Vicky Fang and more Ava Lin

Welcome back to author-illustrator Vicky Fang! Vicky is the talented creator of the funny and relatable "Ava Lin" early chapter book series. The first installment, Ava Lin, Best Friend, was published last year and the subject of an earlier GROG post.

Book #2 (Ava Lin, One of a Kind) came out in January, and book #3 (Ava Lin, Super-Duper Happy) is out June 10.

In Book 2, first-grader Ava's quest to do more kind deeds than anyone else in her class (in order to win a cool prize) leads to unexpected consequences. And Book 3 brings a school walkathon and a visit from Ava's popo (Chinese for grandmother). The Ava Lin books are bursting with humor and heart as Ava makes mistakes and learns from them. Throughout, Vicky's lively art keeps young readers engaged.

I asked Vicky about her latest book and future plans.

GROG: Your third Ava Lin book is now out. How is it different from the earlier two?

Vicky: While Best Friend! and One of a Kind focused on Ava navigating school and friendships, Super-Duper Happy centers on Ava’s relationship with her grandmother. There are still school themes involved (like the big school walkathon) but this book really explores how Ava tries to find a connection with her grandmother. It’s inspired by my own kids’ relationship with their grandmother (popo), and the hilarity found between what Ava thinks is awesome (treasures she finds on the ground or creepy crawly critters) and what her popo thinks is awesome (NOT the same things.)

from Book 3

How has Ava surprised you as the series progressed?

As I get to know Ava more, I love her for her optimism, her intensity, and her enthusiasm. I feel like writing Ava Lin helps me identify the social anxieties or confusions that are familiar to us all—and her character gives me a chance to dive headlong into those social missteps and find a way to bounce back or move forward from them. Writing these books is both cathartic and delightful, because I have so much fun writing and illustrating Ava’s hilarious shenanigans.

Why did you want Ava Lin to be Chinese American?

I wanted to write a Chinese American character because of my own upbringing and because I wanted my boys to see a truly funny, relatable character that was Chinese American, like them.

I also knew that the specificity would make the stories more funny and relatable. Little details, like the special tea Popo brings, or the slippers she wears around the house, give the characters and the situations depth and reality. I hope that Chinese American kids delight at seeing their culture represented in these books and that all kids recognize and relate to Ava’s experiences.

When you do classroom visits, what do first graders say about your Ava Lin books?

School visits are so much fun! I love getting messages afterwards from kids who love the books. There’s often something specific that they’ve fallen in love with—much like Ava Lin does! “I love the turtle” or “I love how she was kind to her friend” or “I like bubble tea too.” Ava Lin is all about full enthusiastic love for all kinds of wonderful things, so I love that kids react to the books in the same way! I’ve also seen and heard that kids don’t want to put the book down and want to keep on reading, which of course, makes me so happy as an author who wants to encourage young readers!

 

The word is you're working on an early graphic novel series, can you tell us more about that?

Yes! I am very excited about my upcoming early graphic novel series, One Mad Cat. It’s releasing next summer (2026) and I’m just working on the final cover for the first book now. It’s about a very cute but easily annoyed cat who steps out of her comfort zone to help solve mysteries for her friends.

I can't wait to see that one! It's been great chatting, Vicky. Anything else you'd like to share with GROG readers? 

Yes -- for updates on my upcoming books, you can sign up for my newsletter at https://vickyfang.substack.com/.

Vicky Fang is the author-illustrator of the Friendbots books and the Ava Lin books. She wrote the I Can Code board book series, as well as the Layla and the Bots series. She lives in California AND -- she runs a craft and business substack for kidlit writers and illustrators with Christine Evans called Kidlit Survival Guide at https://kidlitsurvivalguide.substack.com/. Check it out!

Vicky Fang has a new series! ~Christy Mihaly

I'm delighted to welcome author-illustrator Vicky Fang to GROG today. Vicky's published books include the "Best Buddies" early readers and the "Friendbots" and "Layla and the Bots" series. Lots of great STEM content there! Vicky's newest book (released June 4) kicks off a funny, relatable new early chapter book series. She tells us about it here.

