Grace Lin
Author of Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
About the Author
Grace Lin won the Newbery Honor award for her novel "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon". (Bowker Author Biography)
Image credit: Photo by Morgan Pace
Series
Works by Grace Lin
Ling & Ting Share a Birthday (Passport to Reading: Level 3 (Paperback)) (2013) 182 copies, 14 reviews
Chinese Menu: The History, Myths, and Legends Behind Your Favorite Foods (2023) 122 copies, 6 reviews
Merry Christmas: Let's All Sing! - Box Set: Jingle Bells; Deck the Halls; The Twelve Days of Christmas; Plus CD (2004) 6 copies
One Is a Drummer : A Book of Numbers 5 copies
Associated Works
The Creativity Project: An Awesometastic Story Collection (2018) — Contributor — 114 copies, 3 reviews
Our Story Begins: Your Favorite Authors and Illustrators Share Fun, Inspiring, and Occasionally Ridiculous Things They Wrote and Drew as Kids (2017) — Contributor — 105 copies, 2 reviews
When You Grow Up to Vote: How Our Government Works for You (1932) — Illustrator, some editions — 66 copies, 1 review
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1974
- Gender
- female
- Education
- Rhode Island School of Design
- Occupations
- children's book author
children's book illustrator - Organizations
- New England Public Radio
- Awards and honors
- Champion of Change for Asian American and Pacific Islander Art and Storytelling (2016)
Children's Literature Legacy Award (2022) - Short biography
- From her official website (www.gracelin.com):
Grace Lin is the author and illustrator of more than a dozen picture books, including THE UGLY VEGETABLES and DIM SUM FOR EVERYONE! Grace's first children's novel THE YEAR OF THE DOG was released with glowing praise. While most of Grace's books are about the Asian-American experience, she believes, "Books erase bias, they make the uncommon everyday, and the mundane exotic. A book makes all cultures universal." See more about Grace and her work at www.gracelin.com. - Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- New Hartford, New York, USA
- Places of residence
- Somerville, Massachusetts, USA
Florence, Massachusetts, USA - Associated Place (for map)
- Massachusetts, USA
Members
Reviews
"Little Star has trouble resisting the Big Mooncake that Mama has hung in the sky in Lin’s (When the Sea Turned Silver, 2016, etc.) luminous departure from her usual block-print style.
After Little Star and her mama, both wearing jet-black pajamas adorned with bright yellow stars, bake a huge yellow mooncake, Mama reminds Little Star to leave it in the sky to cool. Of course Little Star tries, but she wakes in the night, unable to resist taking a tiny nibble. Mama surely won’t notice. show more Each subsequent night, Little Star steals another bite, and soon observant readers may realize what is happening: The Big Mooncake is waning from a full moon to a new moon. Lin’s storytelling is both clever and radiant. Painted in gouache against perfectly black pages, the characters’ pajamas have no edges, only the stars defining the separation between foreground and background. The mooncake gleams against the black as well, crumbs scattering like stars in the sky—a visual delight, suffusing the book with a feeling of otherworldliness that is offset by Little Star’s childlike authenticity and her loving relationship with Mama. An author’s note on the jacket flap indicates that while this story is not rooted in Chinese cosmology, it is Lin’s homage to the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, her “favorite Asian holiday.”
A warm and glowing modern myth. (Picture book. 3-8)" www.kirkusrevews.com, A Kirkus Starred Review show less
After Little Star and her mama, both wearing jet-black pajamas adorned with bright yellow stars, bake a huge yellow mooncake, Mama reminds Little Star to leave it in the sky to cool. Of course Little Star tries, but she wakes in the night, unable to resist taking a tiny nibble. Mama surely won’t notice. show more Each subsequent night, Little Star steals another bite, and soon observant readers may realize what is happening: The Big Mooncake is waning from a full moon to a new moon. Lin’s storytelling is both clever and radiant. Painted in gouache against perfectly black pages, the characters’ pajamas have no edges, only the stars defining the separation between foreground and background. The mooncake gleams against the black as well, crumbs scattering like stars in the sky—a visual delight, suffusing the book with a feeling of otherworldliness that is offset by Little Star’s childlike authenticity and her loving relationship with Mama. An author’s note on the jacket flap indicates that while this story is not rooted in Chinese cosmology, it is Lin’s homage to the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, her “favorite Asian holiday.”
A warm and glowing modern myth. (Picture book. 3-8)" www.kirkusrevews.com, A Kirkus Starred Review show less
This quickly became one of my favorite children's books! This is an adorable tale to explain why the moon changes size every night. The artist uses bright colors against a black background to create contrast, with the white of the text glowing against the black of the night sky.
The deceptively simple color palette and story text result in a rich story that will encourage participation from children. The curving onomatopoeias encourage the reader to draw it out as if they were able to taste show more the mooncake themselves.
A wonderful book for one on one storytime. Can you taste the mooncake? show less
The deceptively simple color palette and story text result in a rich story that will encourage participation from children. The curving onomatopoeias encourage the reader to draw it out as if they were able to taste show more the mooncake themselves.
