Linda Sue Park

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Linda Sue Park
Linda Sue Park at the 2007 Texas Book Festival
Born	March 25, 1960 (1960-03-25) (age 48) Urbana, Illinois
Occupation	Novelist
Nationality	Korean American

Linda Sue Park is a Korean American author of children's fiction. Park published her first novel, Seesaw Girl, in 1999. To date, she has written six children’s novels and five picture books for younger readers. Park’s work achieved prominence when she received the prestigious 2002 Newbery Medal for her novel A Single Shard.

1 Personal life
2 Themes
3 Bibliography
- 3.1 Fiction
- 3.2 Poetry
4 External links
- 4.1 Articles
- 4.2 Interviews
5 References

[edit] Personal life

Park was born on March 25, 1960 and grew up outside Chicago.[1] The daughter of Korean immigrants, Park has been writing poetry and stories since the age of four. Park published her first poem when she was nine years old for Trailblazer magazine. Through elementary and high school, she continued to publish poems in magazines for children and young people.

Park competed on the gymnastics team at Stanford University and graduated with a degree in English. She obtained advanced degrees in literature from Trinity College, Dublin in Ireland and from the University of London.

Before writing her first book, Park worked at many jobs, including public relations for a major oil firm, food journalism for British magazines and newspapers, and teaching English as a second language to college students.

Park competed in the television game show Jeopardy! on an episode aired October 20, 2006, where she finished in 3rd place. [2]

Park lives in Rochester, New York with her husband and two children, Sean and Anna. She came to Hong Kong in 2007

[edit] Themes

Park generally writes historical fiction. With the exception of three picture books, all of Park’s books center upon Korean history and Korean culture. Her first three novels are set in ancient or medieval Korea. However, her fourth novel, When My Name Was Keoko, depicts the more recent history of Japanese occupation of Korea during World War II. Project Mulberry occurs in a contemporary setting outside Chicago. Park’s latest book, Archer’s Quest, introduces a historical figure into modern times.

Park researches her Korean heritage for her books, demonstrated by historical details within the story along with sections for author’s notes and bibliographies. Her topics feature characteristic elements of Korean culture, including: embroidery (Seesaw Girl); kite fighting (The Kite Fighters); celadon pottery (A Single Shard); silkworms (Project Mulberry); Korean food (Bee-Bim Bop); and archery (Archer’s Quest). She also continues to publish poetry.

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] Fiction

Seesaw Girl (1999)
- Children's Literature Choices, Best Book 2000 List
The Kite Fighters (2000)
- Junior Library Guild Selection, Spring 2000
- Children's Literature Choices, Best Book 2001 List
A Single Shard (2001)
- Newbery Medal 2002
When My Name Was Keoko (2002)
- James Addams Honor citation
The Firekeeper's Son (2004)
- James and Irma Black Honour, 2005
Mung-Mung: A Foldout Book of Animal Sounds (2004)
What Does Bunny See?: A Book of Colors and Flowers (2005)
Yum! Yuck!: A Foldout Book of People Sounds From Around the World (2005)
- ALA Notable Children's Books, 2006
Project Mulberry (2005)
- Chicago Tribune Young Adult Fiction Award
Bee-bim Bop (2005)
Archer's Quest (2006)

[edit] Poetry

"On Meeting a Poet," "Changing the Sheets," "Mobius," " Fourth-Grade Science Project," Avatar Review, Summer 1999
"Handstand", Atlanta Review, Spring/Summer 2000
"Seven Sins: Portrait of an Aristocratic Young Woman," "Irreversible Loyalty," "A Little World," "The Ramparts at Calvi," The Alsop Review
"Armchair Journey," "Hyphen," Miller's Pond, Spring 2002
"Picturing the Words," "When the Last Panda Died," "Tide Pool," Avatar Review, Summer 2004