There are great masterpieces of the written word and artistic expression worthy of veneration. There are also wonderfully fun books that provide levity in the drudgery of life. Grace Lin’s “Ling and Ting” books provide the latter. The sweet stories, designed as early readers, follow twins Ling and Ting who have their differences but share whimsical fashion, stories, and jokes.
Like so many stories about children, Lin draws inspiration from her experience growing up with two sisters. Though she grew up in New York state, Lin incorporates Chinese culture in interesting ways. Each “Ling and Ting” book includes six little stories, many of which explore Chinese cuisine or customs in an authentic way as only one can who has lived it. Lin has become a proponent of “diversity” in children’s literature, but the enjoyability of her books demonstrate that writing about the culture you know and understand is the way to ensure real diversity rather than imposing quotas and demanding representation, as so many “diversity” movements sadly descend to.
Though, like many early readers, the language of the book is constrained, Lin works marvelously within the limitations of the early reader to craft heartwarming, laugh-out-loud funny stories of two little girls and their daily adventures.
All the books are sweet stories with amusingly detailed artwork, including a color palette inspired by the content of each book. However, the best of the “Ling and Ting” stories is undoubtedly “Ling and Ting: Twice as Silly.” The book demonstrates Lin’s strength as a storyteller. She begins with seemingly unrelated silly stories and weaves them into a very silly story composed of elements from all the preceding tales.
Lin, who studied at the Rhode Island School of Design and has honed her craft through years of work, succeeds in portraying children as they really are: innocent. The humor and folly of Ling and Ting is believable and engaging, just like real little girls in cute dresses who make a mess and crack silly jokes. The biographical information featured on Lin’s professional website suggests that her crafting amusing scenarios comes from an appreciation of the real amusement that surrounds us. For example, she winsomely makes light of her aspiration to become a professional figure skater and shares the story of how her mother acquired the implausible name Lin-Lin Lin, a name continually disbelieved by teachers and grocery store clerks.
Lin’s stories, like so many good stories for children, focus on the real things in the world that are pretty, fun, enchanting, and humorous. We need not waste time worrying if children will experience enough disappointment and despair through their reading material, for this they will encounter with time. Books about the innocent for the innocent is a beautiful thing to behold.
The quality of the storytelling in the little early readers “Ling and Ting” reveal that Lin is a weaver of tales that surpass the short and easily readable. Thankfully, these talents have given rise to much longer and more complex stories, including Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, Starry River of the Sky, and When the Sea Turned to Silver. The books, inspired by Chinese folk tales, provide rich narratives with complex character development, elements of magical realism, and wonderful imaginative developments. You can see parallels between Lin’s simple work in “Ling and Ting” in such elements as the interconnected smaller narratives building to a whole in When the Sea Turned to Silver. Like many wonderful stories, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon has been adapted into a musical.
There are days when one reaches for a true classic, a hearty tome about the nature of man and the purpose of human life. Other days, you just want a good laugh. But perhaps these genres are not that different after all. An essential characteristic of man is the ability to laugh. Reading books that encourage our children to laugh heartily is a wonderful part of exploring the nature of man and the purpose of human life, however silly it may seem.
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