Once Upon a Book

05/05/2023

Once Upon a Book written by Grace Lin

Alice is tired of the cold, gray days and longs to be somewhere sunny and warm. She spots a book lying on the floor, pages lightly flapping, and she reads, "Once upon a time, there was a girl...She went to a place alive with colors, where even the morning dew was warm." “That sounds like our home,” says the flamingo, “Turn the page and come in.” And so, she does. Alice ventures to many different places, even the moon. But when she is at the moon, her final stop, she’s lonely and wants to be home, so she comes home in time for dinner where her family waits for her.

As she journeys, a small white rabbit accompanies her. It’s fun to find him swimming in the ocean with Alice, riding a camel, and even flying to the moon. A wonderful hide-and-seek for readers as they take in the colorful artwork and gorgeous creatures Alice sees on her journeys.

This wonderful home and back again story pays homage to Lewis’s Alice in Wonderful and Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are. This is a sweet story that shows a book can take you to many places, you just need to open it to find them.

Reviewed by Nancy Stetzinger, Penworthy’s Product Manager

 

Q& A with Grace Lin

Q1: What was your favorite book to read as a child? Or favorite genre?

A1: The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton, The Search for Delicious by Natalie Babbitt, and Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery

 

Q2: If you could have dinner with any writer living or dead, who would it be?

A1: Elizabeth Enright who wrote “The Saturdays” – she was an author who illustrated (or vice versa) and I’ve always felt a kind of kinship with that.

 

Q3: What did you want to be when growing up? Did you dream of being a writer?

A3: I wanted to be a figure skater (Olympic Gold Medalist) until I realized I didn’t enjoy ice skating! Then I dreamed of being an author/illustrator.

 

Q4: What was your favorite subject in school? Do you use it in your books to relate to kids?

A4a: Art and independent reading time

A4b: I hope my love of both shows in my books and hope it makes them love books too.

 

Q5: What do you want kids to take away from your book? What message?

A5: When I was a kid, I loved books so much I felt like they were my friends. I hope my books feel that way to kids, too.