Christmas WS's!Continuing our authors' series, today Natasha Yim tells us about her life-long commitment to writing children’s fiction and non-fiction. Below she tells us about two of her books.
By Natasha Yim
Hi! I’m Natasha Yim. I’m a children’s book author and freelance writer. I have written—or scribbled—stories since I was 11 years old. I like to write many different things from fiction to non-fiction, picture books, to stories for older kids. I often find myself flitting from one subject to another because so many things interest me.
A Variety of Writing
I have written articles about the Dragon Boat Festival for “Highlights for Children”, therapy horses for “Appleseeds magazine, and an elephant sanctuary in Thailand for “Faces” magazine. They say curiosity killed the cat, but it’s a very good thing for writers.
First Picture Book
My first picture book was published by Charlesbridge Publishing in 2000. It was a Kids’ Pick of the Lists selection.
Otto’s Rainy Day is about a little boy who loves rainy days, and wants to go outside and play in the rain. But his Mom is busy and asks him to stay inside. Otto has to use his imagination to keep himself occupied. But who would have thought being a fireman, a monkey, and a chef could have such disastrous consequences? Pamela R. Levy’s lively illustrations really capture Otto’s impish personality. Age range: 4 – 7 years.
For Older Kids – A Touch of History
Cixi, The Dragon Empress is a picture book biography for grades 5 & up, released in Oct. 2011 by Goosebottom Books. It tells the true story of the last empress of China whose infamous temper, and extravagant tastes earned her her nickname.
Her insistence on keeping China cloistered from Western influence and her inability to adapt to a changing world toppled a dynasty that had been in power for 260 years, and ended an imperial system that had been in place for centuries. But was she truly evil, or just out of touch?
Cixi, The Dragon Empress is one of six books in Goosebottom Books’ series The Thinking Girl’s Treasury of Dastardly Dames. Sidebars like “What She Ate” and “What She Wore” provide historical and cultural details of the time period and the country. The combination of photographs and lovely illustrations by Peter Malone gives the book a stunning look.
You can find out more about me on my website or my blog. I'd love to hear from you, and what you thought of my books, so please feel free to email me at natashayim@natashayim.com.
If you are an author and would like to write about your books for children - be they fiction or non-fiction - on the K5 Learning Blog, please contact asa (at) k5learning (dot) com.
