Ari, of Reading in Color began this meme!

How many of Laurence Yep’s books have you read?

Laurence Yep has published over 30 children’s and young adult books. His most recent book, Dragon child: A story of Angel Island is based on an actual conversation between Yep and his father and on his niece’s research on the family’s immigration history. He has authored several book series, stories set in historical and modern times, and has been awarded the Newbery Honor twice. The first time in 1976 for Dragonwings and again in 1994  for Dragon’s Gate. Yep also received the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal in 2005. This Medal is adminstered by the Association for  Library Services to Children and is awarded to writers and illustrators who have, over several years, made lasting and meaningful contributions to children’s literature.

I have no doubt that Yep’s works will be lasting because they are meaningful.

Laurence Yep’s Reading Rockets interview.

“I love writing. I think of writing as a special way of seeing, because good writing brings out the specialness of ordinary things.”

Laurence Yep’s papertigers blog interview in which when he is asked “How has being of Chinese heritage been important to you?” And he responds:
“The answer to that question has changed dramatically more than once. As a child I hated Chinese school. I wanted to be as American as possible. Then, in my early twenties, I became very interested in my Chinese roots. For years after that, I thought that my function as a Chinese-American writer was to act as a bridge between two cultures. Now, though, I am not so sure that it is possible to blend two cultures together. Asian cultures are family- and cooperation-oriented. American culture on the other hand emphasizes the individual and competition. The two cultures pull in opposite directions. So I see myself now as someone who will always be on the borer between two cultures. That works to my benefit as a writer because not quite fitting in helps me be a better observer.”

“I only knew that there was a certain rightness in life–the feeling you got when you did something the way you knew you should.”
― Laurence Yep, Dragonwings