Linda Sue Park

Infobox Writer
name = Linda Sue Park

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caption = Linda Sue Park at the 2007 Texas Book Festival
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birthdate = Birth date and age|1960|3|25|mf=y
birthplace = Urbana, Illinois
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occupation = Novelist
nationality = American
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Linda Sue Park is an 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".

Personal life

Park was born on March 25, 1960 and grew up outside Chicago. [http://www.lindasuepark.com/bio.html] 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. [http://www.j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=1301]

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

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.

Bibliography

Fiction

* "Seesaw Girl" (1999)
** [http://www.childrenslit.com/clc.htm Children's Literature Choices] , Best Book 2000 List
* "The Kite Fighters" (2000)
** [http://www.juniorlibraryguild.com/main_index.htm Junior Library Guild Selection] , Spring 2000
** [http://www.childrenslit.com/clc.htm 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)
** [http://www.educationupdate.com/archives/2005/June/html/Book-BankStreet.html 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)
** [http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/awardsscholarships/childrensnotable/notablecbooklist/currentnotable.htm ALA Notable Children's Books] , 2006
*"Project Mulberry" (2005)
** [http://www.chicagotribune.com/about/custom/events/chi-csliteraryprizes-htmlstory,0,4283547.htmlstory?coll=chi-eventnavigation-fea Chicago Tribune Young Adult Fiction Award]
*"Bee-bim Bop" (2005)
*"Archer's Quest" (2006)

Poetry

*"On Meeting a Poet," "Changing the Sheets," "Mobius," " Fourth-Grade Science Project," [http://avatarreview.net/AV1/Park/Park1.htm Avatar Review, Summer 1999]
* [http://judithpordon.tripod.com/poetry/linda_sue_park_handstand.html "Handstand"] , Atlanta Review, Spring/Summer 2000
*"Seven Sins: Portrait of an Aristocratic Young Woman," "Irreversible Loyalty," "A Little World," "The Ramparts at Calvi," [http://www.alsopreview.com/thewriters2.htm The Alsop Review]
*"Armchair Journey," "Hyphen," [http://millerspondpoetry.com/vol5-1web.html#Linda%20Sue Miller's Pond, Spring 2002]
*"Picturing the Words," "When the Last Panda Died," "Tide Pool," [http://avatarreview.net/AV6/Park.html Avatar Review, Summer 2004]

External links

* [http://www.lindasuepark.com/ Official website]
* [http://wgordon.web.wesleyan.edu/kamikaze/books/fiction/park/index.htm "When My Name Was Keoko"] - book review

Articles

* [http://www.hbook.com/publications/magazine/articles/jul02_stevenson.asp "Linda Sue Park"] , "The Horn Book Magazine", July/August 2002
* [http://www.patriciamnewman.com/park.html "Who Wrote That? Featuring Linda Sue Park] , "California Kids!" October 2003
* [http://books.scholastic.com/teachers/authorsandbooks/authorstudies/authorhome.jsp?authorID=6072&&displayName=Biography "Linda Sue Park's Biography"]
* [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3666/is_200411/ai_n9464991 "Linda Sue Park: A Teacher Found"] , "Teaching PreK-8", Nov/Dec 2004

Interviews

* [http://www.cynthialeitichsmith.com/lit_resources/authors/interviews/LindaSuePark.html "An Interview with Linda Sue Park"]
* [http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=3501 "Linda Sue Park: Bookfest 02"] , A Library of Congress video webcast
* [http://www.verlakay.com/34LindaSueParkQA.html "Linda Sue Park Q & A"]
* [http://books.scholastic.com/teachers/authorsandbooks/authorstudies/authorhome.jsp?authorID=6072&displayName=Interview%20Transcript "Linda Sue Park's Interview Transcript] from Scholastic
* [http://www.alsopreview.com/aside/lsparkinterview.html "A Interview With Linda Sue Park"] , The Alsop Review
* [http://www.downhomebooks.com/park.htm "Linda Sue Park"] , DownHome Books
* [http://cynthialeitichsmith.blogspot.com/2006/06/author-update-linda-sue-park.html "Author Update: Linda Sue Park"]

References

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