Author Grace Lin Visits Todd Elementary School

From Briarcliff Schools: It takes eight people at least one year to publish a single book, Todd Elementary School students learned from visiting author and illustrator Grace Lin. Lin, who has written and illustrated a number of books for beginning readers through novel enthusiasts, shared the whole process of how books are published with kindergartners through second-grade students during her visit.

“All books, not published or published, have to begin with an idea,” she said. Lin showed students her “idea book” that she brings with her everywhere. She enlisted the help of students to play the roles of professionals involved in the publishing process – an editor, art director, designer, printers and binders.

Students guessed it could take anywhere from hours to days to publish a book, but “the least amount of time it takes to publish a book is one whole year,” Lin said, pointing out the hundreds of books in the Todd library.

Lin also read her book “The Ugly Vegetables” to students, noting, “This story is a mostly true story.”

Her visit ended with a tutorial for drawing a dog, something she teaches the readers of her book, “The Year of the Dog.”

Lin’s visit was made possible through the support of the Todd PTA.

Images Courtesy Of Briarcliff Schools