Grace Lin facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Grace Lin
Born	Grace "Pacy" Lin (1974-05-17) May 17, 1974 (age 51) New Hartford, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Author, illustrator
Education	Rhode Island School of Design (BFA)
Notable awards	Newbery Honor Award (2010) National Book Award Finalist (2016) Caldecott Honor Award (2019) Children's Literature Legacy Award (2022)
Spouse	Robert Mercer ​ ​ (m. 2001; died 2007)​ Alex Ferron ​ (m. 2010)​
Children	1

Grace Lin (born May 17, 1974) is an amazing Taiwanese-American writer and artist. She creates books for kids and young teens. Grace Lin is famous for helping more Asian American characters appear in children's books. She has written and illustrated over 25 books. Many of her stories feature young Asian characters. These characters live in both everyday and magical worlds.

Her Early Life and School Days

Grace Lin was born in 1974 in New Hartford, New York. Her parents were from Taiwan. Her dad was a doctor and her mom was a botanist (a plant scientist). Grace grew up in upstate New York. She and her two sisters were often the only Asian students at their school.

Grace loved making books from a young age. When she was in seventh grade, she won fourth place in a national book contest. She even won $1000! Later, she went to the Rhode Island School of Design. She studied children's book illustration there. She earned her degree in 1996.

Becoming an Author and Illustrator

How Her First Book Was Published

After college, Grace Lin wanted to be a children's book author. But publishers didn't notice her work right away. So, she worked for a company that designed t-shirts and mugs. After a few years, she lost that job. This gave her a chance to chase her dream again.

An editor from a publishing company saw her art. They asked if she had a story to go with her pictures. Grace didn't have one ready, but she said yes! She quickly wrote a story for her art. This led to her first book, The Ugly Vegetables, published in 1999. Since then, she has published over 25 books. She illustrated many of them herself.

Other Ways She Shares Stories

Grace Lin does more than just write and illustrate books. In 2016, she gave a TEDx talk. It was called "The Windows and Mirrors of Your Child’s Bookshelf." In this talk, she explained why it's important to have diverse characters in books. She wants all kids to see themselves in books. She also wants them to learn about others.

Since 2017, Grace has written for New England Public Radio. She often shares her experiences as a parent and an Asian American author. She has also appeared on PBS NewsHour. There, she talked about how different cultures are shown in children's books. Grace also hosts two podcasts: "Book Friends Forever" and "Kids Ask Authors." She helps a group called We Need Diverse Books. This group works to make sure children's books include many different kinds of people.

Her Family Life

Grace Lin married Robert Mercer in 2001. He was an architect. Robert got a serious illness called Ewing's sarcoma. To help, Grace and Robert started a fundraiser. It was called "Robert's Snow: For Cancer's Cure." They asked other children's book artists to paint wooden snowflakes. These snowflakes were then sold to raise money for cancer research. The fundraiser happened twice and raised over $100,000. After Robert passed away in 2007, the fundraiser ended.

Grace remarried in 2010 to Alexandre Ferron. They have a daughter named Hazel, born in 2012. Grace lives with her family in Florence, Massachusetts.

What Her Books Are About

Stories About Identity and Family

Grace Lin often writes about who you are and where you come from. She also writes about peace and relationships with friends and family. Many of her books feature Asian and Asian American characters. She often uses her own life experiences in her stories. This is especially true in her Pacy series.

Her books show Asian American characters in everyday life. They also show how diverse the Asian American experience is. This helps to challenge old stereotypes. Grace also uses ideas from traditional Chinese and Taiwanese folktales. You can see this clearly in her Where the Mountain Meets the Moon series.

Her Unique Art Style

Grace Lin's illustrations are very special. She uses bright colors and interesting shapes. Her art often has detailed, layered patterns. She draws all her pictures by hand. She especially likes to use a type of paint called gouache. Grace developed her unique art style in college. She gets ideas from traditional Chinese folk art. She also gets inspiration from European artists like Matisse and Van Gogh.

