Author’s Note hosting Newbery Medalist who is launching new book

Provided images: Linda Se Park will be in Medina at Author’s Note on Monday for a book-signing and discussion of Gracie Under the Waves.

MEDINA – Author’s Note will welcome Newbery Medalist and No. 1 New York Times Best-Selling author Linda Sue Park at 6:30 p.m. on Monday to celebrate the launch of her newest middle grade release, Gracie Under the Waves.

The acclaimed author of A Long Walk to Water, Park presents an empowering new story starring a young snorkeling enthusiast who draws inspiration for fighting climate change from interacting with her pesty little brother. Inspired by her own experience, Park tells the story of a girl learning how to impact a cause she cares about while navigating the ups and downs of a sibling relationship and turning disappointment into opportunity.

Gracie loves snorkeling so much that she convinces her parents to let her plan a family vacation to Roatan, Honduras, where they all snorkel together. She even makes a new friend there. Now, if only her irritating little brother would leave her along, everything would be perfect.

Then Gracie hurts her leg, and all her carefully made plans start to come apart. Worse still, she learns the reef itself is in serious danger. Gracie wants to help the reef, but she’s just a kid. How can she make a difference?

The novel has garnered rave reviews from the Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, Publisher’s Weekly and the Washington Post.

Linda Sue Park is the author of many books for young readers, including the 2002 Newbery Medal winner “A Single Shard,” and the New York Times bestseller “A Long Walk to Water.” Her most recent titles are “Gracie Under the Waves,” a contemporary middle-grade novel about a girl who loves snorkeling, illustrated by Maxine Vee; and “My Book and Me,” a picture book about the joys of books and reading, illustrated by celebrated Caldecott Medal artist Chirs Raschka.

Park is also the founder and curator of Allida Books, an imprint of HarperCollins. She serves on the advisory boards of We Need Diverse Books and the Rabbit hOle museum project, and created the kiBooka website, www.kibooka.com to highlight children’s books created by the Korean diaspora. Her website is www.lindasuepark.com.

The Monday evening event at Author’s Note, 519 Main St., is free and open to the public.  Pre-ordering copies is recommended. For those unable to attend, signed books can be ordered at www.authorsnote.com. Contact Author’s Note for more information at (585) 798-3642 or visit www.authorsnote.com/events.