Maya Lin: Thinking with Her Hands

Gr 4–8—For many, Maya Lin's name is synonymous with the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. This biography moves beyond that singular project to provide readers with a fuller picture of Lin. Born in the United States to Chinese parents and a "Class A nerd," she never felt that she fit in until college. Rubin incorporates information about Lin's life and family, while putting the primary focus of each chapter on a specific project. Lin's thinking is outlined in each case, whether it is how to help people understand the civil rights movement (the Civil Rights Memorial, Montgomery, AL) or how to raise hopes and spirits with her design for a chapel for the Children's Defense Fund in Clinton, TN. Pages of large text alternate with black-and-white family photos and striking color images of her designs, both as they were taking shape, and upon completed construction. The spare writing style and the book's uncluttered layout provide a reading experience as thoughtful and emotionally connected as one of Lin's installations. The narrative represents the artist's body of work from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to her current involvement with What Is Missing?, a project bringing attention to endangered species.