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What's new?

The Rice in the Pot

It's a star from Kirkus for the Rice in the Pot, saying, "Tu's illustrations elevate the joyful tone with brightly colored cartoons filled with textures and lively details...This deceptively simple story artfully brings an authentic expression of family love." Coming June 2021!

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What's new? It's a star from Kirkus for the Rice in the Pot, saying, "Tu's illustrations elevate the joyful tone with brightly colored cartoons filled with textures and lively details...This deceptively simple story artfully brings an authentic expression of family love." Coming June 2021!

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Grace Lin - Children's Book Author and Illustrator

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Grace's first picture book in four years is now out! Co-authored with Kate Messner, the "spellbinding ode to imagination and the transformative wonder of stories" (as described by Kirkus) is for any reader, young or old.

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Lisa Yee was born and raised near Los Angeles. As a kid, she loved reading, opening brand new boxes of cereal (to get the prize), and riding the teacups at Disneyland.

Lisa attended Brightwood Elementary School in Monterey Park, CA where she once won an award for best decorated cake.

While at Alhambra High School, Lisa was on the debate team and president of the honor society. On occasion, she would ditch class and sneak off to the library. (Okay, so she never quite figured out the juvenile delinquent thing.) At the University of Southern California, she majored in English and Humanities, and she also took a bowling class.

Lisa has been an inventor, a hand model (once), and worked for a creative think tank. At Walt Disney World she was a writer/producer and one time, when she was the only short person around, she got to be Mickey Mouse. She has also directed creative projects for Fortune 500 clients, led creativity seminars for dairy farmers (moo), and been featured in the Wall Street Journal for her obsessive workaholic behavior. (She is now practically, totally cured of this.)

Even though Lisa has been paid to eat chocolate, the thing she likes doing most is writing--except for when she has writer's block, or needs a snack, or is distracted.

Her writing assignments have included labels for cans of refried beans and a sort-of speech for a President of the United States. Plus, she has penned her own newspaper column, written commercials, Red Lobster menus, and jingles. And, that's right, she came up with the slogan, "Pass the Old El Paso."

Her first book, MILLICENT MIN, GIRL GENIUS debuted in 2003. Since then, she's had over 20 more novels published -- and at this VERY MOMENT is working on a new one. Well, either that or she's having a snack. Her latest Young Adult novel is THE KIDNEY HYPOTHETICAL.

Lisa has garnered oodles of , and her backwards handwriting is neater than her regular handwriting. Her HUGE collection of Winnie the-Poohs is on loan to the White River (Ontario) Winnie-the-Pooh Museum. and has been longlisted for the National Book Awards.Lisa lives In Western awards

​Her recent projects included penning the DC Super Hero Girls middle grade novel series and American Girl's Girl of the Year books. Her latest novel, , debuted February 2022 to MAIZY CHEN'S LAST CHANCE rave reviews

What's next? This mysterious, twist, hilarious caper! You can find out more about THE MISFITS,
Massachusetts, but spends a lot of time in Los Angeles, especially when it's cold. here!!!

For the past nine years, Lisa's helped pick the Best Books of the Year for NPR.
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Here's a recent interview on how Lisa writes so much. And you can read Lisa's latest interview about her journey to become author HERE.

HEY!!! ​Why didn't you tell me there's a shorter bio HERE? ​

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Maizy Chen's Last Chance has been named a Newbery Honor Book, National Book Award Finalist, and the winner of the Asian Pacific American Children's Literature Award!

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That's the message I share with children, teachers, librarians, and aspiring authors all over the world.

Do you have an idea? Write it down. Don't worry about making it "good"-just TRY.

The key is getting started. Getting those big wheels in your brain to move.

If you sputter, if you stall, no problem. Wait a little while and start it up again.

Someone needs to write the poems of the 21st century.

Someone needs to write our stories, our books, our movies, our slogans, our songs.

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That's the message I share with children, teachers, librarians, and aspiring authors all over the world. Do you have an idea? Write it down. Don't worry about making it "good"-just TRY. The key is getting started. Getting those big wheels in your brain to move. If you sputter, if you stall, no problem.

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The year is 1946, and the Lee family has moved from Metropolis' Chinatown to the center of the bustling city. While Dr. Lee is greeted warmly in his new position at the Metropolis Health Department, [...]

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I became an author because I love telling stories. Ever since I was a little girl, I've always LOVED telling stories. I tell all kinds of stories -- stories about immigrant girls, loan sharks, wealth, privilege, motels, first love, relationships, family, trauma, poverty, and race.

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Check out my un-bloogie globby - more pics, less text! Click on the photo icon in the right-hand column, it will take you to my Instagram account. My handle is lenore_look, in case the link doesn't work.