Welcome, Vicky! To start, maybe you could tell us a little about yourself and why you write books for kids.

Vicky:

Thank you for having me! I started writing and illustrating because I wanted to inspire kids in STEM, and have expanded from there. But the common thread that remains through all my books is encouraging kids to be creative problem solvers, whether that be in STEM or friendships or school—or anywhere!

And now you have three new books coming out! Tell us about one of them!

My next book, AVA LIN, BEST FRIEND! is the start of a brand-new early chapter book series! It features a six-and-a-half year old girl who is navigating school, family, and friends—often with unintended and hilarious results. Ava Lin is Chinese American, which you’ll see in the little details of her life, but her knack for getting into—and out of—sticky situations is familiar to us all.

Great cover! So you are the illustrator as well as the author?

Yes. AVA LIN is the first chapter book series that I have self-illustrated, so I’m incredibly proud of it! I’m hugely grateful to my editor, Sarah Ketchersid, and my art director, Lisa Rudden, at Candlewick for giving me the opportunity and supporting me along the way.

What inspired you to invent Ava and write her story? How did you get the ideas?

AVA LIN is inspired by my kids and my own childhood. I’ve loved watching the earnestness, curiosity, triumphs, and relatable misunderstanding of my own kids and wanted to capture that in this series. They’ve loved watching these books come to life too. We laugh about Ava Lin’s antics together, and when something appropriately funny happens in real life, they say “This should be in an Ava Lin book!”

AVA LIN, BEST FRIEND! (Credit: Candlewick, ©2024 Vicky Fang)

Love that your kids are looking out for ideas for you!

How long did it take you to write this book? 

The idea for AVA LIN sat in my head for several months and then I wrote the first draft during a weekend retreat. (I love retreats.) After that, I probably revised for a few weeks before sending it off to my agent.

That's a great tip for procrastinating writers! Take a retreat!

After you wrote it at that retreat,Vicky, how long did it take to sell the manuscript?

It took about six months to sell Ava Lin. It did sell in the first round of submissions, but the submission process feels so slow these days!

Tell me about it. So slooooow.

What do you hope readers take away from reading Ava's story?

I hope the series makes kids laugh! I also hope that kids will relate to Ava Lin’s experiences—to see that Ava makes mistakes all the time, but that everything is always somehow okay in the end. And that even when things don’t turn out the way she expected, it doesn’t stop her from approaching life with curiosity and optimism. And last but not least, I hope these books help kids fall in love with reading!

AVA LIN, BEST FRIEND! (Credit: Candlewick, ©2024 Vicky Fang)

As an illustrator, you get an additional level of input into your books.

Tell us something about how you did the illustrations for Ava.

I had so much fun illustrating these books. I think I most enjoy the expressiveness that I was able to pull into each of Ava’s life moments. I also just had my first classroom visit where I taught kids how to draw Ava Lin, and it was such a delight to see their own versions of Ava Lin!

What was most surprising about doing these illustrations?

I hadn’t realized how much fun it would be to do this style of illustration, interspersed between text. Each illustration gets to be like its own mini-story, which was super fun to do. I think because Ava Lin is such an enthusiastic character, it also felt joyful to draw the things she loves, like animals, bubble tea, and treasure!

AVA LIN, BEST FRIEND! (Credit: Candlewick, ©2024 Vicky Fang)

This series looks really fun!

Okay, Vicky, tell us: What advice do you have for writers?

Thinking about this series specifically, I feel like it really leveraged everything I’ve learned as an author and illustrator up to this point. I was able to think about crafting multiple elements of this book (plot, character, arc, heart, pacing, etc.) in a much more fluid way than I had been able to in my previous books. And I’m still learning and getting better! So my advice to writers is to just keep at it. Slowly but surely, you will get better and better. 

Also, if you’re looking for more writing and publishing advice from me, I started a newsletter with my friend and critique partner, Christine N Evans (Dear Mr. G, The Wist Library) called Kidlit Survival Guide—check it out!

Thanks, VIcky! Last question: What’s next for you?

I’ve just finished art for Ava Lin Book 2, and am starting sketches for Book 3! I’m also working on sketches for my next series, an early graphic novel series called ONE MAD CAT.

