Episode 40: Grace Lin solo show answering questions about her book, Year of the Dog!
Welcome back to episode 40! Grace Lin will be answering questions from two kids about her book, Year of the Dog.
TRANSCRIPTS:
Hello, it's Grace Lin. Today's show is a little different because I have a couple of announcements, a small one, and a big one. First, thank you so much for being a listener of this podcast. It's been amazing to see the listenership grow. We launched this at the start of the pandemic with three episodes a week in hopes that it would help kids as they were forced into remote learning. However, now with most of the schools closed for the summer, we've decided to go to our originally planned schedule, which will be once a week. So from now on, look for new episodes to drop every Monday. We hope that it's something to help start your week. Okay. That was the small announcement.
Now, here is the big one. Kids Ask Authors is starting a Kid Reviewer Book Club. If you know a kid that truly loves books, this is for them. So, what is the Kid Reviewer Book Club? Well, members of the club will receive advanced copies of books, books that are not even in the stores yet and all for free. And then, every month members will read at least one of those books and prepare a review. We'll give you a little form to help, it's super short. Then, they'll come to the Book Reviewer Club meeting via Zoom and record their review with me. Sounds awesome, right? So,
1. How does one become a member of the book reviewer club? Well, one, you must be a kid in grades two to five.
2. You must have your guardian's permission. If you are chosen for the club, they will have to sign a permission slip.
3. Tell me your name, your age and the state you live in.
4. Send me a short paragraph on why you think you would be a good person to join the Book Review Club.
5. Tell me what kind of books you like to read. Fantasy, friendship books. Choose one of your favorites and write a book review.
Like I said, there's a little form on the website you can use to follow. It's only about three sentences. Now send all of this to me Grace Lin at kidsaskauthors@gmail.com and send it before August 1st, 2020. I'll announce the members in mid-August and the club will start in September. And don't worry, you don't have to remember all of this just by listening. All of this information is on the website. Just go to Join the Kid Reviewer Club at kidsaskauthors.com. So right now, we're only looking for six members for the Reviewer Club. So, I really hope to hear from you. Now grownups, you might be asking, "Why am I starting this Book Reviewer Club?" Well, even though I have been extremely grateful for the book reviews that have been sent to our podcasts, there has been a sobering lack of diverse book reviews.
My suspicion is that access and awareness to diverse books, especially books featuring black voices, may be part of the problem. My hope is that through this book club, we can change that. I hope you know a child that wants to help. Okay, and now onto today's episode. As you know, I am Grace Lin and not only am I the host of this podcast, but I am an author and illustrator of many books. And because of that, a lot of the questions that come in are specifically for me about my books. So today, I thought I would answer some of those questions. Instead of a guest author and I answering one question, I thought today I would answer two questions that I have been receiving about my middle grade novel, The Year of the Dog. So my book of, The Year of the Dog, is not about dogs.
The Year of the Dog is about a young Asian American girl named Pacy Lin. And all that happens to her during the Chinese Year of the Dog. Now, Pacy is told that the Year of the Dog is the year where she'll make her best friends and find herself. Now, do you think that will really happen? I'll let you find out when you read the book. But if there are any long time listeners here, the name Pacy Lin may sound familiar. It's my Instagram handle. And the reason why is because the Year of the Dog is very much based on my real life. In fact, even the names are the same. My middle name is Pacy. So, Pacy Lin in the book is pretty much me. So, I think I should be able to answer these kid questions pretty well. So, here is the first question.
In the Year of the Dog, did Uncle Shin really spit on the cake?
Did Uncle Shin really spit on the cake? Okay. So, this question is about a story in the Year of the Dog. Now in the year of the dog, Pacy's mother tells her stories about her own childhood in Taiwan and the many adventures she had there. One of the stories Pacy's mother tells her is how as a child, her four sisters and one brother were given a beautiful cake as a gift. After cutting the cake carefully into even slices, all the girls were called away to do something before they could eat them.
But when the girls returned, they found their greedy brother had spit on each slice of cake. They were disgusted and let him have all the slices, which of course was what he wanted and why he had spit on the cake in the first place. So, was that a true story? Yes, it was. My uncle was the only boy in the family during a time where boys were considered more important. So he was really, really spoiled. Luckily he grew up and became a generous person with a good sense of humor because he didn't mind that I put the story in the book. Now, here's the second question.
What happened to Melody in The Year of the Dog? Is she a real person?
What happened to Melody? Is she a real person? So in The Year of the Dog, Pacy is the only Asian girl in her school except for her sisters. So year after year, she never has a friend that looks like her until, The Year of the Dog. Because that year, a new girl moves into town and she's Asian just like Pacy. The new girl's name is Melody and they become best friends. Well, I'm happy to tell you that Pacy and Melody's friendship is pretty much a true story. I was the only Asian girl in my elementary school, except for my sisters, until one day out of the blue, another Asian girl moved into town and we became best friends. However, in real life, her name was not Melody. In real life, her name was Alvina. And you want to know what happened to her? She grew up and became a children's book editor.
She's actually the editor of my books, including The Year of the Dog and we are still best friends. In fact, we have a podcast together called, Book Friends Forever. Though, it's really more for grownups. I think most kids listening will be kind of bored by it but maybe your teachers or guardians might be interested. Okay, so those were today's answers for two Year of the Dog questions. I hope you like them. I'll answer more questions about my books in the future. In the meantime, keep coming back to hear answers about writing and books from me and my author friends. And don't forget to apply to join the Book Reviewer Club. Go to kidsaskauthors.com for all the info and apply before August 1st.
Wasn't that great? If you'd like to learn more about today's author, please go to our website. Kidsaskauthors.com for more information. Grownups remember, if you know a kid that has a question, a book review, or a joke they would like to share on this podcast, please submit it to kidsaskauthors.com. And if there's a kid you know, that is an outstanding book reader, have them apply to be a part of the Kids Ask Authors Book Reviewer Club. Members of this club, get free books and meet with me once a month to record reviews. The application deadline is August 1st and all the information to apply is under, join the Kid Reviewer Club at kidsaskauthors.com.
Now, if you'd like to reach me, you can sign up for my author newsletter by clicking on the little link icon at the top of kidsaskauthors.com or follow me on Instagram, where I use the handle, @pacylin. Lastly, if you enjoy this podcast, please spread the word. Tell your friends and colleagues to listen. And of course, please leave a review on Apple podcasts. That really helps me know that you like what we're doing, so we can keep on doing it. And now we'll close this episode with a joke.
Today’s Joke of the Day comes from Aaron!
Why were the chickens upset? They were having an EGGS-istential crisis!
More about today’s author:
Grace Lin, a NY Times bestselling author/ illustrator, won the Newbery Honor for Where the Mountain Meets the Moon and her picture book, A Big Mooncake for Little Star, was awarded the Caldecott Honor. Grace is an occasional commentator for New England Public Radio , a video essayist for PBS NewsHour (here & here), and the speaker of the popular TEDx talk, The Windows and Mirrors of Your Child’s Bookshelf. She is the co-host of the podcast Book Friends Forever, a kidlit podcast about friendship and publishing (geared for adults). Find her facebook, instagram , twitter ( @pacylin) or sign up for her author newsletter HERE.
Special thanks to the High Five Books & Art Always Bookstore, Ms. Carleton’s 2nd grade class at Jackson Street School for their help with our kid questions and reviews.
