What’s on my nightstand? The Year of the Dog, by Grace Lin.

The print and art on the cover of the red book are gold, and it doesn’t come out well in the image. Don’t let that deter you. The cover is lovely.

I’m just starting this book, but I’ve been eager to read it since it was published in 2006. A couple of years ago, I read Grace Lin’s Dim Sum for Everyone picture book, and liked it enough to Google Grace’s name and see what else she had done. That’s how I discovered the Blue Rose Girls, a group blog of several children’s authors and illustrators and an editor. That was the first blog I ever read, and I was very quickly hooked. It’s an engaging group, and their posts are informative and fun. Grace can be incredibly insightful, and her words are elegant when she is.

I’m very excited to read this book!