A wonderful book for one on one storytime. Can you taste the mooncake? show less
A loving family celebrates Chinese (or Lunar) New Year in this brightly-illustrated picture-book from author/artist Grace Lin. As Jie-jie sweeps the doorstep and Ba-ba hangs up spring-happiness poems, the entire family gets into the spirit, welcoming in the new year with joy and festivity...
Pairing a simple text - no more than a sentence or two per page - with colorful gouache illustrations, Bringing in the New Year is a pleasing picture-book celebration of this important moment in the show more Chinese year. Like Lin's Dim Sum for Everyone!, which I have also read, it seems aimed at younger, preschool children, perhaps ages two through five, and introduces many customs and objects associated with Chinese New Year. I do feel, much as I did with Dim Sum for Everyone!, that it would have been nice to specify what words like Jie-jie (older sister) and Mei-mei (younger sister) mean, but leaving that aside, this is one I would recommend to picture-book readers seeking simple but appealing Chinese/Lunar New Year titles. show less
Pairing a simple text - no more than a sentence or two per page - with colorful gouache illustrations, Bringing in the New Year is a pleasing picture-book celebration of this important moment in the show more Chinese year. Like Lin's Dim Sum for Everyone!, which I have also read, it seems aimed at younger, preschool children, perhaps ages two through five, and introduces many customs and objects associated with Chinese New Year. I do feel, much as I did with Dim Sum for Everyone!, that it would have been nice to specify what words like Jie-jie (older sister) and Mei-mei (younger sister) mean, but leaving that aside, this is one I would recommend to picture-book readers seeking simple but appealing Chinese/Lunar New Year titles. show less
“Where the Mountain Meets the Moon” is an excellent story with a universal message.
A collection of Chinese folktales woven into an overarching story. If you have any interest in folklore this a must. What elevated this story to a true work of art is the author’s mastery of storytelling. The narrative often pauses to tell a Chinese folktale. At first this seems like only a texture for the characters and world but as the story unfolds it becomes apparent that each tale is woven into the show more tapestry of the plot - exposing either backstory, motivation, or what may come.
Grace Lin never explicitly states this is what she is doing, but once the folktales within folktales is revealed and everything begins to connect, the experience changes. It makes one want to reread past tales within the narrative and sift through each new one looking for the crumbs of story within.
The storytelling is further enriched by the writing. Most of the sentences are straightforward, with simple language for younger readers. However the images that are used are beautiful, and the succinct writing keeps the pace going smoothly. This easy writing style puts the focus on what is happening and being said more than how it is said.
Where this story really shines is its theme. I will not spoil it here since the slow reveal of the point of this story lends the narrative a good deal of strength. But the ultimate ending is well worth the journey and the themes are a good reminder for everyone. Though the characters are often one-note they feed into the theme well. Most of them reflect the ideals of these central themes, showing their good and their evil. From style to characters, this is a masterful lesson in how to make a meaningful story where all the different elements come together to form an emotional and impactful journey.
The only real issue with this work is also its greatest strength: its stories. All of them are engaging but there are quite a few. Though they add rather than subtract from the whole, there is enough of them that pacing can feel bogged down at times. Especially in the middle, rapid fire stories interrupt the main plot.
“Where the Mountain Meets the Moon” should be on everyone’s reading list. For parents and children, and for authors as a great example on how to tell a story, and for everyone else as a heartfelt and important reminder of life's values. show less
A collection of Chinese folktales woven into an overarching story. If you have any interest in folklore this a must. What elevated this story to a true work of art is the author’s mastery of storytelling. The narrative often pauses to tell a Chinese folktale. At first this seems like only a texture for the characters and world but as the story unfolds it becomes apparent that each tale is woven into the show more tapestry of the plot - exposing either backstory, motivation, or what may come.
Grace Lin never explicitly states this is what she is doing, but once the folktales within folktales is revealed and everything begins to connect, the experience changes. It makes one want to reread past tales within the narrative and sift through each new one looking for the crumbs of story within.
The storytelling is further enriched by the writing. Most of the sentences are straightforward, with simple language for younger readers. However the images that are used are beautiful, and the succinct writing keeps the pace going smoothly. This easy writing style puts the focus on what is happening and being said more than how it is said.
Where this story really shines is its theme. I will not spoil it here since the slow reveal of the point of this story lends the narrative a good deal of strength. But the ultimate ending is well worth the journey and the themes are a good reminder for everyone. Though the characters are often one-note they feed into the theme well. Most of them reflect the ideals of these central themes, showing their good and their evil. From style to characters, this is a masterful lesson in how to make a meaningful story where all the different elements come together to form an emotional and impactful journey.
The only real issue with this work is also its greatest strength: its stories. All of them are engaging but there are quite a few. Though they add rather than subtract from the whole, there is enough of them that pacing can feel bogged down at times. Especially in the middle, rapid fire stories interrupt the main plot.
“Where the Mountain Meets the Moon” should be on everyone’s reading list. For parents and children, and for authors as a great example on how to tell a story, and for everyone else as a heartfelt and important reminder of life's values. show less
Lists
Newbery Adjacent (1)
Youth: Seasonal (1)
storage (1)
el (1)
Awards
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 56
- Also by
- 8
- Members
- 16,973
- Popularity
- #1,310
- Rating
- 4.1
- Reviews
- 781
- ISBNs
- 392
- Languages
- 7
- Favorited
- 10