Her first book, THE UGLY VEGETABLES, was published in 1999 and was quickly heralded. However, the pictures she drew of herself held much promise and quickly became Grace’s career focus.Īfter attending the Rhode Island School of Design, Grace quickly set out to achieve her dream of creating children’s books.
Unfortunately, Grace had neither the talent nor coordination to make it to skating stardom. She first dreamed of being a champion ice skater, and drew many pictures of herself twirling and dancing on the ice. Surprisingly enough, being an artist was not Grace’s first choice. While the other sisters became scientists, Grace became an artist. Don’t miss the endpapers! The papers at the beginning of the book feature the supplies needed to make the kite and the papers at the end show a variety of kites and their symbolism in Chinese culture.Grace Lin grew up in Upstate New York with her parents and two sisters. The book concludes with an author’s note about the history of kite flying in China, the symbolism of kites, traditional kite festivals, and ways other cultures have embraced and celebrated kite flying. In contrast, the inside of the family’s house is cozy, glowing with warm yellows, oranges, and reds. The windy out of doors is based in cool colors with swirls of wind covering the light blue sky.
There are two distinct environments presented in the book. For instance, the family wears Chinese-style patterns and prints and removes their outdoor shoes and puts on slippers while indoors. The family is Chinese-American and Lin deftly incorporates cultural markers into the illustrations. The illustrations are stylistically bold and colorful, yet Lin is careful to include details that make the story richer. Lin uses short, simple sentences to describe the action in the story. This story celebrates the ancient tradition of kite flying that can be found in cultures all over the world. “Look up! Our dragon is talking to the wind! What do you think he is saying?” Finally, the family takes their beautiful kite out to the hill. Each of her family members, Ba-Ba (father), Ma-Ma (mother), and her two sisters, Mei-Mei and Jie-Jie, completes a different portion of the kite, from gluing the sticks to the paper to painting on a laughing mouth. It’s a windy day, perfect for flying kites! From their trip to the art store to buy supplies to flying the colorful dragon kite, this story shows the process of making a kite as narrated by a young girl.
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