Books by Grace Lin

Books She Wrote and Illustrated

The Pacy Series

• The Year of the Dog, Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2006. ISBN: 978-0-316-06002-8
• The Year of the Rat, Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2007. ISBN: 978-0-316-02928-5
• Dumpling Days, 2012. ISBN: 978-0-316-12589-5

The Where the Mountain Meets the Moon Series

• Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, BOOK 1 Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2009. ISBN: 978-0-316-03863-8
• Starry River of the Sky, BOOK 2 2012. ISBN: 978-0-316-12595-6
• When the Sea Turned to Silver, BOOK 3 Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2016. ISBN: 978-0-316-12594-9

The Ling & Ting Series

• Ling & Ting: Not Exactly the Same!, Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2010. ISBN: 978-0-316-02453-2
• Ling & Ting Share a Birthday, Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2013. ISBN: 978-0-316-18404-5
• Ling & Ting: Twice as Silly, Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2014. ISBN: 978-0-316-18402-1
• Ling & Ting: Together in All Weather, Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2015. ISBN: 978-0-316-33549-2

Other Books She Wrote and Illustrated

• The Ugly Vegetables, Charlesbridge (Watertown, MA), 1999. ISBN: 978-0-88106-336-3
• Okie-dokie, Artichokie!, Viking (New York, NY), 2003. ISBN: 978-0-670-03623-3
• Olvina Flies, Henry Holt (New York, NY), 2003. ISBN: 978-0-8050-6711-8
• Robert's Snow, Penguin (New York, NY), 2004. ISBN: 978-0-670-05911-9
• Jingle Bells, Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2004. ISBN: 978-0-316-79494-7
• Fortune Cookie Fortunes, Alfred A. Knopf (New York, NY), 2004. ISBN: 978-0-440-42192-4
• Deck the Halls, Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2004. ISBN: 978-0-316-79493-0
• The Twelve Days of Christmas, Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2004. ISBN: 978-0-316-79496-1
• Merry Christmas! Let's All Sing!, Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2005. ISBN: 978-0-316-79490-9
• Olvina Swims, Macmillan, 2007, ISBN: 978-0-8050-7661-5
• Our Seasons, Charlesbridge (Watertown, MA), 2006. ISBN: 978-1-57091-360-0
• The Red Thread: An Adoption Fairy Tale, Albert Whitman and Company, 2007, ISBN: 978-0-8075-6922-1
• Bringing in the New Year, Alfred A. Knopf, 2008, ISBN: 978-0-375-83745-6
• Thanking the Moon: Celebrating the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, Alfred A. Knopf, 2010, ISBN: 978-0-375-86101-7
• A Big Mooncake for Little Star, Little, Brown, 2018, ISBN: 978-0-316-40448-8
• Mulan: Before the Sword, Disney Press, 2020, ISBN: 978-1-368-02033-6

Books She Illustrated for Others

• Roseanne Thong, Round is a Mooncake: A Book of Shapes, Chronicle Books (San Francisco, CA), 2000. ISBN: 978-0-8118-2676-1
• Paul Yee, The Jade Necklace, Crocodile Books (New York, NY), 2001. ISBN: 978-1-896580-07-4
• Dim Sum for Everyone!, Alfred A. Knopf (New York, NY), 2001. ISBN: 978-0-375-91082-1
• Roseanne Thong, Red is a Dragon: A Book of Colors, Chronicle Books (San Francisco, CA), 2001. ISBN: 978-0-8118-6481-7
• Dana Meachen Rau, My Favorite Foods, Compass Point Books (Minneapolis, MN), 2001. ISBN: 978-0-7565-0076-4
• Frances Park and Ginger Park, Where on Earth Is My Bagel?, Lee & Low (New York, NY), 2001. ISBN: 978-1-58430-033-5
• Cari Meister, A New Roof, Children's Press (New York, NY), 2002. ISBN: 978-0-516-22369-8
• Kite Flying, Alfred A. Knopf (New York, NY), 2002. ISBN: 978-0-375-81520-1
• C.C. Cameron, One for Me, One for You: Little Ideas for Caring for Yourself and the World, Roaring Brook Press (Brookfield, CT), 2003. ISBN: 978-1-250-27557-8
• Kathy Tucker, The Seven Chinese Sisters, Albert Whitman (Morton Grove, IL), 2003. ISBN: 978-0-8075-7310-5
• Roseanne Thong, One is a Drummer: A Book of Numbers, Chronicle Books (San Francisco, CA), 2004. ISBN: 978-0-8118-3772-9
• Eleanor Roosevelt and Michelle Markel, When You Grow Up to Vote: How Our Government Works for You, Roaring Brook Press (Brookfield, CT), 2018. ISBN: 978-1-62672-879-0
• Martha Brockenbrough, I Am an American: The Wong Kim Ark Story, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2021. ISBN: 9780316426923.