Follow me on Instagram for another chance to win a signed copy of the newest Alvin Ho book (see below). Winners will be announced soon!

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By Karen Chinn
Illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright, Ying-Hwa Hu

Hardcover: out of stock

Sam can hardly wait to go shopping with his mom. It's Chinese New Year's day and his grandparents have given him the traditional gift of lucky money-red envelopes called leisees (lay-sees). This year Sam is finally old enough to spend it any way he chooses. Best of all, he gets to spend his lucky money in his favorite place - Chinatown!

But when Sam realizes that his grandparents' gift is not enough to get the things he wants, his excitement turns to disappointment. Even though his mother reminds him that he should appreciate the gift, Sam is not convinced - until a surprise encounter with a stranger.

With vivid watercolor paintings, artists Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu celebrate the sights and sounds of festive Chinatown streets. In her picture book debut, author Karen Chinn tells the affecting story of a child who discovers that sometimes the best gifts come from the heart.

Check out the classroom-tested, standards-aligned lesson plan Promoting Diversity in the Classroom and School Library through Social Action by Michelle Ota with Sam and the Lucky Money, provided by ReadWriteThink.org, a website developed by the International Reading Association and the National Council of Teachers of English.

Check out reading and craft tips created by the staff and partners of Reading to Kids, a grassroots organization dedicated to inspiring underserved children with a love of reading.

Learning to Give, an organization focused on philanthropy education resources for students, has created a Sam and the Lucky Money literature guide for grades 2-5 available for educators.

Download the Chinese New Year Resource Guide for Educators

About the Creators

Karen Chinn - Author

(1959-2003) was born in Seattle, Washington, and received a bachelor's degree in Communications from the University of Washington. She lived in Seattle, WA with her husband and daughter. Same and the Lucky Money was her first picture book.

Cornelius Van Wright

and his wife Ying-Hwa Hu have illustrated dozens of award-winning books. Their illustrations have been praised by Kirkus Reviews as "bright, detailed and dynamic, vividly depicting . . . characters' facial features and personalities." Van Wright, a native New Yorker, lives in New York City.

Ying-Hwa Hu

Ying-Hwa Hu and her husband Cornelius Van Wright have illustrated dozens of award-winning books. Their illustrations have been praised by Kirkus Reviews as "bright, detailed and dynamic, vividly depicting . . . characters' facial features and personalities." Hu, who was born in Taiwan, lives in New York City. You can find her online at yinghwahu.com and follow her on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest at @yinghwahu.

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Chinese Americans | Chinese New Year | Homelessness | Family Traditions | Sharing | Lee & Low Books

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During Chinese New Year, a young boy encounters a homeless person and discovers that no gift is too small when it comes from the heart.

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Award-winning author, YIN was exposed to her Chinese roots growing up in New York City. Her parents made sure of it by enrolling her in kung-fu school on Saturdays and having 'dim sum' for lunch on Sundays after Chinese school. That experience was the inspiration behind her 1st book COOLIES.

Yin graduated from college with a finance degree. She got a job writing financial reports on Wall Street. But her career took a turn when she decided to manage husband, award-winning illustrator, Chris Soentpiet's growing illustrating career. She also saw an opportunity to turn an important story about her ancestors into a children's book.

COOLIES, won the Parents' Choice Foundation's Gold Award for Best Picture Book in 2001 and was named an ALA Notable Book and an IRA Book Award winner in 2002. Her follow-up,

DEAR SANTA, PLEASE COME TO THE 19TH FLOOR is Yin's other collaboration with Chris. This delightful, engaging book, about two young boys living in a building who have a memorable encounter with Santa, is based on Yin's growing up on the 19th floor of a New York City apartment. BROTHERS has been selected as an IRA Teachers' Choice in 2007.

Q&A with author, YIN

Where do you get your ideas?
Ideas are inspired by my experiences. In general, I listen and watch people around me for ideas. I also keep up-to-date by reading the papers every day and cutting out articles that might spark an idea. As the years pass, I notice things I used to take for granted, such as the smell of soup simmering for hours on my stovetop, or the sound of birds chirping outside my window. Even these small details of my life can turn into an idea. Ironically, I sometimes get inspired by doing absolutely nothing.

Once I have my ideas, I write them down in a notebook so I won't forget them. Writing down my ideas helps me practice my writing skills. My notebook is a place for free-flowing ideas: where nobody will judge me if the idea is silly. I've discovered that finding a way to describe the moment when the idea came to me often leads to an interesting story, and that the more I write my thoughts out on paper, the better I become at brainstorming. However, the most challenging part of being an author is working with my ideas to discover an interesting story with a satisfying ending.

I was born in Brooklyn, New York (Bensonhurst, to be exact). When I was three, my family moved to the Lower East Side of Manhattan and lived in the housing projects. You can actually see the neighborhood where I grew up my book Where are you from? Dear Santa, Please Come to the 19th Floor.

