fortune cookie friday

"Everyone eats and drinks, but few appreciate taste."
- Confucius.

Indies First Saturday

As part of Indies First Saturday, I'm returning to a my old bookselling profession--though at a different store and only for an hour. Come to Broadside Books on Saturday at 4pm and meet yours truly!

Support your local bookstore and meet some fun authors this Saturday! Hope to see you!

on my desk monday

Tea drinking season! This one seems apropos as I am trying to juggle projects while chasing deadlines and prepping for the holidays...

and my turtle flash drive seems a little ironic

fortune cookie friday

"Gratitude is an act of a good heart."
- Chinese Proverb

one book, one me!

I'm in the middle of my school visit and event schedule. I've had a string of lovely ones that I've been meaning to post about, but I wanted to make sure I wrote about this one before too much time passed...

Because I was super honored that Where the Mountain Meets the Moon was chosen for the One Book, One Rosemount program! Everyone in Rosemount, MN was encouraged to read the book and then meet yours truly:

Not only did the program distribute hundreds of free copies, the library arranged a series of programs  in coordination with the book.

I meant to get a photo of the inside of that awesome brochure that listed all the programs but I forgot!

Schools also got in on the action with brush painting:

dragon making:

 

and researching and creating their own Chinese folktale books:

these are SO awesome!!!

I was lucky to be able to visit some schools during my stay in Rosemount, where the students had some head-scratching questions for me: 

that's a stumper!

yes, and isn't that ironic?

But I distracted them by introducing Starry River of the Sky to them:

And teaching them how to draw  a tiger:

It was great fun!

Me, the moon, and the lovely director of the program Frances Veit!

Thanks so much, Rosemount!!!

Twice as Silly Book Trailer!

And here's the Ling and Ting: Twice as Silly Book Trailer! Enjoy!

on my desk monday

Some finished painting for the fourth Ling and Ting book!

(Do you know that the third book, Ling and Ting: Twice as Silly just came out last week?  Share your silly story with me!)

fortune cookie friday

"Do not hasten to rejoice at someone’s departure until you see his replacement."
- Chinese Proverb

Tell Me a Story…TWICE AS SILLY as Ling & Ting!

Ling & Ting: Twice as Silly has just released!  Once again the twins end their day by telling silly stories.  This time, though, the stories are TWICE AS SILLY!

I hope to celebrate the new book by hearing my readers tell me their silly stories.

Whether it is something you wrote using the new Ling & Ting Story Starters  or something silly that happened to you, I would love to have you record your story on video.  Why?  Because I want to see you tell it and I would like to share your story with other readers!

If you share your story, you will receive a free Ling & Ting print in the mail!  One random storyteller, will also get a Pocket Pacy!!

How does it work?

1) The offer is open to my readers from ages 5-12 and the educators and librarians that are my other valiant readers.  One entry per reader, please.  The offer will remain until supplies last.

2) You must, of course, have your parent, guardian, or teacher’s permission to make and share a video.  If you have their permission, always protect your online safety by not saying your name or your location.

3) You might start your recorded story by saying, “I have a story twice as silly as Grace Lin’s book Ling & Ting: Twice as Silly…”

4) Load the video onto YouTube, Vimeo or onto my Facebook Page.  Loading the video in either location implies that you are willing to have others see it and to have me share it with other readers.  Message me at gracelin.manager@gmail.com if you want to share your video with me privately. 

5) Tell our friends at Curious City DPW that you have uploaded a video and give them your mailing address to get a Ling & Ting print.

NOTE: Curious City DPW will only use your address to send you a print.  They will not sell or share your address.  Your address will be deleted after shipping.

EDUCATORS, LIBRARIANS, OR GROUPS.  If you have multiple videos and would like multiple prints mailed to you directly, please make arrangements with Curious City DPW by e-mailing kirsten@curiouscity.net.

on my desk monday

Seven years after the American edition was published, the Year of the Dog is now in French! Look at the cover! Fun, huh?

Even better, a French edition of the Year of the Rat is coming too!

I'm going to give one of these as my next newsletter giveaway (you can sign up for my newsletter here). C'est bien, non?

fortune cookie friday

"To lead people walk behind them."
- Lao Tzu

A Star for SILLY!

Yay! The School Library Journal gave Ling and Ting:Twice as Silly a starred review! So thrilled! This will appear in the December issue:

"Those irrepressible twins are back with more sweetly goofy antics in a third installment of the easy reader series….each episode unfolds with pitch-perfect comedic timing, ending with a chuckle-worthy (and decidedly silly) punch line….A winning addition to a delightfully fun series.”

(Remember, you can still order an autographed copy from my local bookstore and get a surprise gift from me--last day to pre-order is Tuesday!)

on my desk monday

Ling and Ting magnets!

It's one of the surprise gifts you could get from me if you  pre-order an autographed copy of Ling and Ting:Twice as Silly from my local bookstore! What else might you get? Maybe one of these:

Yes, I have five Pocket Pacys that I will give out randomly as well! Will you get one? Please order Ling and Ting: Twice as Silly and find out!

our happy halloween!

Well, I think Halloween is more fun when you have a child. It's definitely more hectic!

This year, the holiday stress came from trying to pin down Rain Dragon's costume.  As I mentioned before, she has an affinity for peripheral characters which made it a little difficult. Originally, she wanted to be Dr. James Lewis (the doctor in Lyle and the Birthday Party) and then she wanted to be Dr. Cohn from Madeline, and then the "fat fireman" in Curious George.

But, finally she decided. She would be Jack-be-Nimble. We first read the rhyme together in Richard Scarry's Mother Goose:

And she loved it so much that I searched online for longer versions of the rhyme, finding this:

and this:

She now loves anything by Mother Goose Club 

So we had to combine them all and we got:

 Jack-be-Nimble Bunny!

 But it was all worth it because Halloween was great fun. She was a little tentative about trick-or-treating:

But she quickly got the hang of it:

and didn't want to stop:

 even when she was tired:

Happy Halloween!