Photo: Alexandre Ferron
Scholastic Parents: Why do you write for kids?
Lin: My favorite books are children’s books/content/dam/parents/migrated-assets/articles/body-text-images They are the ones that I most love and remember and they have brought me the most joy/content/dam/parents/migrated-assets/articles/body-text-images I want to create books like that/content/dam/parents/migrated-assets/articles/body-text-images
SP: How did your upbringing influence your love of reading?
Lin: My parents didn’t believe in television/content/dam/parents/migrated-assets/articles/body-text-images Instead, after dinner, we’d go to the public library/content/dam/parents/migrated-assets/articles/body-text-images So reading became my television/content/dam/parents/migrated-assets/articles/body-text-images
SP: Who was your literary hero as a child? Who is it now?
Lin: In elementary school, I really wanted to be Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz/content/dam/parents/migrated-assets/articles/body-text-images Now, it would probably be Anne from Anne of Green Gables, for her optimism and ability to see beauty in the mundane/content/dam/parents/migrated-assets/articles/body-text-images
SP: What should parents look for in a book for their child?
Lin: Think outside the box! My books deal with Asian culture, and I’ve seen parents dismiss them because they’re different/content/dam/parents/migrated-assets/articles/body-text-images They might be pleasantly surprised if they gave more books a chance/content/dam/parents/migrated-assets/articles/body-text-images Reading is a great, safe way to experience the world/content/dam/parents/migrated-assets/articles/body-text-images
Elizabeth Callahan is the assistant editor for Parent & Child/content/dam/parents/migrated-assets/articles/body-text-images
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