If Lin CanHow Jeremy Lin Inspired Asian Americans to Shoot for the StarsBy:Richard Ho/ Illustrated by: Huynh Kim Lin andPhng Nguyn QuangThis biography of basketball superstar Jeremy Lin is an anthem of Asian American pride that speaks to any child who feel
By:Richard Ho/ Illustrated by: Huynh Kim Lin andPhng Nguyn Quang
Have you ever been told that you CANT? Growing up in the Bay Area, Jeremy Lin heard that over and over again. People made fun of his size and his race and wouldnt give him a chance. But Jeremy persevered until he became the first Taiwanese American to play in the NBA. And when his big moment came, he seized it!
Jeremys meteoric rise, dubbed “Linsanity,” inspired the world and a whole generation of young Asian Americans. As author Richard Ho puts it, Jeremys struggles were our struggles, so his triumphs were our triumphs. He made us believe that if he could succeed, so could we.
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Richard Ho, author
As a child, Richard Ho harbored perfectly reasonable career aspirations: professional basketball player, astrophysicist, and Jedi master. When he “grew up,” he worked as a magazine journalist, a scriptwriter, an editor, and an author. His highly acclaimed picture books include Red Rover, The Lost Package, and Year of the Cat.
Read more aboutRichard.
Huynh Kim Lin and Phng Nguyn Quang, illustrators
Phng Nguyn Quang and Hunh Kim Lin are book creators who live and work together in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. They have illustrated several children’s books, including My First Day (which they also wrote), Hundred Years of Happiness, and The Floating Field: How a Group of Thai Boys Built Their Own Soccer Field.
Read more aboutHuynh Kim LinandPhng Nguyn Quang.
The Horn Book
Composed mostly of questions, this picture-book biography traces Jeremy Lin’s uphill battle as the first American of Chinese or Taiwanese descent to play in the NBA. Moving from his youth to his breakout 2012 game with the New York Knicks, the book shows how faith, diligence, and tenacity helped Lin weather taunts, setbacks, privation, and an agonizing NBA draft wait. The digital illustrations employ spot art to depict Lin’s off-court life, while full bleeds portray on-court action and the media craze (“linsanity”) surrounding his meteoric rise from obscurity. Ho prompts children to reflect on their own experiences contending with naysayers, find role models who look like them, embrace who they are, and defy stereotypes. Back matter fleshes out Lin’s life story and includes an author’s note and bibliography.
Kirkus Reviews
A pep talk featuring Jeremy Lin, the first athlete of Asian descent to play in the NBA.
Have you ever been told that you cant? With growing rhetorical force, Ho asks readers if theyve ever felt misunderstood or disheartened. Youre not alone, he reassures them. Have you ever turned on a television or opened a newspaper and discovered someone who looked like you? The author goes on to show how Lin shrugged off naysayers and those who made fun of his size, his race, and his game. As a professional player, he was cut from his first team and continued to warm benches. He persevered, however, until, one February night in 2012, he was at last given the opportunity to show his dazzling stuff and ignited a season of Linsanity with the New York Knicks. Illustrations of two solitary, Asian-presenting children alternately ignored or surrounded by scoffing peers give way to scenes of the young Lin enduring similar treatment, including, in one scene, hearing catcalls from a dark-skinned young skeptic standing next to a light-skinned one mocking Lins eyes. But he works through it all and is ready when his chance comes to shine. Now ask yourself, the author concludes, if Lin can, why cant I? Good question.
A slam dunk choice for role modeling. (more information on Lin, afterword, authors note, bibliography)
Publishers Weekly
At once affirmation and biography, Hos simple yet captivating overview of the life of NBA basketball star Jeremy Lin (b. 1988) begins with a series of call-and-response questions: Have you ever been told that you cant? As the pages turn, three East Asiancued children represent an aspiring athlete, actor, and leader facing moments of discrimination, bullying, and self-doubt. Lin is introduced as someone who looks like you, a line that hints at the importance of representation to self-image, before the book segues into a cursory overview of Lins life. Stylized digital illustrations from Hu`ynh and Phng build to a triumphant moment in Lins career before the second-person text asks, Have you ever cheered for someone who shattered stereotypes, burst through barriers, and made you feel proud of who you are? Background characters are portrayed with various skin tones. A biography, authors note, and bibliography conclude. Ages 710.
Booklist
Representation and inspiration are at the fore of this picture book loosely based on the career of Asian American professional basketball star Jeremy Lin. Ho challenges readers to overcome obstacles, dream big, and look for inspiration from role models who share aspects of their identity. The book begins by asking, Have you ever been told that you cant?or that you are not enough or should doubt yourself in sports, performing arts, school, and more? Ho then asks whether readers have ever found someone who looks like them or has faced similar challenges in the news, following up these queries with descriptions of obstacles and achievements faced by Jeremy Lin. The book concludes with the motivational question, If Lin can, why cant I? Bold illustrations often fill the entire page and capture the feelings of both children and Lin as they strive despite being marginalized and underestimated. Hos tendency to generalize may make it hard for some readers to connect with the exhortations and even Lin himself; however, the back matter includes a brief biography.
Children’s Literature
If youve ever felt like the world keeps telling you that you cant even though you know you can, then you have an idea of how Asian American basketball player Jeremy Lin has felt for much of his life. Author Richard Hos inspiration from Jeremy Lins perseverance has led him to write this picture book anthem of Asian pride. Three young children are told they cant climb the rope, cant star in the play, and cant run for class president. Theyre told that they’re not athletic enough, dont look the part, and never speak up. Readers are told they are not alone if they have also felt this way. Then, readers see children who discover someone who looks like them on television and in the newspaper, children who feel like that person has the same challenges that they have. That someone is NBA basketball star Jeremy Lin. He finally gets his shot! He shatters stereotypes, bursts barriers, and makes readers feel proud of who they are. To complete the biography, a comprehensive timeline of Lins journey, an explanation of Hos inspiration for the book, and a bibliography fill the last few pages. Young athletes, young Asian Americans, or anyone who has ever felt like they keep being told they cant, can find encouragement on the colorful pages of this picture book.
Hardcover
ISBN:978-1-62354-372-3
Ages: 710
Page count: 40
81/2x 11
Publication date: April 16, 2024
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