That's a lot! Thanks for taking the time to chat here. I look forward to reading all these amazing books.

Is It an Animal, Vegetable or Early Chapter Book? by Kathy Halsey

Yes, it's an animal, Kathy's dog, Wiley Corgi!

Do you remember that old word game you used to play as a kid? Is it an animal, vegetable, or mineral? Lately I've played that game with my writing. I write what I think is a picture book, but my critique group pegs it as an early chapter book. My word count is PB, under 700 word easy-peasy; I only have 1-2 characters, and what I think is a fairly simple plot. I've read mentor texts, studied picture books, taken classes, devoted myself to the art of the picture book, and YET...

MAYBE IT'S A VEGETABLE??? Err, I mean, ah, early chapter book? 

I shook off my disappointment (I admit, it took awhile.) and began to explore a new niche for my writing. My plan is to expand the  major scenes from my picture book and beef up several characters. I will loosely base the structure on a new series from Scholastic, Branches. The titles appeal to grades 1-3 with a reading level of 2nd grade, depending on the specific title. There are 12 series so far and I've read/studied SAVING THE SUN DRAGON, Dragon Masters' series; and THE SCHOOL IS ALIVE, Eerie Elementary series. 

Scholastic's Branches sites states that "all Branches books are Common Core-ready" and include easy-to-read text, simple plot lines, plenty of context clues, purposeful illustrations (black & white) that aid in comprehension. The classroom guide gives a wealth of information for writers with sections on what kids like, what educators like, and a great series topic chart that covers theme Scholastic seeks. It's a blueprint to writing early chapter books!

Branches Series Topic Chart

For my manuscript, I've highlighted the themes I plan to use: mystery, friendship, problem solving, and inquiry. These theme also fit my "not-quite-a-picture-book" story. 

Next, I took my mentor text, THE SCHOOL IS ALIVE, and blocked out the important scenes in the first five chapters for structure. I noted these areas to scaffold my story:

1. Chapter length- 3-8 pages

2. Pithy chapter titles

3. Foreshadowing in every chapter

4. Characters names fit genre of scary tale - Sam Graves, Eerie Elementary

5. Cliff-hanger at the end of each chapter

6. Roughly 380 word/chapter and 64/page and a picture/spread. 

I also pulled a few other "iffy" picture book manuscripts from my desk drawer for early chapter book series potential. With these techniques, I am saving time and stories, too! No more "animal, vegetable, mineral' games for me.

Book Review: Yes! You Can Learn How to Write Beginning Readers and Chapter Books

Book Review: Yes! You Can Learn How to Write Beginning Readers and Chapter Books, by Nancy I. Sanders, 2012

If you’d like to write for the educational market or just learn the differences between beginning readers, this is the perfect book. Nancy explains in detail the structures of the following: pre-emergent readers, emergent readers, easy readers, advanced readers, first chapter books, and hi-lo readers. Whew! She also touches on writing for children’s magazines and how to write a rebus.

If you want to know the nitty-gritty of this world of beginning readers, Nancy starts with the history of how it all came to be, reading levels, standards, word lists, etc…

Each reader section gives concrete examples of the structure: vocabulary, number of words in each sentence, characters, dialogue, plot, setting, topics and themes. She also lists mentor texts or samples of each kind of book. She shows you how it all works together under very tight guidelines by the publisher. I know. I’ve done it! 

This is a spread from my guided reading book Flamingo’s Tricks, a phonics reader published by Lakeshore Learning. 

I appreciate Nancy’s expertise in sharing tips and strategies along with little assignments you can do to practice writing for this age group. 

The back of the book has a wonderful glossary. When I started writing in 2008, I knew none of the writer lingo and was constantly asking Nancy questions, like why do they call publishing houses a house? What is a royalty check? So this is very helpful for beginning writers as well.

So if you’re interested in writing beginning readers or beginning chapter books, check out this book! Writing for this age group is so much fun!

If you’d like to get a feel for Nancy’s book, click here to read the transcript of a workshop she led on beginning readers for the Institute of Children’s Literature, March 2013.