Hi, everyone! If you weren’t aware, it’s Taiwanese American Heritage Week, so in honor of the occasion, I’ll be posting a series of five author interviews and two book reviews focusing on Taiwanese authors and their books. This is the first, featuring middle grade and picture book superstar Grace Lin! Her two most recent releases are A Big Bed for Little Snow and Mulan: Before the Sword.

Synopsis:

Little Snow loves the new big, soft bed Mommy made him for the long, cold winter nights. But Mommy says this bed is for sleeping, not jumping! What happens when he can’t resist jump, jump, jumping on his new fluffy, bouncy bed?

Synopsis:

Family is important to Hua Mulan—even if her parents don’t understand why she would rather ride her horse, Black Wind, than weave, or how her notorious clumsiness can be so different from the graceful demeanor of her younger sister, Xiu. But despite their differences, Mulan has a deep love for her family, especially Xiu. So when her sister is bitten by a poisonous spider, Mulan does everything she can to help, including seeking out a renowned healer. However, it quickly becomes apparent that there is more to both the mysterious spider bite and the healer than meets the eye. On a quest with the Jade Rabbit of legend, Mulan visits extraordinary places, meets Immortals, and faces incredible obstacles while searching for an antidote for her sister. And the danger only rises when Mulan learns of a prophecy foretelling that a member of the Hua family will one day save the Emperor . . . and of the powerful enemies who will stop at nothing to prevent it from coming to pass.

Interview:

Q: Where did you get the idea for A Big Bed for Little Snow?

“A Big Bed for Little Snow” is a companion book to my book “A Big Mooncake for Little Star.” Both books are kind of my homages to classic picture books that I loved as a child, yet yearned to see someone that look like me—someone Asian—in. “A Big Mooncake for Little Star” is inspired by “Blueberries for Sal” by Robert McCloskey and “A Big Bed for Little Snow” is inspired by “The Snowy Day” by Ezra Jack Keats. They are my attempts at making American classic picture books featuring Asian faces, hopefully helping to show that we are also a part of the Americana.

Q: What art tools did you use for A Big Bed for Little Snow?

I’m still very old-fashioned in my art—I don’t use a computer.  I used pencil and paper to draw the sketches; paint and paintbrush to do the paintings. I use a kind of paint called gouache which is an opaque watercolor. For “A Big Bed for Little Snow” as well as “A Big Mooncake for Little Star” I did take photos of models in costumes. Because I was using the patterns on the clothes to articulate the character’s bodies, it was really important to get the folds correct.

Q: As an adult, how do you get yourself into the head of a young child to write a book from their point of view?

Well, I think I kind of have the mind of a child to begin with! Though, I have to admit having my own child has made it easier as well. When I see all the thing that fascinate her, hear all the questions she asks—it is fodder for books!

Q: Your most recent release, Mulan: Before the Sword, was an official collaboration with Disney. How much creative freedom did you get in writing the story? Were you the one who came up with the story’s premise?

I actually was given quite a bit of creative freedom, which was wonderful. They gave me the script and pretty much said I could write whatever I wanted as long as I didn’t contradict anything that happened in the movie. So, yes, I did come up with the book’s premise. It was such a delight to think up the backstory of some of the characters!

Q: I love the full cover spread for Mulan: Before the Sword. How long did it take for you to complete it?

A painting like that takes me about a week and a half, maybe two. It usually takes me about a week to do one spread in a book.

Q: So far all of your books have been for middle grade or younger audiences. Do you think you’ll ever write books for teens?

Well, you never say never, but I don’t see it in the near future. Maybe when my daughter hits the teenage years!

Q: Can you give us any hints for what’s coming next from you?

I’m working on another picture book! Right now it’s called “Once Upon a Book” and co-written with Kate Messner. It’s inspired by the Children’s Book Week poster I did for the CBC—I loved the image so much I wanted to do a book about it. At the time, I was so deep into writing Mulan that I couldn’t think of anything and asked my friends if they had any ideas. Kate did and, now, if I can get the illustrations done, it will be a book!

Before Grace Lin was an award-winning and NY Times bestselling author/illustrator of picturebooks, early readers and middle grade novels, she was the only Asian girl (except for her sisters) going to her elementary school in Upstate NY. That experience, good and bad, has influenced her books—including her Newbery Honor WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON, her Geisel Honor LING & TING, her National Book Finalist WHEN THE SEA TURNED TO SILVER and her Caldecott Honor A BIG MOONCAKE FOR LITTLE STAR. But, it also causes Grace to persevere for diversity as an occasional New England Public Radio commentator and when she gave her TEDx talk “The Windows and Mirrors of Your Child’s Bookshelf,” as well as her PBSNewHour video essay “What to do when you realize classic books from your childhood are racist?.” She continued this mission with a hundred episodes of the podcast kidlitwomen* and now currently hosts two other podcasts: Book Friends Forever and Kids Ask Authors. In 2016, Grace’s art was displayed at the White House and Grace, herself, was recognized by President Obama’s office as a Champion of Change for Asian American and Pacific Islander Art and Storytelling.