She Persisted: Maya Lin

She Persisted

by Grace Lin, Chelsea Clinton, Alexandra Boiger (Illustrator)

Inspired by the #1 New York Times bestseller She Persisted by Chelsea Clinton and Alexandra Boiger comes a chapter book series about women who spoke up and rose up against the odds--including Maya Lin!

Maya Lin is known throughout the world as the creator of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC. But many people weren't happy when she was chosen to design the memorial, objecting to her gender, age, race, and more. Still, she persisted, and her design stands out today as one of the most memorable monuments in the country. Her creations, which were always connected to surrounding landscapes and nature, have inspired many to follow in her footsteps and follow their creative dreams.

In this chapter book biography by bestselling and award-winning author Grace Lin, readers learn about the amazing life of Maya Lin--and how she persisted.

Complete with an introduction from Chelsea Clinton, black-and-white illustrations throughout, and a list of ways that readers can follow in Maya Lin's footsteps and make a difference!

And don't miss out on the rest of the books in the She Persisted series, featuring so many more women who persisted!

Genres: Biography, History, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir, Picture Books, Childrens, War

80 pages, Paperback

Published November 1, 2022

Reviews

[Stacy Renee (LazyDayLit) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read right after reading 'Where the Mountain Meets the Moon' by the same author.

Read with my 8yo.

[Ellon · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars (I liked it)

I know a lot about Grace Lin (the author of this book) because we do a mini author study on her in our kindergarten curriculum. I've shown my students a video of Grace talking about how she would forget that she was Asian when she was a kid. I feel like knowing this fact helped me appreciate this book more as Grace apparently has that in common with Maya Lin.

I didn't know who Maya Lin was before reading this book and it was very interesting to learn more about her and her inspirations. There are some parts of this book that are a little clunky, like paragraph that lists Maya's projects. There is also an editing error, I believe. On page 20 it says "Instead of drawing on paper, Maya often used modeling clay to develop - a kind of modeling clay- to develop her designs."

I do like the backmatter about how to persist that includes websites to learn more about Maya's work (and to actually see it).

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't recognize Maya Lin's name, and it was really interesting to hear a little bit about her life and accomplishments. Like many, I have seen the Vietnam War Memorial and been moved. It's fascinating to think about how Lin, and artists in general, can communicate so much in such deceptively simple works. For me, it was validating to hear about an Asian American woman who is successful and well-known for a creative pursuit. The common stereotype is still that Asians are good at math/science, so it helps heal something in me to see that not only Maya is a creative, but that her father is one, too, and nurtured and supported her pursuit of architecture and sculpture. I also think it's really cool that she works through designs in clay, rather than in sketches in early stages.

This book is also one of the few written for children that I've encountered that touches upon how disorienting that it can be to live between/outside the Black-white binary in a racist society.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

She Persisted is a great series of short Elementary level books introducing woman who accomplished what was believed to be impossible. There is a long list of titles. Many well known names: Oprah Winfrey, Florence Griffith Joyner, Malala, Simone Biles, Temple Grandin, Helen Keller, Sally Ride, Sonia Sotomayor, etc. I read 3 of the lesser known women who made history -Rachel Levine, Rosalind Franklin and Maya Lin
Maya Lin , raised by parents who were lucky to escape the control of the Chinese government, is the designer of the Vietnam Memorial. She faced much discrimination because she was of Asian descent.

[catherine l doss · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a surprise. I have seen the Vietnam Nam Memorial and found my cousins name on it. I never looked up the designer. She was a 20 year old architecture student at Yale University.

There was quite an amount of controversy since she was Asian American. There was a lot of anger left over from the ending of the war. If you recall veterans were often treated disgustingly poor when they returned after representing the USA. This artform returned some of the love and acceptance they were entitled to.

The artist went back to Yale for her masters and then continued to produce quietly meaningful art. You should read this short book.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maya Lin's experiences growing up with her parents and then taking her artistic path that ended up netting her the winning selection of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington DC from a blind viewing of all of the submissions only to be met with much disdain and discrimination both for being Asian and female.

Grace Lin does a phenomenal job sharing the FULL story of Lin's life including what happened AFTER the building of the memorial and how her architecture always connected the content with the space. It makes me want to visit some of the other memorials that she's built.

[Jane Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick informative read about Maya Lin, who entered a contest to design the Vietnam Memorial. She won yet faced much resistance from people who did believe that an Asian American should be allowed to create such an important memorial. She stood tall despite the resistance. Those that visited her remarkable work found it to be just what they needed to help them move towards healing.

[Thaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had to dock 2 stars off because they portrayed the American soldiers as “angels” even though America was the one to start the Vietnam War in the first place LOL. Also, agent orange WAS because of America but they alluded it to be because of the north Vietnamese, in the book. Alas, maya lin’s story is an important one about fighting against the odds to get what you want out of life.

[Kendra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent for young readers or for research projects. Concise and well written with a lot to connect to.

[Flyingzebras · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good series, great introductions to great people.

[Rene Del Bosque Moncayo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ella una joven arquitecta que diseña después de mucho trab as jo los móntenos en Washington de los memoria de Vietnam

[Kristen Iworsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short biography which is part of a series. I wish they had these when I was a kid!

[Kwan L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice and short story about her and links to her work.

[Joleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiring. The entire world needs more individuals like Maya Lin. I’m glad I read this book.

[Hanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really well-written little book.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed yet another book in the She Persisted series. I had never heard of Maya Lin, yet she created the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C., which she designed when she was still an undergraduate at Yale. She also designed the Civil Rights Memorial and countless other architectural structures. This book covers many of her accomplishments, but I would still be interested in reading more about her. Such an accomplished person, regardless of gender or race. I'm surprised I had never heard her name until now.

[Earl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grace Lin gets to tell architect Maya Lin's story as part of the She Persisted series.