Welcoming Grace Lin

Grace Lin will be working with Gordon students December 10th and 11th as the fourteenth annual Karla Harry Visiting Author. Ms. Lin, a New York Times bestselling author and illustrator, won the Newbery Honor for "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon" and the Theodor Geisel Honor for "Ling and Ting." Her novel "When the Sea Turned to Silver" was a National Book Award Finalist and her picture book, "A Big Mooncake for Little Star" was awarded the Caldecott Honor. A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, Lin visited Gordon previously in 2009.

The Karla Harry Visiting Author program is held in memory of a beloved Gordon librarian, administrator and parent. The program provides Gordon students the unique experience of delving into the writer’s craft by working with nationally recognized authors and illustrators. It is supported by the Karla Harry Visiting Author Fund, which was established in 2006. 

The residency coincides with the annual GCA Book Fair, which is happening online this year at bookfair.gordonschool.org. Families will want to wait until Book Fair begins on November 23rd to purchase Ms. Lin’s books; signed copies of her books will be available from the 23rd until Book Fair ends December 14th.

A note from the library team

Some classrooms will be reading Grace Lin’s books together, and families can prepare at home for her visit, too.

Most of Gordon's copies of Lin’s books are circulating in classrooms, and families can borrow digital audiobooks of several titles using the links at www.gordonschool.org/onlineborrowing. 

Gordon families also can check out TeachingBooks, an excellent author resource, through the Joukowsky Family Library. Sign in to a library account and, under Subscription Databases, select TeachingBooks. In the “For Educators and Adults” section on TeachingBooks, search for Grace Lin to find book readings, author interviews, and more. 

Finally, many Rhode Island public libraries are now open, or at least are filling requests for pick-up. Log in to your public library account, request a copy of one of Grace Lin’s titles, and ask to pick it up at your nearest public library. “Year of the Dog” and “Where the Mountain Meets the Moon" are two which Ms. Lin will feature in her presentations. At the time of this writing, there are eighty-five copies of “Where the Mountain Meets the Moon” and thirty-nine copies of “Year of the Dog” available, so you won’t have to wait long!