:
Children’s Books to Read for Asian American Heritage Month
Picture Books Illustrated by Grace Lin
Round is a Mooncake
by Roseanne Thong
illustrated by Grace Lin
This is a fun book of shapes that is playful and full of creative ways to explore shapes with the items around you.
Red is a Dragon: A Book of Colors
by Roseanne Thong
illustrated by Grace Lin
Similar to the shapes book above, this is a fun colors book that uses things from a little girl’s everyday life to illustrate the colors.
Chapter Books by Grace Lin
Ling & Ting series
I have twins, so naturally when they were learning to read I borrowed a lot of these Ling & Ting books from the library. They are cute stories and my kids liked telling me the differences between them and the twins in the stories.
Year of the Dog
This is the first in the Pacy Lin series of books. Unlike the next three books that are fantasy, historical, epic journey type books, these are realistic fiction. We haven’t read these but they sound really fun. They are for 3 graders and up.
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
This is an epic journey type book to save a young girl’s family’s fortune. It has full color illustrations, gentle humor and a fun cast of characters. This is part of a trilogy with STARRY RIVER OF THE SKY and WHEN THE SEA TURNED TO SILVER which was also a National Book Award Finalist.
Before the Sword
If you have a Mulan fan, like my daughter, then this is a fun story. It tells an early story of Mulan. Mulan goes on a quest to save her sister for a poisonous spider bite. Our library had this one on audio as well. This is best for 8+
Author Study Activity Ideas
Playing with the books you read, writing and creating based on what you read, imitating an author’s style or aspects of their work is part of the fun of author studies. The options are unlimited. Here are some activity ideas to go with some of our favorite Grace Lin books to get you started.
Writing Ideas
- Grace Lin writes a lot about her Asian American heritage. What family tradition, food from your culture, holiday experience means a lot to you? Can you write a story sharing it? Make sure to think about all 5 senses – what do you see, hear, taste, smell and feel when you experience this part of your heritage or culture? Bring it alive for you readers.
- Read a book written AND illustrated by Grace Lin and then one just illustrated by Grace Lin. Compare and contrast. How are they similar? What do you notice that is different?
- Read Round is a Mooncake or Red is a Dragon with preschoolers or Kindergarteners and make your own book of shapes or colors inspired by your home, classroom or one of your favorite places.
Book Expansion Ideas for Every Area of Curriculum:
Math: Cook a recipe together inspired by one of the stories, such as Dim Sum or Fortune cookies (Here’s a recipe one family used to make Fortune Cookies). Let your kids take charge of measuring the ingredients. If you want to make it harder, double the recipe and have them do the math!
Science: Learn about the Moon. This is a common theme in a lot of Grace Lin’s books. Learn about the moon phases. Head outside and find the moon in your night sky.
OR Try some new vegetables. Go to the store or farmers’ market together and pick out some unfamiliar vegetables. Have a taste test. Use juicy adjectives to describe how they taste to add some vocabulary skills into your activity. You can also use this printable to record your vegetable findings.
Art: Head to Grace Lin’s YOUTUBE channel and try a drawing tutorial.
Social Studies: learn about Chinese New Year. Where is it celebrated? When? Is there a celebration near you that you can go experience in person?
More Fun Ideas:
- Grace Lin’s website has fun activity ideas that go along with a lot of her books. From learning Chinese words for vegetables, learn to make dumplings, making moon phase viewers, learning about the Moon Festival and so much more.
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