Gung Hay Fat Choi! Xin Nian Kuai Le! Happy Year of the Sheep/Ram/Goat!
So how are you celebrating? Here are some of my favourite children’s books for Chinese New Year:
The Year of … Continue reading ...
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Gung Hay Fat Choi! Xin Nian Kuai Le! Happy Year of the Sheep/Ram/Goat!
So how are you celebrating? Here are some of my favourite children’s books for Chinese New Year:
The Year of … Continue reading ...
Add a Comment
We have blogged quite a bit about Grace Lin lately as her book Where the Mountain Meets the Moon was chosen as one of seven books in our Spirit of Paper Tigers Book Set and was also named a 2010 Newbery Honor Book, one of the most prestigious awards for children’s literature in the United States. Be sure to check out Grace’s blog to read about and see photos from “the Newbery call” .
One thing that I really admire about Grace is that she is so accessible to her fans via her regularly updated blog and her full schedule of book signings and school visits. This Saturday, February 20th, she will be at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA, USA hosting Learn How Books Are Made with Grace Lin where she will show the many steps of publishing, read one of her books, answers questions, draw some of her book characters and sign books. After a lunch break, she will talk about Lunar New Year customs, referencing her books Bringing in the New Year and The Year of the Rat. Perhaps she will share some of the special lunar crafts that she has been making to help celebrate the Year of the Tiger (and have you made our Paper Tiger yet?). Of course, all of us at PaperTigers have a special affinity for the Year of the Tiger and so does Grace:
In my book, The Year of the Rat there is the story of the 12 animals of the Chinese Zodiac, which tells of the great race of the animals to win the the honor of a year named after them. The winning animals had their own characteristics as you can tell by how they they competed
The Tiger won his place by sheer strength, courage and nerve. That is why they say people who are born in the Year of the Tiger are risk-takers and brave. So, this year, the Year of the Tiger, is the year where we all have to be strong, brave and ready to take risks. It might be a bit unpredictable and surprising.
Now, I was born in the Year of the Tiger so this is MY year. But, it doesn’t mean it will be a lucky one. When it is YOUR year, it means it will be a year of important and possibly life-changing decisions. It’s the year where big things happen that change the course of your life.
Over the past week or so, my daughter has gravitated toward the two Grace Lin books we have in our house.
First, Chronicle Books sent us the paperback version of Red is a Dragon: A Book of Colors, written by Roseanne Thong and illustrated by Grace Lin. It's a concept book written in rhyme that features gorgeous spreads of Chinese characters in both Asian-themed and familiar settings with objects in the color featured on the spread.
For example, here's the opening of the book:
I did this drawing for the Illustration Friday theme this week, which is "Multiple."
In light of this theme, I think most folks would agree that the ability to multitask is pretty much manditory these days. Other than wearing roller-skates all day long or having your self cloned, eight arms might come in very handy.
Perhaps with these extra appendages or tentacles (for the pedantic,) you could, while designing that logo for your client, also wash the dishes, balance your checkbook and make yourself some lunch. You might even consider picking up a some dumbbells with your suckers and work those flabby biceps.
While your at it, you really have to watch this. Make sure to watch it to the end, because that's where you will see how amazing octopus really are.
Sketched Out
Grace Lin is one of our favorites too! My oldest always loved The Seven Chinese Sisters, illustrated by Lin. You should check that one out!
Stephanie...
I'll definitely check out The Seven Chinese Sisters. It definitely seems right up our ally. Thanks for stopping by!