Grace Lin grew up in Upstate New York with her parents and two sisters. While the other sisters became scientists, Grace became an artist. Surprisingly enough, being an artist was not Grace's first choice. She first dreamed of being a champion ice skater, and drew many pictures of herself twirling and dancing on the ice. Unfortunately, Grace had neither the talent nor coordination to make it to skating stardom. However, the pictures she drew of herself held much promise and quickly became Grace's career focus.

After attending the Rhode Island School of Design, Grace quickly set out to achieve her dream of creating children's books. Her first book, The Ugly Vegetables, was published in 1999 and was quickly heralded. As well as being an American Booksellers Association's "Pick of the List" and a Bank's Street College Best Books of the Year, the book was nominated for the California Young Reader Children's Choice Award and named a Growing Good Kids Book Award CLASSIC.

Grace followed that success with the publication of over a dozen more books, including Dim Sum for Everyone!, Fortune Cookie Fortunes, and Olvina Files. Grace's first children's novel, The Year of the Dog was released with glowing praise.

In an essay entitled “Why Couldn't Snow White be Chinese? - Finding Identity Through Children's Books,” Grace describes her philosophy. “When I decided to create children's books as my profession, I remembered my own childhood. I remembered the books I wished I had had when I was a child. Books that would have made me feel like I belonged, that there was someone else like me out there, and that who I was, was actually something great.

So with this in mind, I create my books. I try to make books that make readers appreciate Asian American culture. I try to make books that the contemporary child can relate to. I try to make books that encourage Asian American children to embrace their identities.

Do these books make a difference? I think so. In my life, moments of insecurity and isolation could have been magically erased simply by having a book transform into a friend that shared what I saw and what I am. And, perhaps, if these books had been generously spread, exposing children of all races to the Asian part of the melting pot, perhaps then my childhood friend Jill would not have said, "Dorothy's not Chinese," but rather, "Sure, Dorothy could be Chinese."

Grace lives in Somerville, MA.