Laurence Yep

Laurence Yep is an American writer of children’s books. I have read many of his books and even today, I can relate a lot to his stories! I like to share these books with my students who may be struggling with cultural conflict. One of my favorite books is The Star Fisher. It features a 15-year-old Chinese American girl who has just moved to a new home in West Virginia.

Yep has authored numerous children’s books but one collection that is well known is The Golden Mountain Chronicles. This a collection of works featuring the Young family from 1849 to 1995. These are well worth reading! He has earned the Newberry Honor award twice and also received the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal for his contribution to American children’s literature.

Laurence Yep was born in San Francisco, California in 1948. He grew up working in his family’s grocery store. As a child, he commuted to a Catholic School for Chinese children. Many of the children there made fun of him for only knowing how to speak English. He struggled as a child to fit in because he had one foot in the American world and one foot in his Chinese roots. A lot of his work deals with this conflict.

He published his first story when he was in high school because his teacher persuaded him to submit the story. This helped encourage Yep to consider being a writer. He was also interested in machines and chemistry.

Yep went to college at Marquette University where he became friends with a literary magazine editor, Joanne Ryder. She encouraged him to write the children’s book, Sweetwater. Later, he transferred to UC Santa Cruz and graduated in 1970 with a BA. He went on to SUNY Buffalo where he earned a Ph.D. in English.

He lives with his wife, Joanne, in Pacific Grove, California.