Linda Sue Park
Author
A Look into the Life of Linda Sue Park
- Linda was born in Urbana, Illinois in 1960, and grew up on the outskirts of Chicago.
- She is the daughter of Korean immigrants and that heritage shines through many of her pieces.
- She started writing when she was four and her first published piece was published when she was only nine years old.
- She was a gymnast at Standford University where she graduated with a degree in English.
- She taught English as a second language for a while and eventually decided her heart was in writing books for children.
Why Linda Sue Park?
I love culture, language and simply learning about other ways of life. In Linda Sue Park's writing she immerses you in another culture and you don't only get a fantastic story out of it, but you learn so much about the life style of others. After reading a few of Linda's pieces I didn't just close the book and move on, many of the books left me with so much more knowledge, love and appreciation for diversity.
Books Studied...
A Long Walk to Water Excerpt
"He ran until he could not run anymore. Then he walked. For hours, until the sun was nearly gone from the sky. Other people were walking, too. There were so many of them that they couldn't all be from the school village; they must have come from the whole area. As Salva walked, the same thoughts kept going through his head in rhythm with his steps. Where are we going? Where is my family? When will I see them again?"
A Single Shard Excerpt
"At some distance from the house, near a clear running stream, a series of shallow holes had been dug and lines with several layers of rough grasscloth. The clay was shoveled into one of the pits and water mixed in to form a thick viscous mud. Tree-ear stirred and stirred the mixture with a wooden paddle until the clay and water were uniformly combined." pg. 42