Author of the Month -- Grace Lin - Chicago Public Library

For Kids

Get to Know Grace Lin

Photo by Alexandre Ferron

In the style of her Newbery Honor-winning Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, Grace Lin weaves elements of Chinese folklore into a beautifully written and artfully illustrated story about a boy learning how to grow up and help the moon return to the sky.

Starry River of the Sky
Little, Brown; 2012 (Ages 8-12)

Author Grace Lin introduces her new book, Starry River of the Sky.

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Q & A with Grace Lin

Where did you get your idea for this book?

This book is a companion book to Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. In that book, there are also many Chinese folktales interwoven into the main story but you do not have to have read it to understand Starry River of the Sky. When I wrote Where the Mountain Meets the Moon I had many stories that didn't fit that book, as well as other characters and images and I really wanted to write about them! So that inspired me to write Starry River of the Sky.

What was your favorite book when you were growing up?

Anne of Green Gables and it probably still is my favorite now. I even went to a trip to Prince Edward Island because of it. Read my blog posts to find out more.

How old were you when you started writing?

I think I wrote my first book in 5th grade. I've also written a novel called The Year of the Dog which is highly autobiographical. In that book, the main character writes and illustrates a book for a contest, wins 4th place and then decided she is going to be an author when she grow up. That's what truly happened to me!

What is your favorite word?

Congratulations! (Because that usually means something good is about to or just happened!)

What is your favorite book about Chicago?

Probably Chasing Vermeer. My sister used to go to the University of Chicago and I would visit her -- and she would point out all the sights in the book.

More to Explore

Activities

Create a Toad Lantern, explore the night sky, protect yourself from The Day of Five Poisons and much more to extend your reading experience.
Here are some questions to help get you and your friends started talking about Rendi and his adventures.
Find out more about Grace Lin's process for creating Starry River of the Sky:

Celebrate Chinese Traditions

In folklore

The Great Race by Dawn Casey, illustrated by Anne Wilson
The Hunter retold by Mary Casanova, illustrated by Ed Young
Lon Po Po translated and illustrated by Ed Young
The Mouse Bride retold by Monica Chang, illustrated by Lesley Liu, translated by Rick Charette
Tikki Tikki Tembo retold by Arlene Mosel, illustrated by Blair Lent
Two of Everything retold and illustrated by Lily Toy Hong

In art

The Art Institute of Chicago has an amazing collection of artwork from China.
The Field Museum features incredible objects from across eastern Asia.

In Chicago

The Chinese-American Museum of Chicago promotes “the culture and history … of Chinese-Americans in the Midwest.”
The story of the Chinese community in Chicago is a long and rich one.