My mom was a seamstress in a sewing factory, and my dad worked long hours in a Chinese restaurant. My neighborhood was rough. My brother and I learned to be street-smart, and in that way, we avoided the drugs and gang-life. We knew that getting an education was the only way out of that neighborhood.

When and why did you decide to become an author?
Shortly after I graduated from college with a bachelor's degree in finance, I worked as a financial writer on Wall Street. After a while, I discovered I didn't like my job and wasn't good at crunching numbers all day. I decided to switch careers and become a registered nurse, because I love helping people. In my spare time, I was also helping my husband, Chris Soentpiet, with his school visits and art endeavors. At the schools, I had the opportunity to work with kids and found that I loved reading to them. This newfound love inspired me to start writing some stories of my own.

Did you always love books?
I didn't always love reading when I was in elementary school because I struggled with the English language. But my English improved as I practiced writing in my diary every day.

As I became more confident in English, I learned to love reading and embraced books! Today, for example, if I was going to take a subway, or any mode of transportation that involves waiting, I would never leave the house without some sort of reading material (a book, an instruction manual for my digital camera, my weekly magazines, etc...). While I'm waiting in line at the post office or the supermarket, you'll always catch me reading something.
Why did you write Coolies?
As I worked with my husband Chris in children's publishing, I found there weren't many children's books on the Asian-American contribution to America. The Chinese railroad worker's struggle was a personal story because my ancestors worked on the transcontinental railroad a very long time ago. The first wave of Chinese immigrants that came to America was from my ancestral village of Toi Shan-China.
Did you like school when you were a kid?
Yes! I loved school because it was the only place where I could have a hot dog or pizza. At school, I also ate French fries for the first time! At home, we only ate Chinese foods, so I often craved the American foods found at school. But school also had its challenges. Early in my school years, I had a hard time understanding English because my parents only spoke Chinese at home. My mother and father were new immigrants from Hong Kong, and they didn't know the language when they arrived to America. Although I was born in Brooklyn, I felt like a foreigner, and not being able to speak English only compounded my isolation. The kids at school were either Black or Puerto Rican, so I couldn't communicate with or relate very well to them. I felt very lonely. Luckily I had a few cool friends and nice teachers who were patient with me as I learned English.

Did you get good grades?
I wasn't one of those kids that didn't need to study to get an "A". I HAD to study. I was more of a self-learner and extremely motivated by the challenges that surrounded my daily life. I lived in a bad neighborhood. I looked for afterschool training or job. I helped my grandmother a lot by cleaning her apartment, making dinner. I was determined to stay out of trouble and get good grades.

How do you develop your writing?
I have a college degree in finance and have no formal training in creative writing. I learned by reading lots of books and by following the writing styles of my favorite authors. Some of my favorites are: Eve Bunting, Edgar Allan Poe, Denis Hamil, Avi, Jane Yolen, Lee Bennett Hopkins, and Mark Twain (there are too many amazing writers to list all of them here). Also included among my favorites are all the writers from the New York Times Magazine, for their creative writing styles and thought-provoking topics.

Luckily, I already knew a couple of editors in the publishing field, since I had worked with Chris on his publications. I focused on one particular publishing house, How hard has it been to get your works published?
Philomel Books, since they publish compelling books of human interest: it was a good match for the types of books I write.

What do you look for in a good book?
I must sy mpathize with the characters. I have a short attention span, and I need the story to grab me quick. I like to see more books with social, as well as entertainment value.

What do you like to do for fun?
I love music that makes me smile, even in rush-hour traffic. I love to catch-up with my friends and listen to their meandering stories filled with experience and wisdom. In their voices, I find focus and peace. I also love to read a good book.

Can you speak Chinese now?
Growing up I resented being an immigrant's daughter. I had to translate financial letters, housing documents, and doctor's notes for my parents. It was a lot of pressure for me, as a child, since my family's livelihood depended on it. Now I'm grateful I kept up with the Chinese language. These days, I put my Chinese language skills to good use, as a volunteer at the hospital where I used to work during my nursing days.

Can I write to you? Absolutely, click on my guest book:

Click on article to find out more about YIN:

Luncheon with staff at Penguin Books.

Accepting the International Reading Association Book of the Year(IRA) award for COOLIES.

Book signing with Chris Soentpiet .

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dear santa please come to the 19th floor

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childrens books, yin, www.soentpiet.com, author, coolies, dear santa please come to the 19th floor, brothers, chinese, american,school visits, writer,

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Bette Bao Lord based her acclaimed middle grade novel In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson largely on the days when she herself was a newcomer to the United States. She is also the author of Spring Moon, nominated for the American Book Award for First Novel, and Eighth Moon.