Frances Park is also the author of WHEN MY
SISTER WAS CLEOPATRA MOON, a young adult novel
about two Korean-American sisters and the special
bond—and destruction—that ultimately shapes
their destiny.
Sarah ParkPark, Linda Sue (1960– )
Linda Sue Park was born in Urbana, Illinois, to a
computer analyst and teacher. Her mother taught
her to read at an early age, and her father fre-
quently took her to the library. A voracious reader,
Park graduated from Stanford University with a
B.A. in Engish and worked as a food journalist and
teacher prior to writing books for children.
Park’s parents were Korean immigrants, and
she grew up with Korean influences in the home,
but Park felt that she “knew very little about Korea
itself ” (Park “Newbery” 379). To rectify this gap in
her life, she “learned about Korea by reading and
writing about it” (Park “Newbery” 379), turning
what she learned into stories for young people.
She was fascinated with nuggets of information
she found in her readings. For example, as a child
she had read Tales of a Korean Grandmother by
Frances Carpenter. One of the chapters contained
“a reference to the fact that little girls from noble
families in 17th-century Korea were never allowed
to leave their homes” (Park “Newbery” 388). Park
remembered this throughout her childhood and as
an adult set out to explore this intriguing fact. Her
findings provided the content for her first novel,
Seesaw Girl (1999).
Since publishing her first book in 1999, Park
steadily built her reputation as a children’s book
author. Her first three novels are historical fiction
set in Korea. Seesaw Girl (1999) tells the story of a
little girl in 17th-century Korea who is not allowed
to venture outside the walls of her home. Two
brothers in The Kite Fighters (2000) combine their
talents to create and fly a beautiful kite on behalf of
Korea’s emperor. Park’s third novel, A Single Shard,
is set in 12th-century Korea. It tells the story of an
orphan named Tree Ear who desires to be a potter.
Although at the time only sons could be appren-
ticed to learning the trade, an accident provides the
opportunity for Tree Ear to be an assistant for Pot-
ter Min, the greatest potter in the village. Park’s last
historical novel, When My Name Was Keoko (2002),
is told through a pair of siblings. Sun-hee and her
older brother Tae-yul alternately tell the story of
their childhood in a Korea occupied by Japan.
Project Mulberry (2005), Park’s first contemporary
Korean-American novel, is about an elementary
school girl who resists the idea of raising silkworms
for her Work-Grow-Give-Live project, preferring
instead to do something “nice, normal, All-Ameri-
can, red-white-and-blue” (Park Project 30). Archer’s
Quest (2006) is about a Korean-American boy in
New York whose world is turned upside down
when Chu-mong, a Korean king from the past,
shoots an arrow through his room. Kevin needs to
help Chu-Mong return to the right time period so
that history will not be distorted.
In addition to writing novels, Park creates pic-
ture books for younger audiences. Mung-Mung
(2004) explores the different ways animals sound
in other parts of the world. The Firekeeper’s Son
(2004) is the story about a boy who admires his
father for lighting the fire that alerts the nation
that all is well throughout the land. One day, when
his father is injured, the boy has to decide between
lighting the fire and wanting to see the soldiers
who would come to defend the country if the
fire is not lit. Bee-bim Bop (2005) is a delightfully
rhyming picture book about a little girl helping
her mother make bee-bim bop, one of Korea’s most
popular dishes.
Park is the first Asian-American author since
DHAN GOPAL MUKERJI to win the John Newbery
Medal. Although she briefly mentions the impor-
tant role the Newbery Award plays in bringing vis-
ibility to a marginalized literature, Park is more
concerned with the way that her stories build con-
nections. She emphasizes the connective role of
her work in bridging relationships between people
and time periods. Her stories allow Korean-Amer-
ican children to imagine the history and culture
of their parents and grandparents, while provid-
ing non-Korean Americans with the opportunity
to learn about a history, culture, and time other
than their own.Park, Linda Sue 239